Immigrant Stories: Kuperman and Hebraica Houston

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Over the course of the 20th century, Houston evolved into a global city as immigrants from across the world came to call the city home. In this special supplement, undergraduate students from the University of Houston explore Houston’s undertold immigrant stories. Together, they reveal a range of experiences that uncover often overlooked textures of the city.

In this episode, students recount the lives of Jewish-Latin Americans who settled in 1960s and 1970s Houston. These immigrants belong to two ethnic groups, and while building a life in their new homes, they created a new community of their own. Listen now for the story of Enrique Kuperman, a Chilean immigrant who founded Hebraica Houston to serve the Latino-American Jewish community within the city.

This episode was written and recorded by Sophia Le, Alena Aguilar, and Luis Zuluaga as part of HIST 3317: Making of Ethnic America (Spring 2023).

The oral history with Enrique Kuperman was recorded by Dr. Mark Goldberg (Associate Professor of History, University of Houston).

Music courtesy of:

https://freepd.com/
https://freemusicarchive.org/home

“Dancing in the Fields” by One Man Book. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED

“El Elyon” by Psalters. Public Domain.

“The Father, The Son, and the Harold Rubin” by Ehran Elisha, Harold Rubin and Him Elisha. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DEED

“Zemer Atik” by The Rosen Sisters. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph