Cincinnati's Melting Pot

I am not your typical Cincinnatian. I am Persian, which means I come from the beautiful country of Iran; a land rich with culture and heritage.

I moved to this amazing country, the land of opportunity at the young age of 9, and since then I have lived in various parts of the country. I lived in Washington DC, rich in its own culture, where my dad was a counsel at the Iranian Embassy in Washington. Later I moved to Texas after the Shah of Iran was overthrown. My father was not fond of the new government and left his very sought after position with the embassy in DC.

In 1983, Houston was our new home. At that time the oil boom in Texas made Houston a glamorous place to live. As I grew up and got married, I left Houston and traveled back to DC while my husband was finishing his internal medicine residency at Georgetown University. Subsequently, Cincinnati became my home.

In 18 years Cincinnati has dramatically changed for the better. Being a multicultural member of this society, I feel that Cincinnati has experienced substantial cultural growth. To begin with, Procter & Gamble has employed more than 10,000 Latinos and other culturally diverse people in this wonderful city. Now salsa clubs and ethnic cuisine have become Cincinnati staples.

There is a large group of young professional Persians that now live in this city and a number of these individuals are UC and Xavier graduates. They are bringing new and exciting momentum to our city through their various authentic celebrations. Now I can enjoy a good Persian meal and sometimes even classical Persian music at a local restaurant.

This new splash of diversity is very exciting to local Cincinnatians, and is changing the community as we know it, allowing many locals to become enriched by the opportunities offered. Many of my American friends have joined me in my cultural extravaganzas.

There is also a large Indian community. There are also more than 3,000 Arabs, along with a beautiful Turkish community. I even had the opportunity to recently celebrate the Chinese New Year with my Chinese-American friends. Then there are the Russians, Bulgarians and fellow Eastern Europeans who prepare some of the finest fare I’ve ever tried. Of course, I cannot forget my friends from Mauritania, located in Africa, who provide this city with exotic food, music and, language. All these people have come together to truly materialize the American melting pot.

So ladies and gentleman as your good-will ambassador and your cultural liaison to Cincinnati's diverse culture today 2014, I am happy to announce that Cincinnati is the place to be. Good things are happening here and we all should be proud to call ourselves Cincinnatians.

Hengameh Nassef is an extremely active volunteer within our commnity serving organizations including Cincinnati Opera Guild, Cincinnati Symphony, Council of Human Relations of Cincinnati, Helwa Ya Baladi and a soup kitchen volunteer at the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati.