My Crest, My City: Houston

One jacket, 28 crests, endless stories. Over the course of the MLS season, we will be shipping a custom jacket to creators across North America to highlight the diverse and vibrant soccer cultures of various destinations in MLS with the help of Participation Trophy Studio. 

As the grassroots soccer community in the U.S. continues to grow coast-to-coast, we are seeing the emergence of exciting creative talent searching for opportunities to break into the world of soccer. This project allows us to showcase emerging creatives through shoots with an exclusive “MLS” themed coach’s jacket. The 1/1 jacket, created by Participation Trophy Studio, is a classic black coach’s jacket decorated with patches from every MLS club. The jacket will travel from city to city and be worn by local models in kits from each respective city.

For our fifth installment, we caught up with Houston-based photographer Diana Hernandez to talk about the inspiration behind her project in her city.

Having been born and raised in Houston, what was your experience like with soccer in the city?

Growing up, I didn’t really follow MLS or the Dynamo, to be honest. My stepdad was the one that incorporated soccer into my life, and for my family and me here in Houston, the weekends were just for soccer. We would do a lot of pickup on the weekends at Alief Community Park, which had just a bunch of fields next to each other. The other day, I walked by and saw that they were tearing it down, which made me really sad since I grew up playing there. 

When did you start following MLS, and how did you get into covering the Dynamo?

The first game I ever covered was actually last year’s home opener against LA Galaxy. I’d never really shot soccer at that level before, and I really liked the experience, especially getting to see Chicharito. That meant a lot since I grew up following Liga MX and Mexican soccer in general. 

What stood out the most to you from covering Dynamo games down in Houston?

It was interesting just because the style of play in MLS is different, but it was really fun. I respected it a lot more by getting to watch it in person. I also really enjoyed learning about the players and learning how many players here have a lot of support from the community. I had never been to a game before, so it was just amazing to see the fan base in the city I grew up in. 

What’s been your favorite memory from those games?

I really enjoyed getting to know the other photographers at the stadium. Just other photographers from the city, and even ones that have been doing this for a long time. Getting to hear their perspective on how things have changed was a good learning experience, and they also taught me a few tricks for how to best shoot soccer games at BBVA Stadium. There was also an older photographer that was shooting film at the games -- just because that’s how she used to do it when she started -- and we bonded over that because I also like to shoot film.

Speaking of film, I saw you did get some shots on film for your My Crest, My City project, and they came out really well. What was it like shooting on film?

Shooting on film just takes me back to the days when digital cameras weren’t a thing -- my childhood, basically. And I played soccer a lot growing up, so it made sense. I also did the shots on film at the supermarkets or spots I used to go to as a young girl, so there were many personal connections to it. But I also wanted to capture the feeling that this city has a lot of history.

Can you speak a little bit about the inspiration behind your project?

If you ask someone what they think about Houston, a lot of them mention space city, NASA, or downtown buildings. And it's a big city, and it's also one of the most diverse cities. I grew up in the Alief District and was surrounded by all types of cultures. So I wanted to move away from shooting this downtown or going with a “space city” kind of theme. I wanted to show that we have other stuff in Houston besides that. 

What location did you choose for your shoot?

In the end, I chose Chinatown because I grew up around that area, and it has a very large Hispanic population. And I grew up going there all the time, eating Asian food, or playing soccer right down the street from Chinatown. I wanted to move away from some of the jersey shoots that I’ve even seen the Dynamo do. I wanted to show that there’s more to Houston than just the downtown buildings and that there is soccer everywhere else in the city too. 

Recently, you’ve had the chance to do a lot of interviews with players from Houston or with players who are currently playing in the city. What do you think sets soccer in Houston apart?

First of all, the commitment from the fans is unreal. The Dynamo haven’t had much success recently, but seeing the people show up regardless of the outcome has been incredible. And I think that just shows the sense of unity in the city. It’s really cool when you turn around, and you don’t just see one color. There’s a lot of diversity, but there’s always unity. I think the stands at every game capture that sense of community in Houston perfectly -- that sense of all of us coming together despite the differences we might all have. It’s something I like about soccer in general, but I think that’s something that stands out here.

Going off of what you mentioned, what do you hope people from outside Houston will take from your project?

I hope they see that Houston's not just downtown buildings. I just hope they see that there's more to Houston than the buildings or being “space city.” I also hope they see the diversity in it too. I just hope they see that different side to what is usually shown because we’re more than that.

So we’ve talked about the Dynamo, the fans, and the city. What do you think of the crest?

I’m gonna be honest, I don't really like the new logo. And I think the reason why I don't like the new logo is that I feel like there's no history behind it. I loved the previous logo, even though maybe it wasn't the prettiest thing on this planet. It had history, and it was recognizable. 

But I guess rebrands are always hard to get used to. I get what they were trying to do with it, but I still don't like it. Even if I don't like the rebrand, it's still my city, and it’s the team I'm going to support. And it’s great because I’ve covered some of the Dynamo youth teams, and it’s cool that they adopted the new crest so quickly, and all the kids are embracing it so well. It’s really cool because you can tell they take pride in it. Maybe we just need to give this new crest time to build its own history.

Make sure to check out Diana’s work, and keep an eye out for the next edition of My Crest, My City coming next month.

Photography by Diana Hernandez.

Model: Ann Wang.

Jacket: Participation Trophy Studio.