To divide them, the commissioner kept tradition in mind.
Overseas Vietnamese, meanwhile, kept tradition alive with "Miss Ao Dai" pageants (Hoa Hậu Áo Dài), the most notable one held annually in Long Beach, California.
For others, eating well is a way to keep traditions alive.
"When you are few, there is a responsibility to keep traditions," Ms. Langus said.
When the Taliban cracked down on music within Afghanistan, he decided to keep traditions alive abroad.
"I know there's a lot of people who think that jazz is a community thing, and it keeps traditions going, and I understand that completely," he said.
The night we arrive, over a moreish "pudding" of potatoes and sour cream, Violeta, an English teacher, tells me this is their way of helping keep traditions alive.
Its main aim is to help keep traditions in this uniquely musical city alive through education and development in the local community.
Even in the liberalized West, the pull of gender-specific names can be strong for governments wishing to keep traditions alive.
Indigenous tourism can be an incentive to keep traditions alive, but is too much tourism detrimental?
It's an important distinction, and a way for Native American artists to keep traditions alive and vibrant, with plenty of room for creative expression.
