The culture of Texas is often considered one of the major cultures influencing the greater American culture. Texas is both one of the most populous and populated American states in its urban centers, and has seen tremendous waves of migration out of the American North and West in contrast to its eastern neighbors in the Deep South. But it retains the regionalisms and distinct cultural identities of Tejanos, Cajuns, Irish, African American, and Anglo American enclaves established prior to the republic era and admission to statehood.