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Queen Victoria: Britain's Monarch
from 1837 to 1901
The origin of the term “Victorian” is found in England on the 19th century. It
is the name of an era of British history, The Victorian Era. The word “era” refers
to a long period of history and it usually takes its name from the reigning
monarch at the time the period belongs. Queen Victoria was the monarch
reigning England for more than half of the 19th century, which is the reason why
that period was named Victorian. The era was preceded by the Georgian period
and succeeded by the Edwardian period.
Queen Victoria’s reign was the longest in British history until now, and it was
a long period of peace and prosperity. She inherited the throne of Great Britain
at the age of eighteen from her uncle William IV. Her reign lasted 63 years, from
June 20th, 1837 until her death on January 22nd, 1901. Since it was a long reign,
the Victorian age compromised several periods.
The Victorian Era was characterized as a paradoxical age, and it was a
period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military changes. The
Victorians invented the modern idea of invention; that man can create solutions
to problems. They felt that they could improve society in the same way they
were improving technology. Rapid changes and developments in medicine,
sciences, and technology came with the Industrial Revolution.
Culturally there was a transition from the rationalism of the Georgian period
towards the romanticism of the Belle Époque. The Victorians attempted to
combine Romantic emphases, emotion, and imagination, with The Neoclassical
public role of art and the responsibility of the artist. This age saw the birth of
political movements like socialism, liberalism, and feminism. But more than
anything else what makes Victorians Victorian is their sense of social
responsibility, their regard for religion and sexual restraint.
The Victorian Era was a time of unprecedented demographic increase in
England. The population almost doubled form 16 million in 1851 to 30 million in
1901. The main reason was the positive impact on living standards of the
Industrial Revolution. At the same time, about 15 million emigrants left the
United Kingdom in the Victoria Era and settled in the United States, Canada
and Australia.
American Victorianism was a branch of the lifestyle that was being lived
in Europe which reflected the heavy British cultural influence on the nation
during the time. The Victorian Era in America was a time of massive
immigration. The wealthy people were not yet sure what it was to be an
American, and they showed their uncertainty by borrowing from European
culture. Immigrants from Europe fled the poverty and politics of their homelands
for the New World.
The American West, an enormous territory, attracted settlers from all
over the world. People from Europe, Asia and the east coast of North America
came to this new land which was full of opportunities. Laws, such as the
Homestead Acts, helped Europeans and their descendants take lands used by
Native Americans.
San Francisco’s Victorian Era started in 1848 with the announcement
that gold had been discovered. The Gold Rush was the cause of one history’s
greatest boomtown. The population increased from 500 residents in 1847 to
100.000 in 1865. Since most people and supplies arrived by sea, San
Francisco’s action was the waterfront. The harbor was the root system for the
developing of urban land. The modern city of San Francisco raised from the
coast line overlooking the bay.
A Victorian home near Alamo Square,
San Francisco
The city started being built as ramshackle architecture. Wooden shanties,
lean-tos and canvas tents were the first houses of the new population.
Abandoned ships were recycled for building. Gradually people started to settle
into this new city as permanent residence. Solid frame buildings, copies of
architecture back east, were erected. The Victorian Houses started being built.
Many of them are still standing, and you can see them across the city.
The Victorian style was the main architectural style at the time the city of
San Francisco started becoming in the great city it is nowadays.
Sometimes I wonder if my life is over. Other times, I wonder if I am just an illusion. Well I think that all these questions are just some forgotten memories. I hate to remember, but I can’t stop all those ghosts of my past bothering my mind every night. One of them is an unusual night like tonight when the moon leaves the land in a complete darkness. I am in a horrible prison. Nobody here understands me, although we share the same destiny. They only ignore me without talking to me, even though in their faces a deep fearful expression can be seen, and that drives me crazy. Today, I will finish with this eternal punishment with a final cut. Yes, I’m going to commit suicide. But, before I do that, I would like to talk about of my suffering.
I was born on a rainy day. Maybe you are wondering how I know that. Well, let me tell you. My father often mentioned that terrible storm of the winter of 1970. Since my birth, they had thought my life was going to be short. It would be different from my older brother’s life. He was always expected to be the best. I understood their love for him. His qualities were above mine. He was a big, strong, and a handsome boy. During his life, the whole neighborhood talked about his nice personality, without mentioning his years in school. He always got the best grades in all subjects, and his athletic skills helped him to become the most popular boy in the school. I remember the cheerleaders always flirted with him when he played and won a game. You needed just to listen for ten minutes, to be mesmerized by his words. Everybody loved him except me, me, his own brother!
We shared blood, family and life, but I never could stand living under his shadow. I hated him from the bottom of my heart. While we were growing, many times I wished he would disappear, or be kidnapped, taken away from our life, but his luck was always with him.
It was in December, when I expected the best gift a child can wish for, a bicycle.
I was counting the days to get that bicycle that never came. Instead, my brother got one. My hate increased more and more until I reached the point where I planned to break his bicycle. First, I cut the brake wires, waiting for him to suffer a little accident. After that, I hid behind a tree and just waited for the moment when I saw him. He was riding the bicycle and crossing the street. Suddenly a car came fast. He tried to stop, but the brakes didn’t respond. The car hurt him so badly that he died due to the accident, despite the fact that he was attended quickly by the paramedics. Everybody cried his about his death; my parents and relatives were very sad. Nobody took notice of my joy. My brother never did anything against me even though I never missed him. Since that day I grew up alone without anybody ruining my life. But it was no use. My parents never forgot him and always talked about him if he were alive. Over the years, I muddled along being the second son to whom nobody paid attention. Because of that, I decided to leave my home and study in a foreign country so far from my past, so far from my brother.
It was my 28th birthday when I decided to major in industrial engineering, and finally my parents gave me the attention that I had always wished for. I graduated from a good university with honors and then I got a high paying job working in the city and county of San Francisco in a prestigious design firm. Therefore, I thankfully was able to erase my brother from my world. But, one day in the office the phone rang. Normally my secretary answers the calls but unfortunately She was on her break. Well, I picked up the phone, and I said “Hello” waiting for a voice. But I heard in the most creepy voice, I’ve ever heard, “Hello, brother.”
Brother! Oh my God! I couldn’t believe my ears. Immediately I felt a terrible chill traveling in my body as soon as I hung up. I harbored so many questions that I could hardly breathe. I felt that my heart was jumping out of my chest. In that moment, my secretary came in the office and was scared to see me in such a panic state. She asked me how I felt and what had happened during her absence, but I couldn’t answer anything. My voice was broken. I was determined to keep silent for fear that somebody else would know my forgotten childhood years or worse. They would think I had gone mad. So I decided to delete the thought from my head and continue to enjoy life. However, the next day when I collected my mail, I found a strange envelope without a stamp or a return address. It simply said “To my brother from his older brother”. I was again dominated by the feeling of terror, and without realizing it, I crumpled up the envelope, then I took the car keys and I headed to the office. I opened the doors in a bad mood without greeting anyone. I sat at the desk and I turned on the computer ready to go to work, and that’s when hundreds of unread messages appeared that said, “ Hello, brother.” At first I thought it was some small joke by a colleague, and because of that, I started yelling at everyone. Because of my nerves running rampant, my boss sent me home for one month and suggested visiting a psychologist. But I refused. I didn’t have any intention of anyone knowing that I had killed my own brother, I couldn’t allow that. My brother is dead, and the dead never return. I thought this was a prankster’s trick. But I can’t believe that anyone could have seen me sabotaging bike cables that day. Moreover, I hadn’t said anything concerning the crime I had committed. The more my head kept spinning, the less I could find any logic to the strange messages which unfortunately didn’t stop coming. They appeared in letters, text messages and emails. In short, all my communication devices were with messages from him. It was so difficult to endure this nightmare that I started missing work for fear of seeing more notes from that ghost of my childhood.
I got fired and my bad luck continued. The bank froze my accounts, due to the fact that I had overdrawn all my credit cards. After that, I lost my house and ended up begging in the streets. Even so, the messages kept coming. Strange children passed to my left leaving messages, then disappearing without explanation. One of these many notes made me shiver to the bone. It was a warning that told me to get ready for a visit because we had accounts to settle. The warning note indicated precisely the date of his death anniversary: December 25th.
In my childhood, I had always looked forward to Christmas, but instead of joy, I was dying of fear. So I stole some fruit for the purpose of getting arrested and thereby avoiding the awful encounter with the ghost.
No one else was in the cell. The cops on duty regarded my presence as unimportant and ignored me. Despite my loneliness, however, I felt safe behind the thick bars. But the chiming clock warned that the twenty-fifth day of month 12 was approaching when my brother would soon appear. A sudden cold began to invade the premises. The light bulb began to flash unleashing a huge fear in me. I closed my eyes and I collapsed into a corner. Then, I heard a few steps approaching at a slow pace and the unmistakable voice of my brother echoed in the halls of the prison house. I had hardly opened my eyes to see what was happening around of me when I found the ghostly figure of my brother with me in my cell. So I looked up to view his face and that was when I ran into the worst nightmare I ever imagined. His eyes were intensely colored dark, protruding from the pale skin of his face. But what shocked me most was his mouth which was sewn with a wire that I instantly recognized. It was the same blue wire that I had intentionally cut in order to hurt my brother and which then ultimately led to his death. I wanted his forgiveness and to explain that it wasn’t my intention to kill him. but it was impossible. Each time I tried to speak a word, I only offered strained whistles and gurgles. My tongue was made of knots. My brother said nothing either, just looked at me and cracked a wicked smile as if thrilled to see me petrified. I didn’t know what to do or where to go because my muscles didn’t respond to any commands, and in my helpless situation. I resigned myself to pay for my sins or rather die once and for all. However, he placed his head on mine and for a moment the fear was gone. It was then I felt his hand. It had a small knife and with cruel violence he began to cut me leaving serious wounds on my arms and face. I blacked out and didn’t remember how long this hard ruthless punishment had lasted. I woke to find myself in Saint Luke’s Emergency Ward.
While I was still in critical condition, the police interrogated me about the bloody incident looking for a logical response, because no police recalled seeing anything unusual. They just found a knife and an envelope addressed to me. And when I related with details that my brother had returned from beyond to torture me, that explanation only served to convince them to send me to a mental hospital. There was no witness to attest to the validity of my version. So, it ends here, living with the community of the forgotten. According to the letter that I’m writing now, tonight will be the last visit. Tonight he is destined to take me. and it's one minute before his arrival. I have only this knife to defend myself, I know I must lose this final bloody battle. Therefore, I’ve decided to take away my own life before he comes through those doors. At this moment there is the first sound of twelve strokes, and again the lights begin to fail. Oh my God, my brother is here, help me God, please help someone there, nooo....
One hour later, his corpse was found and covered with wounds from all sides. A coroner doesn’t take much thought about it and stuffed the corpse into a black bag. Then the ambulance took him to the morgue.
Currently a nurse gives him the record of decease and reads quickly. She discovered that the patient suffered from schizophrenia caused by childhood trauma after the loss of his older brother whom as an adult, he claimed to see and hear, even receive messages of all kinds. She explained that his mental breakdown over time developed into depression and paranoia which led to a suicide attempt. She wrote in her report about this death that the evidence is a letter with a strange written message in his own blood that says “Goodbye everyone, I’m happy that my older brother is now by my side. Greetings from hell,” your forgotten brother.
The perspective in the nurse’s analysis did not adequately explain the contents of this last manuscript. The writing was inconsistent with the disastrous death of the patient. However, the coroner acted as a professional and only noted the strange phenomenon in his book.
No more doubt remained to disturb his reasoning intelligence. He ruled that it was just another case of suicide.
COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. One Christmas, the narrator was disappointed because _________________________ .
2. The narrator went to jail because he _____________________________ .
3. The narrator's parents expected ____________________________ .
4. The narrator's brother died in a bike accident because _____________________
5. Schizophrenia is ________________________________________ .
6. After the narrator's death, the police _______________________________ .
7. When the brother's ghost visited the narrator in prison, his mouth was _____________________
8. As a child, the narrator was extremely _____________________________ .
9. The Narrator was fired from his job because ______________________ .
10. The narrator was a successful engineer until ___________________________ .
“Everything you can imagine is real”
Pablo Picasso.
Thinking about what is important to me, I noticed that I want to transmit to other people something that changed my life completely: the secret of thinking positive.
When I was eighteen years old, a book and a movie came to me that changed my life completely: "The Secret". This book was written by Rhonda Byrne. There is a movie of the book. The book is a compilation of different experiences from people who believe in the power of the mind and how people can attract the things they want, based on their thoughts and the idea that the universe makes a response in favor of people. When I watched the movie for the first time, I did not believe in what they were saying. After that I read the book, and I understood so many things about the movie, and I started to practice The Secret.
I always think that a positive attitude can change a lot of things. Examples of people who dreamed to have a better world are: Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein, Lao Tse, and Monsieur Romero. I believe that these people knew something that made them different from others and that difference is the famous secret: they had the courage to defend their thoughts and what they wanted by focusing on their goals with positivism. The experiences, knowledge, and the possibility to help other people based on those things make us stronger in this life.
Something that I learned from that book is that you have to create your own space of dreams. There is an exercise to create a mural with the things and goals that you aspire to get. If you want to finish a career, you have to cut something from the newspaper or magazine that represents that, and paste it on your mural. Also, if you want to get married, have children or even if you are planning a travel you should put these dreams in that space. With this exercise you are attracting every particle of the universe and you are focusing on what is going to happen in the future. For example, I created a check with an amount of money for my future, and I got a job that is helping me to save money for my present and my future.
The best gift that God could give us is to dream and the opportunity to be better day after day. I consider myself as a huge-realistic dreamer and the person who transmitted this to me is my mother: “Never give up” and “always be focused on what you want”, are two of many lessons that my mother told me before I came to the U.S. these lessons always echo in my mind and cause me to make progress.
I would like other people to get into their minds that if you are holding God’s hands, everything is possible. Our minds are powerful, and they are built to change our environment by attracting the positive things that we want.
The decision to be a different person is in your hands. Think positive. Just try it and you will realize the difference between the life you had before and the life that you really want to live.
Normally you will see from twelve to fourteen people playing musical instruments. The truth is, out of the group, only two or one are the main voices. Guitar, trumpet, viola, violins, and sometimes flutes and harps are added. All these instruments together are what make people stand up from their seats and go to the dance floor and start dancing. Sometimes they could be a little bit noisy. The louder they are, the more happiness and joy they bring to the people.
My Childhood
I remember when I was a 5 year old child, I took a trip. This trip was a vacation and a special event. The trip was by car, and also by train. When I remember my grandparents, Magdalena and Jose, I always feel happy,
We lived in Mexico City, but they had some property in the state of Morelos. It took about three hours to get there from Mexico City because the road wasn’t very good. We could also get there by train, and I remember when taking this form transportation, it was very interesting and amusing. I loved looking out of the window of the train and seeing many squares different green fields, and far away, small trees, the rivers, and mountains. I remember how the train moved with the same sound and the rhythm of the wheels.
But the most beautiful view we passed were the volcanoes: “IZTACCIHUATL and POPOCATEPETL”. My grandmother told me the legend about these mountains. Our ancestors told the story that one of the volcanoes was a beautiful princess, and the other was her lover, The Warrior.
Iztaccihautl's father sent Popocatepetl to Oaxaca to do battle. The father promised his daughter's hand in marriage if the warrior returned. But probably, he thought, his daughter's lover would die in battle. So, the father lied to the daughter and told her Popocatepetl had already died in battle. Istaccihuatl died of grief. When Popocatepetl returned and saw that his love was dead, he stabbed himself with a dagger. The gods changed them both into beautiful snow capped volcanoes.
Actually this view was beautiful. I wanted to continue looking at the mountains, but soon, as the train continued on, the beautiful mountains grew smaller and smaller. I have great memories of my childhood.
Also by Esperanza Villanueva, read "Our Curandera (Healer)"
A "Progreso Financiero" booth in a
grocery store in Houston, Texas
Hello Everybody!
I’m going to tell you about one day at my job. I would like to describe what kind of job I do. I work as a customer service representative at Financial Progress. Its central office is located in Menlo Park, California, but there are many branches throughout California such as San Francisco, Oakland, Hayward, San Jose, Sacramento, and Los Angeles. There are also offices in the state of Texas. We are a Latin-American Company. We make personal loans to Hispanic people, and we also help them to build credit. In general, we help them have a better quality of life in the United States.
Once the customer applies for the loan, we send all documents to the credit department at the central office where a credit analyst will study the application and make a timely decision. As a requirement, we ask for the following::
Valid Identification Card
Income Proof
Address Proof
References
When the process is completed, the Credit Department Official will contact the customer by phone. If the customer agrees with the amount approved, he/she will be given an appointment at the nearest branch for their convenience. Once the customer arrives at the office, my job begins. I explain further our products and services and, in general, begin our relationship with the client, hoping to continue this relationship into the future. It’s a very good opportunity for our expanding U.S. Hispanic population.
Check out Progreso Financiero here.
Also by Claudia Herrera, read "One Day With My Son"
I remember a beautiful, special lady. She was my aunt. Her name was Andrea. She was the healer (curandera ) in small community. She was a special Indigenous person. She had white skin and hair, and her eyes were blue. Her clothes were a typical costume of a small village in Mexico: a long “futa” or shawl in my country called a rebozo, and a, hat., She was always accompanied by a donkey.
She was the official healer of the small village. She was an expert midwife, chiropractor, and dispenser of remedies for infections.. She used the different plants and she made different combinations of herbs.
She was famous and never refused to go to different places and she received patients in her home on specific days of the week. When she was finished the treatment in her home, she made a sauna (temascal). This was a sort of igloo made of clay. It was divided in two parts, one had small branches and the other was like a chimney. In it there was a container of water and different kinds of plants.
Her clients always paid her with corn, cereal, eggs, or different kinds of animals. I have a good memory of my childhood at this time. It was about this village and how she diagnosed adult and child illness and how and how she cured everything.
Also by Esperanza Villanueva, read "Two Volcanoes"
I fractured my back and broke my left leg. It was terrible and painful too. I couldn’t move my body until the ambulance and paramedics arrived there and gave me first aid. They took me to the hospital. I had x-rays over my whole body. I had to wait for two days to get the results to see if the fracture in my back could get better.
After 2 days my back got better and better, so I didn’t get surgery there, but my leg unfortunately, was totally broken so I needed surgery. After that, It was so difficult to get better because for the first 3 months I couldn’t do anything. I mean, I couldn’t dress myself, I couldn’t take a shower, I couldn't even go to the restroom by myself.
But now it's really different because I can do many things. For example, I can come to school, go to the hospital, I can even do physical therapy, and the doctors say I‘ll be the same person as I was, all I need is time and patience. I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get better and go back to work.
I've been thinking about what kind of job I'm going to do because after this, I won’t work in the same job, definitely not. That’s why I'm coming to school and getting some skills. Well, at least I’m alive. I’m so thankful to God for giving me a second chance.
If you're thinking of doing this kind of job, I want to suggest that you think about this and think twice before applying for this job or trying to get some training, because believe me, we can make a very good money in this job, but money isn’t evething the life. Life is beautiful and we just have one, and if we have a nice family waiting for us at home or in our country like me, you don't want to throw it away in a dangerous job like that.
You know after 8 years living here in San Francisco California, I just want to get better and go back to my country and tell to my family how much I love them, because they are everything to me. I think all you guys know what I mean. The most important thing is your life, not making a lot of money in a dangerous job that could kill you. And by the way, I think the city should do a better job of regulating roofing companies that don't make safe working conditions for their workers.
Ever since I was child I was taught to work hard. My Dad owned a farm, and I was expected to know everything about hard labor. I have incorporated that knowledge of my childhood in my everyday life. On the other hand, I make good use of both my hard work and my time. In these last two years, I have joined the Mary Kay Company. I have been privileged to travel to Dallas, Texas, Ontario, Canada, and Atlanta, Georgia. These were nice vacations. Through Mary Kay I have won the use of a new car for my business, and also my monthly checks are fabulous. Last year I made $ 57,000.00. Wow! that was an impact for me and my kids' lives also.
I can't ask for more in life. I have a beautiful, supportive, and dedicated family that is there with me no matter what. I love my life. If you asked me a questions about what I could change about my past, I would say, well I love school, and in the past, the school was far from where I used to live, so it was impossible for me to be a full time student. That's why right now I am coming back to school to finish something that I did not complete in my past, and I really enjoy being relaxed and enjoying myself.
I thank God for my health and my second opportunity for education in my present life. I love my present class that I have with Mr. John Robinson. I’ve been learning a lot, about writing, especially when I enjoy reading and listening to articles from Voice of America and Edcon Publishing about all the most important people from U. S. A . It is incredible how individuals impact the life-style from any country.
I love also San Francisco. The weather is one of the best on the Country. The the architectural style. It is beautiful and elegant. The economy was terrible for the last past two years, but right now it is getting better and better. I hope better years are coming back. I am really happy now because my next trip that I will have will be on August 1 through 5th in Dallas, Texas. The Mary Kay company will reward again like every year.
The native peoples of Mexico resisted the war of extermination waged by the Spanish invaders who imposed their rule, their culture, religion, and stripped the native peoples of their land. Again and again the Indian rebellions were crushed and their complaints were ignored. However, in forests, mountains ,and deserts, they survive, preserve their culture, and continue to resist.
After 300 years of Spanish domination, a war of independence, and Juarez reform: The Revolution of 1910 changed the situation. However, the native peoples’ rights were not recognized in the Constitution, nor in 1824, nor in 1857, or 1917.
The indigenous peoples’ worldview, their relationship with the land and nature, their forms of community, collectively, their direct democracy and autonomy, have allowed them to hold out for more than 5 centuries.
In the 1980s, survivors of a politico military insurrectionary approach merged with agrarian fighters and the indigenous movement in the forest, giving birth on November 17, 1983 to the Zapatista Army of National Liberation.
The EZLN is not born as a "guerrilla" army, but as a people's army, closely linked to indigenous communities to defend them against the white guards of the farmers and the police-military aggression. Their government, the CCRI-CG, is composed of political leaders who truly represent the people they serve.
There is a book people would like to read in travel time, leisure time or bedtime, and bringing warmth to heart. I would like to say that is "All things Wise and Wonderful". The first time I read the title, I knew that’s the book I was looking for and I may love.
It was one of the series of books of stories about animals and their owners written by James Herriot , who was a creative and wonderful veterinarian , and a great pilot who served in the Royal Air Force, and also a famous writer in Britain. The favorite career must be being a veterinarian in country. Mr. Herriot had used his many years of experiences as veterinarian from a young age. He was welcomed and respected by people for his superb medical skills, good personality, and sense of humor.
The book tells stories about things that happened between Mr. Herriot and the animals and also their owners during the early 1900’s in Yorkshire town, North of England. People there were simple and worked hard to their career, even though it was just feeding couples of cows or pigs. They took care of their animals not only they were their livestock but people love them. Life here was simple and peaceful though the war was almost spread all over world. People in Yorkshire still enjoyed lush grass , green trees, blooming flowers, singing birds and blue sky, also the lovely animals. It seemed that war had never happened and life had never been so peaceful.
As a veterinarian in town, Mr. Herriot was a very busy person, every case of emergency of the animals may call in at any moment, a sheep was terrible sick or a cow got big problem giving a baby, though it was in midnight,Mr. Herriot had to get up soon and drove to the farm to see the animals. He aways tried his best to take care of the animals and treat them as human beings . Everytime seeing the animals getting well or a new life was coming to the beautiful world , Mr. Herriot was so glad and would to share things to his sweet wife , an important person who had giving a lot of supports and courages to his whole life. But sometimes things couldn’t work, the animal was too sick to get well, or died lacking needed medicine that was popular right now but hadn’t been invented in that time yet. It made Mr Herriot feel sad and like someone who failed, just like a close friend who was going away. But he had to go out of the sadness as he knew that more animals and the farmers still needed his help.
Mr Herriot was also a nice animal doctor . He understand how important the animals or vets to people in Yorkshire. Some of people were still poor and they couldn’t afford seeing a veterinarian for their animals. Mr. Herriot would see any animal whether their owner were rich or poor or having no money, The important thing for him is the animal getting well and having a healthy body that . He would like to see a happy face of the owner because he thought that it may mean much more to the owners than money can say.
The stories were interesting and fresh and warm . I can feel that how much and how deep Mr. Herriot love the things surrounding by him. I really love the book that I feel I have been there ever.I am planning to read all books of the series “ All things”. The other two are "All thinsg bright and beautiful",and "All Creatures great and small". The attitude to life of Mr.Herriot make me realize that life is what you want to be, just think about it “All things amazing and wonderful."
Tequila is the national drink of excellence, and even though it wasn’t known as a distilled product until the XVIII century, there was an important history of its intake among the prehispanic people who planted the agave, associating it to healing and religious properties.
Even though the fertile soil, climate and altitude of Mexico are proper for the production of different agave types, tequila is only obtained from the Agave Tequilana Weber variety. This plant requires extreme care, reaching its initial maturity stage at eight years of age, which can even be at twelve or sixteen years in the case of plants destined for the production of aged tequila.
This plant has special characteristics that gives it beauty and makes it endure, its blue or green color, is due to waxes for humidity conservation.
The preparation process is a whole ritual that requires experience and specialization. it’s important to know the plants for their maturity stage and to have the skill for precise cuts, which will strip the plant from its leaves and thoms, leaving only the heart, called pina. The agave heart is cut in half and cooked in stainless steel containers. this procedure is of great complexity and importance, submitted to an approximate pressure of 1.2 Kg/cm2 for many hours, up to eighteen hours before it’s taken out of the containers.
It’s shredded after cooking for obtaining the agave’s fiber. Its juice will be extracted later by directly injecting water at a high pressure for greater yield of the plant’s juice. This juice is conducted to vats adding yeast for accelerating the fermentation process, produced in a special room where it’s kept for approximately three days.
Once the agave’s sugars are fermented, they will be transformed into ethyl alcohol during the distillation process, obtaining a 55% alcohol volume in the first stage. This will be stored into the barrels that will ultimately define the type of tequila obtained; white, rested or aged. Also depending on this selection is if the obtained juice is or isn’t mixed with other sugars or colors. When the time programmed for the stored tequila is reached, it’s sent through a process of dissolution with distilled water, reducing the alcohol volume to 38%.
It’s important to mention there are hygiene norms determining the time tequila should rest barrels, the barrel’s wood and the alcohol volume each must contain, Labeling, packaging and consumer information is also regulated.
No other place in the world can produce tequila, because it can only be made from the plant produced in Mexico, Agave Tequilana Waber, that grows in the States of Jalisco, Nayarit, Michoacan, Guanajuato and Tamaulipas, with a process abiding by all the official regulations.
For all of this reasons, tequila is the national beverage, besides its production ritual, it represents festivity, friendship, earth and the field’s value, characterizing Mexican Culture.
Cora Coralina was a Brazilian. She was born in Goias Velho which is the ancient capital of Goias, Brazil. She was Writer and Poetess. She started to write her first texts when she was 14 years old. She was a believer in sweets more than writing. She thought that the sweet candied cashew, pumpkin, figs and oranges which charmed the neighbors and friends worked better than the poems written on sheets of notebook paper. She published her first book after her husband died. Cora continued to produce more books, becoming one of the most important Brazilian writers of her time. She wrote a lot of books and poems. Her house inspired some of the beautiful poems written by her. There is a small museum in the house to honor her.
This is one of her best Poems!
(Translated by Leonara Soares)
I do not know if life is short
I do not know
I do not know
If life is short or too long for us.
But I know nothing of what we make sense of,
If not touching people’s hearts.
Many times we simply are.
The lap that welcomes.
The arm which involves.
Words that comfort.
Silent respect.
Joy that is contagious
Tears flowing.
Look at what satisfies.
Love what it promotes.
Authoress - Cora Coralina
I made this poem when I was 13 years old.
Cora Coralina
Warrior woman
Woman on earth
Enchants with her poetry
Until the poet Drummond.
Today I want to tell you something that happened to me when I was living in Mexico many years ago. It was a normal day. That’s what I thought. It was Saturday morning and my family and I were planning a barbecue in the park. Suddenly, when all my cousins nephews and nieces were talking outside of my house, a big car came in our direction really fast. Everybody shouted. Nobody could see one another because there was a lot of dust.
When I tried to see and stand up , all my family were on the ground some with broken legs, arms , neck etc. and I tried to help buy my mind was in shock. I saw something far away. It was my nephew only five years old. His entire body was completely beaten. He died instantly. After this many volunteers helped us. The paramedics were there, and the police started look for the drunk driver but before they got him, he decided to kill himself by hanging.
People choose to drink and drive to have a good time. After they have drunk alcohol, their ability to make smart decisions is not the best. Drinking and driving is a crime that has consequences that affect both driver and others.Some drunks can’t live thinking that they’ve killed someone. All the problems and consequences. There is no excuse for making unintelligent decisions to drink alcohol and then get behind the wheel of a car.
When I was a child I was an athletic girl. I used to play some sports at school. I played soccer, softball, and volleyball. I won many competitions and I got some trophies and some medals. I remember those days when I didn’t have anything to be worried about, even though I came from a very poor family.
I didn’t know how much my father and my mother had to work for my sisters my brother and me. My grand parents took care of us while my mother was working. That’s why I called my grand parents "mother and father". My grandmother died when I was fifteen, and my grand father is still alive. My grand father is the most generous person I know. He likes to help his family as much as his friends. My family didn’t have enough money to buy us clothes, shoes, or toys. Instead we used to find old toys in the garbage, or we transformed things to pretend they were toys. But I remember I was the happiest girl in the world.
jocotes
In those days my country was safer than now. I used to play hide and seek with my friends at night or go to the forest and pick up fruits such as mangoes, jocotes(Spanish word), guavas, and other fruits. These days, however, my country El Salvador is dangerous and children can’t do the same things as before.
Now I’m here in the US and I see how children grow up. They spend too much time playing video games, on the internet, or listening to music. But children are not happy. Sometimes they say "I’m bored". Maybe that's because they don’t have the same feeling as if they were playing outside or in the park.
"Chico", my Guacamaya
My story is about the pets I used to have in Mexico. When I came to the USA, I left all my pets in Mexico because my grandparents don't like animals too much.
In Mexico, I have three dogs, three rabbits, one guacamaya, two parrots, one turtle, like ten hamsters, and eight parakeets. Now that I'm here I miss them so much. I was used to all their noises in the mornings; the dogs barking, the rabbits jumping all around, the guacamaya, and the parrots screaming because they wanted to eat, the hamsters with all those little noises when they were playing or sometimes fighting, and the parrakeets singing.
I miss my oldest dog the most. Her name is Mimi. She was always playing with me and following me all around. Also when I was sad, she was always there as though she knew I needed someone with me. Sometimes she started to lick me so she could make me laugh and be happy. That’s why she’s one of my pets I miss the most.
Another one is my rabbit, Konan. He was so funny because he acted like he was another dog. He was always following my mother because he wanted to eat. My mom gave him lettuce, carrots and celery. He always ate everything, but when my mom went upstairs to feed the dogs, Konan followed her and then she started to eat the dog's food. So because of that, now my mom gives him a little of the food of the dogs on another plate so the dogs don't bite him. And when you call him by his name he understands and comes to you the fastest he can because he thinks you are going to give him food.
At night my Mom puts all the rabbits in cages, because if she leaves the rabbits out, they would eat all her plants and she would get mad. And in the morning, my brothers let them out with the dogs and sometimes they start playing. Sometimes, the rabbits hide from the dogs and the dogs look for them. They look so funny when they play "Hide and Seek".
The guacamaya named “Chico” always tries to get my mothers attention. He starts to scream “mama” so my mother goes where he is and start talking with him. Also he is always mad with all of us. He always tries to bite us when we want to fed him, but when my mother goes he doesn’t do anything to her, he always moves over so my mother can get his plate.
Our teacher asked me if I could tell about the development in Europe in the last sixty years. What about the time after world war II, from 1945 until now? The question is: why is the European, especially the German economy better, than the American economy? To begin with, I have to say that I'm not an economist, but our family is very interested in politics and economics.
I want to start by talking about education. I think a quality education is a "treasure" for every nation. In Germany there are two branches of education. The first branch is for very smart students. They go 12 years to school. After the exam, the special name is "Abitur", these students usually enroll for a study at a university. A few years ago a uniform exam was introduced, the "Central-Abitur" for all students in entire Germany.
The second branch is for most of the students. They go 10 years to school, and they have to pass an exam as though for a high-school-diploma. After that school program, almost all young people in Germany get job training. It takes 2-3 years. The job training is specialized. It depends on the profession the students want to follow in the future. The pupils become qualified in companies, factories, restaurants, hospitals, etcetera, and in addition they get theoretical instruction in special schools for plumbers, electricians, or in special schools for nurses, etcetera. That is very important. It is like a school program. After 2 or 3 years the students have to pass an assessment test, and then it is possible for them to apply for a position in their field.
In fact almost all students learn a specialized profession. Now I try to explain the different economies in Europe as a whole. In Europe there is a single (internal) market, with a standardized system of law for example: no taxes between the European countries. Since we have established the uniform European currency, the import and export is much easier. Almost all European states are united to the "European Union". It is an economic and political union or confederation of 27 member states.
The EU (European Union) works though a system of special institutions and intern-governmental negotiated decisions by the member states. The foundation of EU was already created 1958 with 6 states. After world war II our country got a huge support from the USA through the "Marshall plan". In the present day in Germany the social partnership exists. That means employees and employer work together as co-managers or workers' participation. We work in a social market economy, that is balancing the interests between enterprise and employees. Our small and medium sized companies are very important. They are named the "Backbone of German economy". These companies get financial support from the government because it is harder for small concerns to exist than a huge company like "Volkswagen" or "Siemens" or "Bayer" (pharmaceutical c.).
The small and medium sized companies are family owned and they are especially closely related to their employees. These companies have a high flexibility. This means for example if there are not enough contracts or work the employees don't get laid off immediately. In that case, the working-hours will be reduced for less money. Germany organizes special programs for women. The small companies are very creative and innovative thus stimulating jobs. They have a lot of interesting ideas. In times of crises, these companies try to survive in this manner, which is explained above.
The EU produces a lot of high quality products. Our opinion is that with these products it is much better and easier to react to problems of the world (global) market than strictly financial companies can react. You can see it is a very complex, difficult, and interesting topic.
"Junk Food Aisle"
The way you live effects the way you eat. Sometimes when people change their lifestyle, they change their eating habits too. For many years, people don’t worry about themselves. They don’t pay attention to the fact that junk food is not healthy. Long time ago people from Greece used to say “healthy mind and a healthy body.”
This is expression has become a true reality in nowadays. For instance , our children are suffering in many ways. First, every time they eat candies, sodas and many kinds of chips, they are hurting their body. For a while they don’t like those things, but then they love them too much and they become addicted. Their addiction sometimes leads to serious illnes. For example, my daughter used to trick me. She does well in her studying and then orders me to reward her work. I asked her what she wanted. She responded by saying she wanted me to buy some candies for her. During past years, I always wondered what little details through time will affect my daughter. One night, she woke up with a lot pain. She was suffering. She felt something in her stomach that was bothering her. When I saw her face , she was panicked. “Please, Dad, would you take me to the hospital?” Right away I got dressed, and drove my car little faster than I used to . I took her to the emergency room then the doctor told me that she needs surgery right away. He said that she had a stone, something that required immediate attention. The injury in her stomach can affect the entire body and brain. I remembered when the nurse came with a bunches of paper work that I need to signed in order the hospital policy the doctor can do his duties. It was a risk. I never thought that my daughter’s life can be in dangerous situation only because I couldn’t advise her before and I felt guilty about that.
Another example, bad habits can take a life away. My uncle Luis who died 3 years ago also, he paid the price. I used to eat any kind of food out. I used to go with him to some different restaurants. He bought food outside on the street. He rarely ate at home. He didn’t like to do exercises. He liked to watch to TV a lot. He didn’t smoke but he loved to eat. He never visited a doctor, but one day he started to feel pain By the time that happened he couldn’ t get up from bed. Finally, a doctor checked on him and told us that my uncle had a cancer, and he had only few days to live. The news impacted our life forever. It was terrible, I still remember my uncle face before he died.
In conclusion, it is good to eat good vegetables and different kind of minerals and proteins for our body. We should practice exercise like yoga, run in the park or just go to the gym. We should have a balanced diet. We need to be careful about what we give to our children. The education and habits must start in our home. We should get information from magazines, internet, libraries, or any other resources. If we practice good habits we may live longer and be healthy.
Today, I want to tell you about my life as a Travel Agent. When I was in high school I wanted to travel around the world. So, I started to study Airlines and Travel Agencies Administration.
After I finished the practice hours, I began to work in the most important travel Agency in Colombia called Aviatur. It has more than two hundred agencies within Colombia.
At the beginning was a little difficult because I was studying and working at the same time. But, after two years I had more experience, and my work was more relaxing. The first job I had to do was to help one hundred people who were traveling to Jamaica for a Sales Convention. It was very hard because I had to resolve every problem with the logistics of the event. Then, I got my American visa and went to Miami for a hotels inspection. Little by little, I got to know Europe, the Caribbean Islands, as well as many countries in South America and North America.
Every time I took vacation, I choose a different place for research. I’ve enjoyed their cultures and gastronomy. The most beautiful place that I’ve known is Greece. It is really fascinating. I think it’s the best place for honeymoon, but, I went for work.
Finally, three years ago, an important airline invited me to Mexico for “Fiestas Patrias “ and there I met my husband. We started to chat and speak every day. Two months later he came to Colombia to visit me. Then I went to Sacramento to visit him, and after two years, he moved to San Francisco for his job, and we decided to get married. I am really happy. I think San Francisco is the best city in the United States. Now I hope to learn English quickly because I’ve realized it is very important to know English well for life and work in the United States.
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The city started being built as ramshackle architecture. Wooden shanties,
