Cultural Space Photo Essay - My Hometown, Temecula

Both of my grandparents on each side would transport back and forth from Mexico to the United States to work. These low wage jobs in the agricultural fields supported families of 8 to 9, but unfortunately wore my grandparents out by the cruel sun and stiff job conditions. Eventually deciding to move to the United States, my grandparents brought their families and settled in Woodburn. At age 14, both of my parents came to the little town of Woodburn in Oregon and would attend Woodburn High. Speaking no english and coming into a completely altered society, they were overwhelmed by the significant changes.

The relocation to California from Indiana created immense change within our family structure. We lived in the camper for a several months at a KOA campground in San Jose. My father was unable to find work and found himself making ends meet by working the graveyard shift as a janitor at a hospital in downtown San Jose. He was much too intelligent for this type of work. My mother started work as a clerk at the KOA campground where we were living. Soon after arriving to San Jose, my parents enrolled us in the local public school system which seemed odd at the time because we were so accustomed to the rigid catholic regimen.

California?s Indians are popularly viewed as static remnants of ancient Stone-Age peoples. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Before and after the advent of whites in their lands, native cultures constantly changed and adapted to shifting social and ecological conditions. (Rice, 31)

I was born and raised in the small but growing city of Perris, CA. This isn’t the best city out there but it tends to grow on you, and you begin to truly love it for what it is. The people, however, not so much. The community can vary from which part of the city you’re in. That’s because there’s diversity here in Perris. I’m a product of this diversity, being half Mexican and half African American. My parents fell in love after high school and later on began a family. I am the youngest of five. I have two older brothers, an older sister, and an older cousin who lives with us. The order is boy, girl, boy, boy, girl with my cousin being included in there too. We all live in the same house with my parents and are quite close with each other. They all seem to have raised me growing up due to the fact that my parents were busy trying to provide for us. This was a challenge by itself, resulting in lots of house moving and my father being unemployed for six years after losing his job. I never complained about moving because I knew that my parents were doing their absolute best and were working with all that they had and then some. This unquestionably made me adaptable to new environments and gave me a

My parents and I emigrated from Mexico when I was very young. I was born in Zapotlanejo, Jalisco, Mexico. There my father, my mother and I lived in a shaggy one bedroom brick shack that lacked all the common utilities we take for granted here. There was no electricity nor was there plumbing inside the house. During the night time we had to light up oil lamps only when absolutely necessary and everything that required water usage was done outside. When my parents discovered my mother was expecting another child they finally decide that was not the life they wanted for their children. They left behind

Driving down Arizona Boulevard, I was going to my house. Passing through all the main businesses and stores, something came to my mind. It was memories, memories of my 17 years here in Coolidge. You see, I have always pictured myself leaving and moving as soon as I graduated and turned 18. Leaving my small comfort zone to go live in a big city somewhere. For a period of time, I honestly didn’t even want to say where I was from because I didn’t want it to define me. As I kept on driving, thinking about this, I realized I was actually being really closed minded. It was on that day, driving through all of my familiarities, where I changed my mindset. It was when I, in fact, left Coolidge, that I started to appreciate what it’s done for me and how it shaped me into whom I grew up to be.

April 13, 2010 was the day that my life had completely changed. My dad came home from a long day at work and had some excited news, at least that’s what he said. I remember when my dad walked into the house and told my mom the news first, I will never forget the look on her face. My siblings and I knew the news could not possibly be good by my mom 's expression. My dad told my brothers and I that we are moving to California because he had received a promotion. We had lived in Georgia for seven years of my life. I was so familiar with the land and every Sunday my family and I would go to the mall. We would eat ice cream, go shopping and later watch a movie. We lived in a gated community and they were like my second family. I was very distraught when my father had told me the “good” news. I had to leave my friends, family, and all of my memories in Georgia.

The word “mesa” originally comes from the Spanish and Latin words for “table,” and the city of Mesa is certainly that; a rich table spread of variety, spice, and life. As the third largest city in the state of Arizona, Mesa offers some of the finest amenities available to the Valley, being a thriving major city while still retaining that small town or suburban atmosphere.

Being born in Jackson, TN life was different for me than those that grew up in the integrated societies in California or the yanks up north. My momma was always having me help around the house and cook, clean, and tend after my five younger siblings. My daddy ran a small farm that provided for our family. It wasn’t a lavish life by any means but we got by and had each other. Our family mainly grew corn on our farm but we had a couple of cows and chickens to keep the family fed throughout the year. Being the oldest child and a girl I mostly focused on helping momma around the house when I was at home, but my parents instilled a great faith in all of us children

I came from a wonderful and big family, I have seven brothers and sisters. Everyone helps each other whenever we need help, like if I go to College they will support me. I live in a great city called Salinas, CA. Salinas is a great place to live because the big cities are nearby, like San Jose, San Francisco, etc. The weather is awesome in the summer it does not get too hot and during the winter it gets around the 30’s. Also the beaches are near like Monterey or Santa Cruz. Salinas have a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, in that way we could have a healthy life. Some people might think that Salinas is a gang city where many shootings happen, but it depends in the neighborhood where you live. I went to a great school which is Everett Alvarez

I was just a small town girl living in Grants, New Mexico. There is a saying that if you blink you will miss it driving down the highway. I was born and raised in Milan; it was just a little portion of Grants. My entire mom’s side of the family lived close by us and my dad’s side of the family was in Espanola, except for my grandma Yolie my dad’s mom. I grew up knowing almost everyone in that small town. The challenge in living in Grants was there were no available jobs. My parents had to drive back and forth to and from Albuquerque. As I was in kindergarten through second grade I would stay at my auntie’s house early in the morning or with my grandma while both my parents were in Albuquerque. Family was everything to me or at least what I

Looking back at it, moving from the Rockwall/Rowlett area to little Caddo Mills was a major culture shock (even if it was only a 30 minute drive). My 5-year-old, carefree self had no idea though. My first day of Kindergarten, in August of 2003, is the day I met the people who are like family now. I didn’t realize it then, or even in middle school with all the dumb drama, but my peers are some of the most amazing people I

Temecula is a large city of 106,780 people. That is a lot bigger than what I am use to, Ste.Genevieve, Missouri there is only 4,405 people. That is not a lot compared to Temecula California. This city has been around since 1859.

It all began in the 1850’s, with my great-great-great grandmother Molly. She was a run away slave from Arkansas, who fled to Marshall, Texas. My family started a life in Longview, Texas and owned land and a farm. Their Land was passed down generations and my great- grandmother Carrietta Bowens in herniated it, which is where my 87 year old grandmother, Ruby Griffin was born and raised. But in 1937, when my grandmother was 8 years old, her great uncle was chased by the Ku Klux Klan and was able to make it to Blythe, California, where a white man helped him get into military and that is how we migrated to California. In 1931, my great-grandmother and grandmother moved to Blythe, California, looking for better housing and education system for

My parents did not come to San Diego with a lot of money, they only had ten million dong when they came, which to me sounded like a lot but my mom laughed and told me it was a thousand dollars in the U.S. For my parents, this meant they would go homeless in two months if one of them did not find any sort of work. For the first month, it was very difficult for them to find a job because they did not know how to find one. My mother would tell me how my father was a very strong man and yet no one would hire him because he would not know what to say during the interview. My mother would tell me how there were many nights she would fall asleep crying because she would think back to Vietnam when she was with her family and friends, where she did not feel limited or restricted by anything but money, and how now that she was here in San Diego, it was not only money but also her opportunity to socialize and communicate with many of the people around her. Even with my father by her side, she felt helpless and excluded from the community, like she no longer had a voice. Fortunately, near the end of the first month, one of the Vietnamese neighbors actually noticed my parents and greeted them. This man had a family and welcomed my parents greatly. He even helped my father find a job and get access to government services such as rent assistance, Medi-Cal and Food Stamps. Many immigrants share the same experiences my parents