Southern California Vs. El Salvador

“Taco USA: How Mexican Food Became More American Than Apple Pie” was written in 2012 by Gustavo Arellano, a prolific food author for the Orange County newspaper OC Weekly. This article originally appeared as an online publication in Reason Magazine. Arellano has written books about Mexican food and its role in the American experience. His writings explain how this genre of cuisine has evolved and transformed as it has spread geographically throughout the United States. Growing up in Orange County California with two Hispanic parents, Arellano experienced firsthand the transformation of traditional Mexican dishes into the tex-mex that most American families are familiar with today. The online news site, Reason Magazine, originally published this article to accommodate to an audience of readers who want to be informed but also entertained by the news. These readers care about what is happening in society but are not considered scholars on the topics presented. Although the readers of Reason Magazine might not have any formal knowledge about food and its role in culture, all of them have experienced the importance of a meal in their everyday lives. The author uses the experience and background of his audience to show them the importance and prevalence of Mexican food in the American culture. In “Taco USA” Arellano uses personal stories, ethnic language, and historical information to show his

To begin with, food is perhaps the first difference that people notice between these countries. For example, Americans eat turkey and mash potato for Thanksgiving dinner while Colombians eat “ajiaco” as a typical dish. Cheeseburger is a traditional lunch for Americans. However, a traditional lunch in Colombia is called “bandeja paisa”. Americans love hot dogs, nothing complements a baseball game better than a hot dogs. In contrast, Colombian enjoys their games with “arepas” which is a mix of flour and cheese. In addition, neither American nor Colombian has a better food than the other; they are simply different.

Over the course of history, the United States has a reputation of getting involved with other nations to sort out disputes, arguments, conflicts, wars, etc. One specific example of U.S. Military Involvement is the 1980 El Salvador Civil War. The El Salvador Civil War was a civil war that lasted from 1980 to about 1992. The war slowly arose due to little uprisings in society, promises to improve economy and lifestyles that were never fulfilled, and the push of communism beliefs onto the people who didn’t believe in them. The U.S. Military would not get involved unless their is a violation of human rights, or if mankind is being put into harm's way. The U.S. involved themselves in the Civil War of El Salvador because they had enough evidence and support for specific claims, had the appropriate authority, and fought for an outcome that suited the needs of humanity.

El Salvador has one of the strictest and most archaic anti-abortion laws in the world with a total ban on abortion, even in in cases of rape or incest, if the mother’s life is in danger, or if the fetus is not viable outside the uterus. Since 1998, the adopted legislation has increasingly made it more dangerous for women to seek medical attention when in reference to their reproductive health. These laws allow prosecutors to convert many abortion charges to aggravated homicide, which carries a sentence of 30-50 years.

I’ve always thought of myself as a person who has a interesting background and childhood. My childhood would consist of fails, near death experiences, and anything crazy or out of the ordinary from other people’s childhoods. Most of my days would consist of going to school, seeing something amazing or crazy, go home, and do homework. Occasionally, I would go to the park where i would explore new places or just walk around and try to make new friends. Most of the time, I would just explore my surroundings and enjoy nature as much as I can. Whenever I would go to El Salvador, I would walk around in big forest and enjoy how fresh the air is. The air over in the countryside is pure and makes you feel at peace due how low the co2 levels are in

Another obstacle is the food. I miss my mom’s cook, she always cooked me my favorite food; eggs, beans, chicken, whatever she cooked I love her too much. Here I found many differences between the food of the United States and the El Salvador’s, I think it is by the culture of American people who are used to eat that kind of food. The first time to eat here I just ate one thing during a whole week: Pizza. Maybe I was afraid of the food because I knew it tasted different and some other factors such as I was really hungry. I tried to overcome this obstacle imagining that the food is made by my mom and I guess I will taste very delicious the food. The results were a little better but it is still an obstacle because I don’t feel too much delicious

It is now obvious that countries in Central America have been plagued by civil war, economic crisis, election fraud to finally transition into a political system granting the population the freedom to elect their leaders. El Salvador is no different than Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras. One might notice that such issues arise due to political unrest in the region (Central America), thus creating a pattern of social, political and economic instability.

My dad was born in the small Central American nation of El Salvador, more specifically in Anamoros located on the east side of the country. He lived in the countryside so he often played with their animals, spent most of his childhood swimming in the rivers or playing soccer with his friends, and would frequently hang out with his grandparents in the afternoons. In 1980, when he was about 12 years old that all began to change, he and all those around him needed to be more cautious about their surroundings.

There are plenty of good things to be said about El Salvador, the Latin American country that sits in the heart of Central America, surrounded by volcanic mountains, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and a Pacific coast of startlingly beautiful beaches and rustic fishing villages.

Food is a major part of any cultures identity. The foods that are eaten in Southern California have the influence of the Mexican, Asian, and eastern Americans, as well as other groups. These three groups of people make the cuisine of Southen California much more diverse than many others. The Mexican influence on the food is probably the one thing that seperates this region from many others. With a population of Hispanics being so large it only

Here in California, there are several Mexican supermarkets that offer almost all of the basic and essential products in making or preparing the dishes common for this culture. This is an advantage for Mexicans that reside here in California. The interviewees also mentioned that in other states, Mexican food products are scarce making it difficult for some of them to prepare the meals that they are used to eating.

Latin America and Texas (North America) have many similarities along with differences in religion, traditional holidays, sports, food, and lots more.

Having the ability to speak both English and Spanish is a great advantage to anyone living in or visiting these states. Along with the language, this embraced diversity brings forth great cuisine. Along the span of either state you will find restaurants that offer cuisine geared towards the Hispanic culture. Variations of the cuisine have also been developed such as TexMex, which is an Americanized version of Mexican food and is popular both in California and Florida.

The history of El Salvador begins with the time period in which indigenous peoples resided in the country. According to Roy Poland, in Culture and Customs of El Salvador, El Salvador was conquered by the Spanish in 1524; the spanish found the country was divided into three states (13). The spaniards hegemonic influence finally converted El Salvador into a Spanish colony after twenty six years of indigenous resistance(Poland 14). Such conquest brought violence, diseases, and poverty to the indigenous people. The invasion of El Salvador by the Spanish also resulted in mestizaje, racial mixing. The colonial period lasted until 1821(Poland 14). El Salvador finally became independent from Spain in 1821 and joined the United Provinces of Central America in 1823; however, in 1840 El Salvador gained full independence (Eileen Garron Batres 6), One of the most important crops in El Salvador during the 1800’s and 1900’s was coffee; during the 1900’s El Salvador was the third largest coffee producer internationally (Susan B. Hecht).

Located on the Pacific Coastline, El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, and the most populated. The United States of America foreign policy on El Salvador is best explained by President Obama’s approach on Latin America where the United States is focused on economic growth and equality, energy and climate control, and regional and citizen security (Foreign Policy, 2012). This is best explained using the international level of analysis and neo-liberalism where the global structure and economic interdependence provides the foundation of America’s foreign policy. To ensure that one can see the transparency in United States methodology I will provide the history of El Salvador, the creation of United States interest in El