Mexico

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Mexico: The Country of Many Visions

Mexico has many places to go and things to see. Among the most famous are Mexico City, the Mayan ruins, and the street markets. The visions I researched (and still am researching) are the visions of US to Mexico and how Mexico sees our visions of them. In my research, I found many academic writings that explain the way the US views Mexico's economic status and subjects on border issues:

Mexican people feel like they are losing their identity along the US border. There are many advertisements as well as news broadcasts and magazines have used "Spanish-ized" words to get accross the message of Mexico being an inferior country to the US.

"When we observe the modifications, alterations, or distortions in the Spanish language which result from the influence of English, we are observing not only the usage problems in Spanish but also their point of origin" (Gibson, Renteria 1985 p. 32)

Also, the subject of economy in Mexico is something that, clearly, is one one of dependance and lack of equilibrium.

"The asymmetry in degree oef development regions situated on one side of the border and the other is directly attributable ot the effects of the economic system of the world's most powerful capitalist nation on its neighbor to the south." (Gibson, Renteria 1985 p. 98)

The history of Mexico is what makes mexicans so proud of their ethnicity. The questions I am going to ask my native speaker are:

La historia de México mostra el país ahora: Las ciudades grandes y los barrios pobres. ¿Qué sabes sobre los dos y cómo están diferentes? (The history of Mexico shows the cities now: big, thriving cities and poor towns. What do you know about both of them and how are they different?) ¿Qué crees es EL simbólico de México? Y ¿Porqué esa y no una otra cosa? (What do you think is THE symbol of Mesico and why that symbol?) ¿Piensas que gente ahora había la imagen apropiada de México? (Do you think that the people in the US have the appropriate image of Mexico and why?)

The things I am trying to find out about Mexico are the views and societal generalizations of both the US to Mexico and visa versa. My native speaker was born in Portland, her first language is Spanish, and she's lived in Mexico for months at a time. The main language at home is Spanish and her parents don't speak English.