Willamette World News

By Guadalupe Torres Equality and equity are two concepts that are commonly heard of in the United States. In many occasions these can be topics that are difficult and/or uncomfortable to discuss for some people, but nevertheless they are important to speak about. I grew up learning that equality meant treating everyone the same – […]

By Guadalupe Torres As a Chicana, I have grown up in a Mexican culture environment, ranging from but not limited to parties, food, events, and music. I have also seen how the Mexican culture has been influencing the US culture from language, food, music, literature, amongst others. And it is not only the Mexican culture […]

By Kassandra Saltos When I first decided to come to United States to be part of an exchange program, I did not think that I would have much culture shock since I believed I was well aware of American culture. When I started school here I was honestly really nervous about making friends, living with […]

By Guadalupe Torres As a Chicana I practice the Mexican culture but I have also been exposed to the United States’ culture and have encountered several differences that have been a shock to me. These differences have been difficult to grasp because it can be said that I am living in two different worlds.

By Guadalupe Torres My name is Guadalupe Torres, I was born in California and I also recently graduated from Willamette University with two majors: Spanish and Latin American Studies. Even though I was born in the United States I am proud to say that my first language is Spanish and my cultural background is Mexican.

By Kassandra Saltos As the article, “One year ago, 43 Mexican students were killed. Still, there are no answers for their families,” points out, it has already been a year since 43 innocent students disappeared and neither the parents nor the entire concerned society has received any certain news about what happened to them. It has been kept […]

As in most societies, much depends on the family’s socioeconomic status to categorize a family’s life. It will need to be mentioned that daily life has historically been dictated by the father. This is a patriarchal society we speak about.

Octavio Paz, Nobel Prize of literature, 1992, states in his book The Labyrinth of Solitude, that the Mexican discharges his soul during fiestas. In the United States, at our Fourth of July parades, spectators outnumber the participants. While, in México, there are no spectators. All people participate in the thousands of celebrations that take place […]

As a dual citizen of both countries, my perspective is unique. Agriculture provided jobs for my parents to immigrate to the United States. The bracero program of the early 1940’s permitted one of the entry ways for men to work in this nation. The word stems from the word brazo, which means arm. Mexican men […]

Saludos, I was born in El Sauce, Michoacán, México. This is a small ranch five kilometers north of Cotija. The readers of this short piece may be aware that the country of Mexico is composed of 31 states and one federal entity, known as El Distrito Federal (Federal District) also known as la Ciudad de […]

A flash of a Oaxacan Market: On the main square of a historic downtown there are two well known traditional markets in Oaxaca City: Benito Juárez and 20 de Noviembre. ¨Benito Juárez¨is located two blocks southwest of the Zócalo which is the main square in downtown that was built in 1893.

Hola a todos! Yo soy Rebeca. I am Rebeca Lavariega, I am one of the Spanish assistants here at Willamette University this year. I am from Mexico and I was born in Oaxaca city.The name of Oaxaca comes from the Nahuatl word Huaxyacac. It’s roots are Huaxin (kind of an acacia) and Yacalt (which means […]

After five months of protest in the city of Oaxaca, the Federal Goverment decided to send the federal police to bring back order and peace to the city. The protesters showed resistance and decided to face the police no matter what the consequences would had been.

Despite of all the social and politicial problems that Oaxaca is facing nowadays, the traditions are still being preserved and people are getting ready to celebrate one of the most important traditions in the year “El Dia de los Muertos” (the day of the Dead). Even though the Dia de Muertos celebration takes place during […]

Hi everybody, My name is Mariana and I am from a beautiful city called Oaxaca, it is situated southwest in Mexico. I came to Willamette University to be the Spanish language assistant for the school year 2006-2007, so if you are studying Spanish it is for sure we are going to meet, if not it […]

Mexican Congress weighs allowing compatriots in U.S. to vote This article is about a new bill that the Mexican government tries to set. It is a bill that gives Mexican immigrants that live in the United States the right to vote in the presidential elections of Mexico in 2006. It would probably cause several problems […]

Hi everybody, My name is Mariana Vasquez and I am from Oaxaca, Mexico. I am new on campus and I will be here just for this term. However this is such a great experience and I am sure it will be unforgettable. I would like to share some information about my country with you. Oaxaca […]

Blast in Nuevo Progreso kills six, injures over a dozen. A gas explosion in the border town of Nuevo Progreso levelled a two-story cement building containing a restaurant and clothing stores located about two blocks from the international bridge over the Rio Grande that connects Mexico and the United States. The explosion was accidental, caused […]

Mexico welcomes the exemption of fingerprinting and photographs for quick border crossings Mexicans who cross the Mexico-USA border with a valid visa and nearby destination will no longer be fingerprinted, a practice that is being called a “good-faith gesture toward (…) Mexicans.” With millions of visa-holding mexicans crossing the border each day for work and […]

Mexican legislators propose law to prevent possible presidential bid by first lady The wife of high-profile president Vicente Fox, the first to break Mexico’s decade-long single party monopoly, has grown steadily in the public eye through a direct media campaign. Denying accusations of misappropriation of funds through her “Vamos Mexico” charity organization, she may soon […]

‘Made in China’ strikes fear in Mexico Millions of street vendors live in apalling poverty, depending on inexpensive chinese imports to fuel their trade. After restricting importation from china, these people are finding it extremely hard to make a living in what were already extenuating conditions. ‘Black waters’ measure crisis in Mexico City A city […]