CULTURAL SEARCH!

Host community Lawton, Ok.

Home community Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico

Daniel Sabori Herrera

Lawton, Ok. November 28, 2009

Cultural Search
Hi..! I am Daniel Sabori from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico and know I am having a good time living at Lawton OK with my host family but attending high school at Cache high school.

Me with my thinking face at my room while doing this search xD

This cultural search gives a comparison of my home community and my host community.

Topic 1: Political Structure

Barack Obama (president of the U.S) and Felipe Calderon (president of Mexico).

1) My community in the political structure is conformed by a president in the city, a governor in the state and a president of the country. Election for the governor and the city president in my community just passed, and I voted. The people elected was Javier Gandara for city president he is from the PAN party, for governor the person elected was Guillermo Padres also from PAN, this is the first time that a governor in my state Sonora is from this party. There is many parties involved but there is only tree that are the most popular and with most

power this are the PAN, PRI and PRD. The president of Mexico is now Felipe Calderon elected 3 years ago.

Guillermo Padres (left) and Javier Gandara (right) at Hermosillo.

In Lawton Oklahoma the political leaders are chosen by voting and there is two strong political parties, the republican and the democratic.

2) The opinions in my community are very good for the city president he was elected with a very good difference, but for the governor are very divided some people thinks he Is good ,but some others think he is not good.

Barack Obama president of the Unites States.

The opinion in Lawton for political leaders are very divided if you ask a republican he would talk good about his party and if you ask a democratic he would do the same. Topic 2: economic structure and industry. 1) the most important industry in my community is from Ford that haves thousands of people working for them, we also have CEMEX that is company that produces cement and other construction materials, other things produced here are agricultural products such as watermelons, squash and more products, this are the most important economical activities.

Ford in Hermosillo

The military base (Fort Sill) and Goodyear are some of the most important things for Lawton economy. Lawton Fort Sill offers a skilled work force of over 320,000 people from seven contiguous counties. The relocation of the Air Defense Artillery School to Fort Sill will reshape the Lawton Fort Sill regional economy in 2009 and 2010. Lawton Fort Sill will be among the strongest regions of the state. According to the Lawton Metropolitan Area Economic Outlook presented in February 2009 by Dr. Mark Snead with the Oklahoma State University Center for Applied Economic Research, the projected job growth is 1.3% in 2009 (550 new jobs) and 7.1% in

2010 (4,000 new jobs).

More than 4,700 new new jobs are expected in the region through 2010. These growth rates will far outpace both the state and the nation.

Goodyear zeppelin in Lawton (old picture that I found in internet)

2) Most of the products that are produced by this industries are shipped to other countries such as the United States, other are send to other states and some products are send to other continents. Products that are made in Lawton most of the time are distributed in all the United States and to other countries too. Fruits produced here some times are sell in local markets.

Topic 3: Geography & land use 1) Hermosillo the capital of Sonora State. It is on the Ro Sonora in northwestern Mexico, east of the Gulf of California, Hermosillo is a hot place many times considered as a desert. But his hot climate is perfect to grow crops in this area. There is also a beach 73 miles west from the city. Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the principal city of the Lawton, Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. Founded in 1901, Lawton lies in southwestern Oklahoma, near the Wichita Mountains. Lawton is the cultural and commercial center of the area. Lawton is home to large granite deposits as well as cotton fields. Fort Sill and Medicine Park are nearby. The population was 92,757 at the 2000 census. Lawton is the headquarters of the Comanche Nation.

Buffalo

2) The land in Hermosillo is used for farming and ranching, farming is a very common activity here many people is involved on it, many type

of crops are grown in this land such as watermelon, orange, pecan, cucumber, garlic and many more. Ranching is also a big activity in Hermosillo many cows are used for the milk or meat industry, this meat and milk is consumed in the community and is always fresh.

My dad on a farm

Lawton Oklahoma is a big producer of cotton all the city is surrounded with cotton fields and also cattle. Many people in Lawton and in the surrounding towns have cattle ranches that make the meat industry to be good in Lawton Oklahoma.

Cotton field

Topic 4: Folklore and History 1) In Hermosillo we have many fairs that u can go to like: MARCH Verbena de Catedral (Cathedrals Annual Fair). A big fair where local and foreigners enjoy a typical Mexican fair, that includes great Sonoran and Mexican cuisine, mechanical games for kids, beer, pony rides, etc. held in the month of March or April, depending of dates. APRIL Yaqui tribe Holy week Celebrations. Held on the Coloso neighbor in Hermosillo with cultural and traditional rituals and ceremonies. Contemporary Dance Festival in Hermosillo. An annual Dance presentation with different regional dancers. MAY Sonora Cattle Expo Fair and Festivities. This is the biggest fair in the state of Sonora that lasts for two weeks and offers cattle exposition, concerts with national and International groups and singers, commercial stands, rustler fights, restaurants, dancing places with regional live music, etc. JULY Grape Harvest Festivities. A week of different activities is held on this traditional festival that starts with a great parade and the coronation of the queen. SEPTEMBER 16 Sep. Independence Day. Public holiday celebrated throughout Mexico with grand parades. In Hermosillo a fair is held with popular food, games, parades and the official Grito (yell) of Viva Mexico.

OCTOBER Expo Canaco Fair. Commercial exposition and fair where services and products are offered thru commercial booths, plus and a big fair is offered for fun and entertainment of the whole family, including concerts and restaurant services. International Corvina Fishing Tournament. Held at Playa Santa Rosa, Kino Bay. Corvina is called Sea Trout Weakfish in the United States, and participants from USA and Mexico compete on this already famous tournament. NOVEMBER Day of the dead Celebration. Altar exposition for the dead with offerings and school contests. DECEMBER Virgin of Guadalupe Festival. Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe, patron of Mexico. Hermosillo has processions and festivities to commemorate this day. 16-24 Dec. Las Posadas. Each night the faithful re-enact Joseph and Mary's search for posada (shelter) on their journey to Belen. For the less devout, it's an excuse for a party. Many hotels and restaurants hold their own posada festivities.

Cattle expo fair poster.

Lawton festivals:

Comanche Nation Fair - Sept. 27-30 International Festival - Sept. 28-30, Arts for All Festival - May 11-13,

I assisted to the Comanche Nation Fair and to the International Festival both of them were very funny activities, tou can do to many things in there. In the Comanche fair you can watch some Native American dance, or eat an Indian taco.

In the international festival you can eat food from all over the world, you can eat Japanese food walk ten feet and be eating some Italian food.

Comanche Nation Fair

2) In Hermosillo one of the most important national historical figures is Jesus Garcia. He was a Mexican railroad engineer who was killed trying to keep a train loaded with dynamite from exploding near Nacozari de Garca, Sonora, in 1907. As el hroe de Nacozari he is revered as a national hero and many streets, plazas, and schools across Mexico are named for him. In Lawton a historical figure is Indian Geronimo who is buried in fort sill. Geronimo was a Apache Indian warrior who followed Mangas Colorado and Cochise with raiding parties. During the Apache Indian wars, Geronimo became a leader of the Chiricahua Apache Indians.

Geronimos Grave.

Topic 5: Religion 1) Hermosillo haves many religion but the prominent one is the catholic, Hermosillo haves a lot of temples, but the most important one is la Catedral this one I located in the center of Hermosillo, in Sundays many people goes there and when they come out of the temple they stay outside to eat something or buy some handmade things.

Catedral in the back.

Religion in Lawton 56.65% of the people in Lawton, OK are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion. 4.40% are Catholic; 45.13% are Protestant; 1.02% are LDS; 5.93% are another Christian faith; 0.00% in Lawton, OK are Jewish; 0.08% are an eastern faith; 0.09% affilitates with Islam. 2) In Hermosillo religion plays a role in most families, most of the people assist to church in Sundays. Almost all the churches have a teenagers group were teenagers can play and meat some new people. Some churches also make activities like fairs. Activities as baptism are also common to practice for every family.

Baptism.

Religion also plays a role in Lawton Oklahoma, most of the people that I know here assist to church on Sundays, and is way different from my community, but is a good place to meet new people and make friends, because most of the teenagers assist.

Teenagers at church in Lawton.

Topic 6: social relations. 1) Marriage is common thing in Hermosillo before forming a family, but there is a lot of types of families in Hermosillo, not all of them are married couples, as time passes u can see more families that are not married or single parents, but marriage is still very important for most of the population. Usually people in Hermosillo marry by their own religion and by the civil. When both ceremonies finish the couple offers a big party and invite all the people they know, most of this parties are really big. The dressing is the same as in the United States.

Marriage is very important in Oklahoma too, but is very common to see divorced families and single parents, also there is too much pregnant teenagers that sometimes get married very young. The marriage ceremony is a party with family members and close friends. 2) Social status is determined by the income, most of the people in Hermosillo is medium class, but people do not treat you different if you are from a lower or higher class. People hang out with people from all the classes without problems. Social status is also determined by the income in Lawton, but almost all the people lives in good conditions, like in my community people not treat you different for having different social status.

Topic 7: Major Concerns 1) In Hermosillo the major concern is water, The State of Sonora is hot and scorching. it receives trivial amounts of rainfall. A blame battle has erupted about the water usage. Consumption is out of control and the city claims agriculture is the bane. Farmers feel the unsurpassed and growing numbers of city slickers are to blame. Regardless, all water comes from pumped groundwater. The depths to reach the water table are staggering. The City of Hermosillo is in the process of constructing nearly two dozen wells to pump water up from depths of 100 to 150 meters. The water table keeps dropping and the life span of these wells are uncertain. Not enough knowledge exists about the aquifer. To pick a side, farming is actually the big consumer and effectively causes more strain. 90% of the water usage

in the state is attributed to incredibly inefficient flood irrigation techniques. People is working on this problem Solutions have been found that will reduce water use in agriculture but this is not enough, many people thinks that ocean water with a desalination plant is the solution but other many disagree.

Hermosillo dam =(

The major concerns in Lawton about national issues are about healthcare and the rising price of oil and the derivates from it. Some people are worried about the health insurances problems and others about how rising in oil affects their economy. Many news about healthcare can be seen in television that gives an idea how worried people are.

2) The major concern in my community in international issues are about the swine flu and how is supposed to be back this winter, people all over the city is getting vaccines to be prepared against it. The major concern for Lawton in international issues is the war with irak and Afghanistan, this concern too much people near here

because of fort sill many people who live in Lawton are soldiers ore work in the army.

Fort sill soldier.

Topic 8: Education. 1) Education in Hermosillo is good we have many good schools; people have the option to choose from public and private schools. The number of subjects in high school is like from 9 to 12 per semester. The students wear uniforms to the school and they cannot go out of campus until the end of all the classes. Students have the same classmates during all the classes and they get to choose the area they want to study so the subjects can be assigned.

Education is good in Lawton Oklahoma, students have too many choices so they can be in classes they like, no uniforms are needed and different classmates each hour.

Kristen and me at FACS class.

2) Schools in Hermosillo have their own sport teams, you can practice baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc. some schools also have cheerleaders. Also the schools have clubs such as science club, math club, etc. Most of the time these activities are performed after school. In schools in Lawton there is too many things you can do, you can practice almost every sport, and the level is very good because there is too much competition between all the schools, many other activities

such as cheerleading are available in almost all the schools. You can also find many clubs to be in.

Tori and me at a basketball game.

Topic 9: Culture and Food 1) Hermosillo haves famous people such as Yahir and Yuridia they are both sing, they are well known in all the country, both of them appeared in a tv show named La Academia but in different seasons this show is such as American idol, they are also known in other countries.

Yuridia and Yahir famous artist from Hermosillo.

Lawton also haves famous people such as Scott Momaday born February 27, 1934 in Lawton, Oklahoma, United States, is a Native American (Kiowa) writer. He is the son of the writer Natachee Scott Momaday and the painter Al Momaday. His novel House Made of Dawn led to the breakthrough of Native American literature into the mainstream. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969. He was also featured in the Ken Burns and Stephen Ives' documentary, The West, for his masterful retelling of Kiowa history and legend.Momaday is also featured in another PBS documentary concerning the Battle of the Little Bighorn.He laughed and said of his grandfather,who fought in the battle:"My grandfather used to say Custer looked whiter than ever!" 2) Food in Hermosillo is something you have to try because everything is really good. Eating a hot dog is way different than in Hermosillo

because they have many ingredients. this hotdogs are very famous, they are Cart-served bacon-wrapped dogs with available garnishes including beans, guacamole, fried onion, salsa, and chillies. These are considered one of the most Gourmet foods in the world, as stated by Gourmet Magazine., tacos de carne asada is something popular around this place. Carne asada is Grilled beef which is the most typical food in the city. Tacos are typically around 70 cents, and are pretty good. Some of the best carne asada and tacos (caramelos) can be found on the thousands of taco stands you will find on almost any street in Hermosillo , and the big burro percheron that is a big burrito.

Tortilla sobaquera burros percherones are prepared in this type of tortilla (is very big)

In Lawton and all the towns near it you can find someone who can makes native American food, such as fried bread or Indian taco, this food is common in this area. Also fast food is very common in Lawton. Indian fry bread is the foundation of a popular dish called Indian Tacos. Originally known as Navajo Tacos, they have been adopted by other tribes.

Indian tacos are the universal modern powwow food (see below). They are also popular attractions at many fairs, festivals, and outdoor summer shows held in the southwest. People will line up to wait their turn to buy some freshly made tacos. Indian tacos are a combination of beans or ground beef, chopped lettuce, sliced tomato, shredded Cheddar cheese, and optional green chile atop plate-sized rounds of crispy Navajo or Indian fry bread. No plates or silverware are need, as you just fill the fry bread with your desired filling, roll it up, and eat.

Indian taco.

Topic 10: Recreation

1) Hermosillo haves all types of recreation places and for all ages, adults (18 older) can go to bars, clubs or to restaurants that have mariachis depending on what they like. Young people can go to the movies, to the water park, concerts that come to the city and sometimes clubs make parties for teenagers but without drinks. Also everybody can go to have some fun watching the local teams playing baseball or soccer.

Cinemark at the back.

In Lawton the City's community recreation centers provide leisure and recreational programming for everyone. Full-time centers specialty sites and youth centers provide athletics, arts and crafts and special opportunities for all ages. Most are equipped with pool, ping pong and air hockey tables and a variety of board games. All the centers have gyms for sports and/or meeting rooms for club meetings, leisure classes, birthday parties and other neighborhood activities. Please

stop by your community center today and find out how you and your family can become involved. The city of Lawton has three centers for seniors age 55 and older. These centers provide programs, activities, recreation, transportation, field trips and special events. All seniors in the Lawton Community are invited to call or visit the centers and to participate in any of the programs. A newsletter is available each month. If you would like a copy of this free newsletter, please call one of the centers. There are over 80 parks in the city of Lawton. Some of the parks have special activities and attractions. You can even adopt a park.

2) Hermosillo haves a good baseball team some of the players like Erubiel Durazo and Vinicio Castilla have played for teams Major league baseball, the team name is Naranjeros de Hermosillo. They play with teams from al the north west of Mexico. Soccer is something new in Hermosillo and a new team named Gladiadores is now playing in Hermosillo attracting people to this game.

Naranjeros de Hermosillo (baseball team)

The most famous sport in Lawton Oklahoma Is football there is no big team in the city of Lawton but people follow OU or OSU both teams are from college football. Also highschool teams are followed for most of the people.

OU stadium