Cultura Inglesa

Integrantes del Equipo

Nombre Matricula

1619883 BULNES TORRES CARLOS CESAR

1652417 PAEZ GOMEZ ERICK DANIEL

1527657 PEÑA RIVERA JOEL

1741371 RODRIGUEZ VAZQUEZ JORDAN ALBERTO

1604523 ROUDONIS REYES EMILIO EDUARDO

Hora clase: Martes M4-M6

Salón: 6-305
BRITISH CULTURE. SOMETHING WORTH DISCOVERING

U1. THE UNITED KINGDOM: GENERAL FACTS AND ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

Activity 1. What do you know about the United Kingdom?

a) Think about the information that you already know about The United Kingdom. Mention general
facts, beliefs, traditions, or any other idea that you have heard about these countries.

Holidays: Remembrance Day; Saint Swithin’s Day; April Fool’s Day, May Day; Boxing Day

Foods: Chesee Cake; Apple pay; Roast Beef, Tea, Fish & Chips; Haggis; Strawberries and cream

Inventors: Federick Lanchester; David Edward Hughes; Jonh Harrison; Rick Dickinson; Isaac Newton

b) Work with a partner and discuss together in English general ideas that you both know about The
United Kingdom.

c) Individually, fill in the spaces in the brain storming with the information that you and your partner
discussed.

Foods: Chesee Cake; Apple

pay; Roast Beef, Tea, Fish &
Inventors: Federick
Chips; Haggis; Strawberries
Lanchester; David Edward Holidays: Remembrance
and cream
Hughes; Jonh Harrison; Rick Day; Saint Swithin’s Day;
Dickinson; Isaac Newton April Fool’s Day, May Day;
Boxing Day

The United
Pay drinks for rounds:
another British tradition is Kingdom On July 10, 1973 Bahamas
to pay drinks for rounds becomes independent
from the United Kingdom

On 13 March 1996 in
On February 19, 1819 the Scotland (United Kingdom)
British explorer William the Dunblane Massacre
Smith discovers the South takes place.
Shetland Islands.
d) Now write a short report in English about the ideas that you put in the brain storming. Follow a
sequence in order to inform someone about the United Kingdom.

Within the customs and traditions of the United

Kingdom, there are some very rare from the point of
view of our culture, the meals are somewhat simple
compared to our country, also have a custom similar
to ours, which is pay per round the drinks in a bar
Particularly, the society of the United Kingdom has its
own customs, meals among other things, something
not very different from ours.

Writing about Ancient Civilizations in United Kingdom

Civilización Época Influencia Religión Transición Personajes

representativos
Celts Year 500 They introduced Christianity From Central - Boudica
the iron plow to Europe - William
Great Britain. Wallace
- Megara

Romans Year 2000 They founded Christianity From Rome -Augusto

large towns in -Julio Cesar
Great Britain. -Constantino
(Invasion by -Escipion
conquest) Africano

VIkings Centure XIII- They introduced Polytheists Scandinavian - Ragnar

XI large bars with a and countries Lodbrok
length of 15 Christians from east to - Gandalf
meters. west Alfgeirsson

Anglosaxons 410 A.c The rebellion Polytheists Northeast of - Alfredo el

and europe Grande.
Christians
UNIT 2 DAYLY LIFE IN UNITED KINGDOM

Landmarks Location Description

It is the most famous
megalithic structure in the
Sallysbury, Wiltshire
Stonehenge world, but the truth is that we
know little about who raised it
and the function it fulfilled
It is the official residence of the
Queen in London.2 It is also
Buckingham palace Londres, UK
used for official ceremonies,
state visits and sightseeing.
Palace of Westminster, Is the legislative body of the
The Parlament Greater London, United United Kingdom and its
Kingdom overseas territories. The
sovereign is at his head.
The Tower is a complex of
It is located on the north bank several buildings located within
London Tower
of the River Thames in central two concentric rings of
London, England defensive walls and a moat
Is an old defensive
construction of the island of
Adriaan wall Scotland
Britannia, built between 122-
132 by order of the Roman
emperor Hadrian
It was built in 1858 and it has a
height of 106 meters. It is one
of the most characteristic
Big Ben Palace of Westminster,
buildings in London and has 4
London
clocks, one for each side of the
tower.
Saint Paul occupies a special
place in the national identity of
San Pablo's cathedral
St. Paul's Churchyard England3 and it has held very
important events in British
history
Its origin was a medieval castle
begun to lift in the eleventh
Windsor, Berkshire century, after the Norman
Windsor Castle
conquest of England by
William I the Conqueror.
It is a large building that is the
second largest Gothic
cathedral in northern Europe,
York, England
after Cologne. It is the
York Cathedral
cathedral of the Diocese of
York and the seat of its
archbishopric
Also known as the Millennium
Wheel, it is a 135m ferris wheel
London Eye Londres, Reino Unido located on the western edge of
the Jubilee Gardens, on the
South Bank of the Thames,
 Typical Food Ingredients
Fish & Chips Fish and chips
Made up of one or two grilled
eggs with bacon, mushrooms,
English Breakfast sausages, tomato, toasted
bread, sometimes beans
(beans) and black pudding.
It is the most precious fish in
Dover sole England that is served filleted
It is made with a liquid mass
made with flour, eggs, water or
Yorkshire Pudding milk, which is baked (at a
temperature of 230 ° C) in a
mold.
It is a tender beef cut that is
baked. It is usually served with
Roast Beef
vegetables and potatoes (fried,
roasted or mashed),
Made with pieces of roast lamb
mixed with onions, herbs and
Haggis
spices, all stored inside a bag
made of plastic
It is a genus of marine bivalve
mollusks, which include the
Berberechos y Buccinos
common cockle C. edule and
live in tidal intermittence zones.
Strawberries and cream Strawberries and cream
It consists of stuffed
Cornish Pasties empanaditas with meat,
potatoes and vegetables
Sweet apples are baked with a
shredded layer of flour, sugar
Apple crumble
and butter
Description
Traditional of the port of Whitby
in Yorkshire.
It's a typical English breakfast
It has a soft and very soft
flavor.
It is one of the typical foods of
the United Kingdom, but
especially in its city of origin.
It is one of the typical foods of
the United Kingdom, specially
chosen for Sunday lunch,
practically a national symbol.
It is the most popular Scottish
tradition dish. This is a very
tasty and seasoned dish.
For sale in small kiosks outside
the pubs, they are tasty and
very cheap in relation to other
seafood.
Both strawberries and
raspberries, each in its season,
are preferred for outdoor
gatherings.
Dish from the city of Cornwall.
Locally, it is the traditional
lunch of the workers.
It is usually served as a hot
dessert accompanied by
custard, cream, ice cream or
compotes of different fruits.
 Holidays Date Description
It is one of the holidays in the
United Kingdom and the rest of
New Year’s Eve 1 de enero the most common countries.

These holidays directly stores

do not open and the frequency
Holy Friday Between the end of March and
of public transport is
the first of April
considerably reduced.

Moves if it falls on weekends

Early May Bank Holiday 7 de mayo
It is celebrated in May,
Spring Bank Holiday specifically the last Monday of
the month
It is celebrated on the last
Monday of August throughout
Summer Bank Holiday
Great Britain except in
Scotland, which do it first.
Christmas Day 25 de diciembre
St. Stephen o Boxing Day 26 de diciembre
the following Monday. It's when
Labor Day is celebrated, just
like in Spain.
This day a great colorful party
is organized, and there is also
an event in Trafalgar Square.
People usually do it calmly,
some people go to the beach to
take advantage of it
What is commemorated in
these holidays in the United
Kingdom is the end of the
summer holidays for both
workers and students.
The shops this day are closed,
logically, and there is no public
transport either. It is an ideal
day to get to know London on
foot, as long as you are well
dressed.
During the date, donations and
gifts to the poor are promoted.

It is usual to dress in green and

even dye with this color beer in
Saint Patrick's day 17 de marzo honor of Ireland, also
nicknamed the "Isla
Esmeralda".
It is a Catholic tradition
because before the Church did
not allow to eat eggs Easter
2 de abril week (Easter). The eggs that
Easter monday
were not eaten that week were
kept and decorated, and given
to the children as a gift.
 Activity 17. Summarizing the kind of government

Re-read the information above then fill in the next map about government system in the United
Kingdom.

Reina + % Esp
Isabel II
Consejo
real
- % Temp
Primer ministro
Theresa May

Cámara de Cámara de
los comunes los lords

Templares Espirituales
-Abolengo -Clérigo Anglicano

Universities in English world countries

Fill the information about this prestigious universities, and add another University in UK, and 2 of USA

Oxford Cambridge Harvard UCL Stanford Princeton

Location Oxford, Inglaterra, Cambridge, Cambridge, Londres, Palo Alto, Princeton, New
Reino Unido Inglaterra, Massachusetts Inglaterra, California, Jersey,
Reino Unido Estados Unidos Reino Unido Estados Unidos Estados Unidos
Year of 1096 1209 1636 1826 1890 1746
foundation

Founder Henry II Académicos Corte General de Henry Leland Stanford y John

huyendo de Massachusetts Brougham Jane Stanford Witherspoon
Oxford
Motto The lord is my From here, light Veritas Let all come The wind of Under God's
light and sacred who by merit freedom blows Power She
draughts deserve the Flourishes
most reward
Famous Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Barack Obama, Alexander Christian Michelle Obama,
graduated Bill Clinton y Ian McKellen y Mark Zuckerberg Graham Bell y McCaffrey, Reese Wentworth Earl
Students Emma Watson. Stephen y Natalie Portman Christopher Witherspoon y Miller III y
Hawking Nolan. Jennifer Connelly Thomas
Woodrow Wilson
Complementary Activity

Music Icons

Mention the music icons of each country in the next decades

USA UK MEXICO
60´s The Kingston Trio, The Beatles, The Los Panchos, José
Pete Seeger Rolling Stones Alfredo Jiménez

70´s Marvin Gaye, James Pink Floyd, Led La Fachada de Piedra,

Brown Zeppelin El Tarro de Mostaza

80´s Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Duran Duran, Iron Timbiriche, Caifanes y
Roses y Bon Jovi Maiden Pandora

90´s Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Depeche Mode, The Daniela Romo,

Stone Temple Pilots Police, Tucanes de Tijuana,
kairo

2000’s Linkin Park, Korn, Travis, Radiohead, Plastilina Mosh, El

Limp Bizkit and Coldplay gran silencio, Molotov
Slipknot.

Actual Drake, Lil Wayne, 2 Ash Koosha, Fat white Banda el Recodo,
Chainz, Kendrick Family, Lapsley Alexander Acha,
Lamar,

Unit 4: Science and Technology in the United Kingdom

Activity #27: Origin of Popular Inventions

A) Choose from the inventions given the six things that you think were invented by a Mexican.

Mexican Inventions:

Color TV

Contraceptive Pill

Trans Lucid Concrete

Instant Book Maker

Polio Vaccination

Mouse Pad
B) After discovering the six Mexican inventions, write the person who invented them. These are the
inventors: Guillermo González Camarena, Juan Manuel Lozano, Víctor Celorio, Armando Fernández, Joel
Sosa and Luis Miramontes.

1. _Guillermo González Camarena__ ___Color TV__________

2. _Juan Manuel Lozano__________ ____Rocket Belt_______

3. _Víctor Celorio________________ _Instant Book Maker___

4. _Armando Fernández__________ ____Mouse Pad______

5. _Joel Sosa___________________ __Translucid Concrete__

6. _Luis Miramontes______________ _Contraceptive Pill_____

Activity #29: Gadgets That Make Our Life Easier

I. Do you know the next five inventions?

II. Write as much as you know about them and their benefits for you.

III. Take a picture of each one.

The Telephone

Origin: During the 1870’s, Alexander Graham Bell designed a device that could transmit sound along
electrical cables. Back then it was necessary to work on a new kind of communication device, because the
telegraph was limited to sending and receiving one message at a time. Bell had a good understanding
about the nature of sound and music. This enabled him to perceive the possibility of transmitting more
than one message along the same wire at one time

Inventor: Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish born scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited
with inventing and patenting the first practical telephone.

Description

The telephone, which back then was given the name of Harmonic Telegraph, was based on the principal
that musical notes could be sent simultaneously down the same wire, if those notes differed in pitch. This
device was built with a suitable membrane capable of turning sound tones into varying electronic currents
and the receiver was able to reproduce the variations and turn them back into audible format at the other
end.

Utility in Engineering:
The telephone is a basic communication device which allows people from all over the world to
communicate with each other. While it has not directly affected the field of engineering, back in its time
it could have been used as a powerful tool to transmit information and knowledge. For example,
engineering students at the time could have used it to talk with each other about and inform themselves
about specific topics even if they were away from each other. Another thing to mention is that this
invention is the predecessor of mobile phone technology, which is now used worldwide to connect and
communicate people from all around the globe. It set the ground for future inventions.

Electric Motor

Origin: The electric motor that we use today is the result of the work of many engineers.

Inventor: Michael Faraday

Description

The electric motor is a device that transforms electrical energy into rotating mechanical force. The
principle of operation of the motor is based on Faraday’s Laws of Electromagnetism. If a current is passed
through a wire, it creates a magnetic field around it, and when two magnetic fields interact with each
other, movement is produced. Electric motors then, have two electric fields whose direction varies with
time to produce repulsive forces and ultimately induce rotational speed.

Utility in Engineering

Motors are almost everywhere, present all around the world in all kinds of stuff that we use in our daily
lives. Even though the fact that, at its core, the motor is but a simple device that rotates a shaft, people
and inventors have added several things to them and have also modified their original design in order to
be able to accomplish different things. There are Stepper Motors, that allow their shaft to rotate in a very
precise manner, perfect for positioning mechanisms and parts in industrial automation. There are
Induction Motors, used in all kinds of applications where raw power is needed, such as conveyor belts,
bucket elevators and rolling mills, to mention just a few. Small, direct current motors are present in toys,
small robots, radio-controlled cars and videogame controllers to provide the rumble feature. Servo
motors are available in the industry, used to control the position of the articulations in robotic arms used
in automobile assembly lines. And the list could go on and on.

Electricity

Origin

Since electricity is a natural force that exists in our world, it didn't have to be invented. It did, however,
had to be discovered and understood.

Inventor

William Gilbert (1544-1603) was an English scientist and physician who is credited by many as the “Father
of electricity and magnetism”. However, most people give credit to Benjamin Franklin for discovering
electricity.

Description
Electricity is the presence and flow of electric charge. Its best-known form is the flow of electrons through
conductors such as copper wires. Electricity can also be described as a form of energy, that can power up
all types of machines and devices.

Utility in Engineering

Electricity is the force that drives all things Engineering in the modern world. Almost any machine that
you can think of uses some sort of electricity phenomenon, an electric gadget or an embedded electronic
device. Even gasoline powered machines, likes cars, need electricity to, for example, start, or activate
lights, or listen to the radio. Electricity powers up most, if not all, of the machines used in today’s industry.
Even hydraulic operated machinery needs electricity, because electricity powers the motors that are
inside the hydraulic pumps. Electricity powers up electronic circuits as well; it is used to feed power
supplies, and it is present inside the batteries that power small electronic devices such as cell phones and
remote controllers. Out of all the inventions in here, Electricity is by far the most important of them all,
and, without it, Engineering wouldn’t be possible.

Capacitor

Origin

There are records that indicate a German scientist named Ewald Georg von Kleist invented the capacitor
in November 1745. Several months later Pieter van Musschenbroek, a Dutch professor at the University
of Leyden came up with a very similar device called the Leyden jar, which is typically credited as the first
capacitor.

Inventor

Pieter van Musschenbroek (14 March 1692 – 19 September 1761), Dutch scientist. He was a professor in
Duisburg, Utrecht, and Leiden, where he held positions in mathematics, philosophy, medicine, and
astronomy.

Description

A capacitor is a passive two terminal electrical component that stores potential energy in an electric field.
A capacitor is created out of two metal plates and an insulating material called dielectric. The metal plates
are placed very close to each other, in parallel, but the dielectric sits between them to make sure they
don’t touch.

Utility in Engineering

The main field of application of capacitors is in signal filtering circuits. Although capacitors are often
referred to their ability to hold electric charge, this attribute is not used as often in electronic circuits. All
electronic circuits generate a certain amount of noise, and ceramic capacitors are used to filter out certain
specific undesirable variations in the signals inside a circuit. In all modern machines, appliances and
devices you will find a circuit board and, within it, a whole load of capacitors. Other applications include:
energy storage, digital memory, pulsed power and weapons, power conditioning, suppression and
coupling, motor starters, signal processing, sensing and oscillators.
Activity #32: Lets Dream!

A) If it were possible, what would you invent in order to improve quality of life? Describe your invention
by giving it a name, mentioning the characteristics, its benefits and the country where you would patent
it. Use more than 100 words in your text.

Invention: Student Transporting Drone

Characteristics:

- A normal Drone just like any other, but with the capability of being able to carry 2 to 5 children.

- Doesn’t need any kind of oil-based or gas fuel.

- Uses rechargeable batteries. The batteries are charged using energy received from the sun through solar
cells.

- Completely automatic operation. Doesn’t require a human driver.

- Can be programmed to get from point A to point B. Its trajectory can also be programmed. The drone
will follow any path in X, Y and Z defined by the programmer.

Benefits:

- It can pick up kids of low resource settings and take them to school, so they can study.

- Since it is recharged by solar cells, it takes no cost to do its transportation labors.

- Can access rural areas, where it would be impossible for normal cars or busses to get to.

- It’s a feasible design, because it is aimed to transport children. Doesn’t need to carry heavy grownups so
it has a lower workload.

- Makes the end user (children) excited to go to school every day. If I had a drone that takes me to school
and brings me back again every day, I would gladly go to school.

Place to patent it (Why?)

México

I would patent this technology in México because, unfortunately, there are a lot of places in the country
that have poverty and people living in bad conditions. If we had a machine capable of transporting kids
with a low economy, then they would have a chance to attend schools, educate themselves and get an
opportunity to integrate themselves to the society and earn a good living. We need to prove opportunities
for these children. Maybe one of them could become the next big inventor of México.
Activity #33

Do an investigation about Tesla, Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, and present the most important
information about each one.

Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla, (born July 9/10, 1856, Smiljan, Austrian Empire [now in Croatia]—died January 7, 1943, New
York, New York, U.S.), Serbian American inventor and engineer who discovered and patented the rotating
magnetic field, the basis of most alternating-current machinery. He also developed the three-phase
system of electric power transmission. He immigrated to the United States in 1884 and sold the patent
rights to his system of alternating-current dynamos, transformers, and motors to George Westinghouse.
In 1891 he invented the Tesla coil, an induction coil widely used in radio technology.

Without question, the most important inventions from Nikola Tesla involve his contributions to
alternating current (AC). It’s essential to note that he did not invent or even discover AC, but his inventions
made AC applicable for widespread use, helping to electrify the world.

Thanks to Nikola Tesla, we have alternating current as today’s dominant electric system.

Other important inventions that he made are the following:

- The Tesla Coil

- The Magnifying Transmitter

- The Tesla Turbine

- Shadowgraphs

- Radio

- Neon Lamps

- The Induction Motor

This man made impressive feats, he was very intelligent and creative, and totally ahead of his time. If he
had received more support, he could have created many more things. Just in 1898 he basically made a
radio-controlled boat, when nobody believed that was possible!

Elon Musk

Elon Musk is the co-founder, CEO and product architect at Tesla Motors, a company dedicated to
producing affordable, mass-market electric cars as well as battery products and solar roofs. Musk oversees
all product development, engineering and design of the company's products.

Son of a Canadian mother and a South African father, Elon Musk spent his early childhood with his brother
Kimbal and sister Tosca in South Africa.

At 10, around the time his parents divorced, the introverted Elon developed an interest in computers. He
taught himself how to program, and when he was 12, he made his first software sale of a game he created
called Blastar.
Elon Musk has pursued an interest in Artificial Intelligence, becoming co-chair of the nonprofit OpenAI.
The research company launched in late 2015 with the stated mission of advancing digital intelligence to
benefit humanity. In 2017, it was also revealed that Musk was backing a venture called Neuralink, which
intends to create devices to be implanted in the human brain and help people merge with software.

Musk founded his third company, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, in 2002 with
the intention of building spacecraft for commercial space travel. By 2008, SpaceX was well established,
and NASA awarded the company the contract to handle cargo transport for the International Space
Station—with plans for astronaut transport in the future—in a move to replace NASA’s own space shuttle
missions.

In 1999, Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services/payments company. An X.com acquisition
the following year led to the creation of PayPal as it is known today, and in October 2002, PayPal was
acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock. Before the sale, Musk owned 11 percent of PayPal stock.

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England on January 8, 1942. He grew up in a highly educated family.
Both of his parents had attended Oxford University and his father, Frank, was a medical researcher.

Stephen enjoyed math and science in school where he earned the nickname "Einstein." He wanted to
study math at university but Oxford didn't have a math degree at the time so he chose physics and
chemistry instead. Stephen found college coursework to be very easy. He enjoyed being a member of the
school's boat club as well as classical music. After graduation, he went to Cambridge to study for his PhD.

Black Holes and Hawking Radiation

Stephen spent much of his academic work researching black holes and space-time theories. He wrote
many important papers on the subject and became a noted expert on relativity and black holes. Perhaps
his most famous discovery was when he demonstrated that black holes emit some radiation. Prior to this
it was thought that black holes could not get smaller because nothing could escape their enormous
gravity. The radiation from black holes has become known as Hawking Radiation.
Complementary Activity

Watch the video and answer the following questions:

1) Write a summary of the video

The video talks about an invention that has been proposed, which consists of a new type of transportation
system, much faster and efficient than the current ones. In one video, we have a girl explaining the
operating principles of the invention and in the other video we can see a proposal of the implementation
of the project and how it would look like.

2) Describe the innovation shown in the video.

This innovation consists of a new type of transportation system, much faster than the ones used today.
It’s like a subway, because it consists of modules that carry people inside them, that travel in a linear
fashion. What is different about them is that they are capsules inside a low pressure cylindrical shaped
chamber, so friction losses are reduced, and the push is powered by electromagnetic linear motors that
obtain energy from solar powered cells.

3) How was the engineering applied in the design and implementation of the construction
presented?

Several engineering divisions were put together in order to begin building a working prototype. There are
mechanical engineers designing the capsules and the geometry of their structure. There are civil engineers
working of the different ways in which the transporting tubes will be placed on land. Electrical engineers
are in charge of designing a system capable of supplying all the power required by the capsules to function
the way they need to, and physicists have the task to find a way to generate the low pressures inside the
transporting tubes and generating the force required to move the capsules at the specified speeds.

Unit 5: Music, Movies and Television in United Kingdom

Activity #34: Facts About Music

A) Answer the next questions:

1. Which is your favorite foreign group or singer?

My favorite singer is Amy Winehouse, unfortunately she is dead, but the few songs that she
managed to create are great, and I really like them. The singer Duffy has a very similar style,
which I also like a lot. The good thing is that she is alive but hasn’t released any new tracks in a
long time.

2. What do you like about it? How did it start to like you?
The first song I heard about Amy was You Know That I’m No Good. Her voice was very particular,
it was unique, and the instruments gave a jazz like feeling to her songs. I like how her music is
different and has a special vibe to it. I started to get more into her after listening to other songs
like Rehab, which has a nice beat to it, and Valerie, that in contrast to You Know That I’m No
Good, has an energetic and happy feeling to it. She could pull all kinds of moods in her songs,
happy or sad, energetic or nostalgic, she was able to portray all kinds of emotions in her songs.
 B) Discuss with other classmates how similar are the British bands than some American or
Mexican bands. Consider the kind of music, the way of dressing, the lyrics, etc.

The British gave us a lot of good bands and music back in their time, songs that are now considered as
classics were made by famous bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Queen, and many others.

For example, I think that The Doors have a very similar style to The Beatles, and that American bands
like The Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park and Fall Out Boy have all been inspired by
these big British bands of before, such as Queen.

As for Mexican Bands, I feel that groups like Zoé, Allison, Panda and Moderatto where heavily influenced
by British bands like the Rolling Stones.

C) Write a paragraph about how you think British music has influenced music in your country.

Like I said, most of the well-known Rock Bands in the past were in their majority British, and I believe
that they set the bar and the standards for all rock bands, not only in Mexico, but in the whole world.
And even though those bands were great, I honestly think they have not influenced Mexican music,
because our music is unique and has a style that completely defines un as culture. We have Mariachi,
boleros, corridos, the so called música para borrachos, and all that stuff that characterizes us. We have
such a diverse set of music that we really don’t have the need to copy or emulate other styles of music
from other countries.

Activity #35: Celebrating Music in a Country

A) Answer the next questions. Take 10 to 15 minutes to do this task.

1. Have you ever been in a Music Festival/Concert/Musical?

I’ve only been to a concert, and I saw several musicals back when I used to go on vacation to
Cancun. The hotel where we used to stay at, hosted several shows that involved musicals.
Another concert I recall going to was one hosted by EXA, where a lot of singers of different
music styles went to.

2. What singers or bands did you see in this festival?

I went with my mom to see Chayanne. It’s not something I like to brag about, but at the time I
was a little kid and I liked his songs because my mom used to play them all the time when she
was driving the car.
 3. What is an important music festival celebrated in your city?
I really don’t know much about music festivals, I do like to listen to music, but I’ve never been
that much fond of it. What seems to be a very popular one here in Monterrey is the one called
Pa’l Norte, a music festival hosted by Tecate that takes place every year. That music festival
hosts bands of all styles from all over the world.

4. What do you think is the purpose of organizing a festival of music?

The purpose behind all man-made events, to generate money. I could go on and say how its
about to expand culture and to promote music and stuff like that, but it’s all for the money.
Tecate likes to make money.

5. How accessible are festivals of music in your country?

Oh it’s extremely easy to go to a festival of music, because there are festivals of all types, all the
time. It is particularly easier in my case because I live near an important city of the country,
Monterrey. But regardless of the location, there will always be someone willing to pay bus
tickets to travel to another city to go to a concert, and you can simply buy bus tickets so that you
can get to almost any city in the country. If, for example, Neil deGrasse Tyson, why favorite
science communicator, was to go to Mexico City to make a conference, I would no doubt,
whatever it takes, whatever the bus ticket costs, pay a trip to Mexico City to see him. Other
people would do the same with their favorite artists.

Activity #39: There’s also Talent in my Country!

1) Think about Mexican movies and popular actors and actresses and write a list of the 5 most
popular films in history with their main actors and a brief description of them. Use 10 to 15
minutes in this task.

Movie: No se aceptan devoluciones

Actors: Eugenio Derbez

Description: The movie is about this guy who is played by Eugenio Derbez, who is supposedly very
successful with women. All of a sudden, one of the girls he was with shows up at his doorstep and leaves
her child with him, claiming that she isn’t ready to take care of a baby. The movie follows up with
Eugenio Derbez being a great father to the girl and then going on a journey to find her mother. The
movie had the classic sad ending with the main character dying at the end, but it became a very
notorious piece of work, acclaimed by critics throughout the globe.

Movie: La Ley de Herodes

Actors: Damián Alcázar

Description: The film is basically a political satire of corruption in Mexico and tells the story of how a
member of the PRI party becomes the mayor of a fictional village. You can see how, at the beginning, he
tries to do good, but gets help from nobody. As he realizes to see how hard it is to really make a change
and how easy it is to get a personal benefit at the expense of the people, he slowly becomes corrupt and
the sotry ends up repeating itself. This movie tries to reflect upon the harsh reality of Mexico’s
government.

Movie: El Laberinto del Fauno

Actors: Sergi López, Maribel Verdú

Description: The story of the movie takes place in Spain in the summer of 1944, five years after the
Spanish Civil War, during the early Francoist period. The narrative intertwines this real world with a
mythical world centered on an overgrown, abandoned labyrinth and a mysterious faun creature, with
whom the main character, Ofelia, interacts.

Movie: Amores Perros

Actors: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal

Description: This type of movie is an anthology film, because it consists of three different stories of
different people, and they are all connected by a car accident. Throughout the film we can see the lives
of the three main characters and see how each of them struggle with their every day lives. At the end,
their stories are all linked up togheter.

Activity #40: The Best Movie Ever!

1) Write a description about the best movie filmed in your country in your opinion, describe it and tell
us why you like it.

In my opinion, the best movie ever filmed in my country is the one called “El Infierno” which stars one of
my favorite actors, Damián Alcázar. He happens to be the protagonist of this movie. The movie was
written, produced and directed by Luis Estrada.

The movie acts like some sort of critique of the government that was in place back when the movie
came out. The movie was released in 2010 and Felipe Calderón was the president of México at the time.
The war on drugs was heavy and this movie told a story where we could be able to see the social
implications that this war brought.

The movie goes like this: There was this guy, Benjamín García, nicknamed “El Benny” who migrated as a
child to the United States to work. 20 years later he was deported and came back to his hometown just
to find out all the bad things that happened to his family, and the condition they were all living at, all
because of the so-called war on drugs. Benny finds out that his little brother was part of the cartel and
then was killed. Benny meets the ex-wife of his dead brother and falls in love with her and promises to
take care of her and his nephew.

His nephew is then kidnapped by the cartel and Benny must end up working with another cartel to earn
all the money that the kidnappers want for his nephew. Then the story goes on to depict how one thing
takes to another and how people end up killing each other for several reasons and different
circumstances.
The reason why I like it so much is because it showed the reality of the state of the country back then.
The movie was able to depict through a small story, how the war on drugs and how the way the
government handles things, affected the society and the living conditions in our country.}

Complementary Activity

Music Icons

Mention the music icons of each country in the next decades

USA UK MEXICO

60´s Janis Joplin The Beatles Sergio Bustamente

70´s The Doors Led Zeppelin Javier Solís

80´s Frank Sinatra The Rolling Stones José José

90´s Juan Gabriel

2000’s Luis Miguel

Actual