El color de Mexico

Nombre del crìtico: Laurencia Boulanger
Pais: Canada
Critica escrita el 19 de Mayo de 2010
Nombre del restaurante: Los Cuates
Tipo de restaurante: mexicano
Calificacion de la comida: 8/10
Servicio: 9/10
Precio: Entre 8 y 20 $US
Ambiente: Familial, ìntimo y dinàmico.




Durante mi viaje a Washington, tuve la oportunidad de ir a comer en un restraurance mexicano con un grupo de amigos, una experiencia que me encantò totalmente, porque me recordò de mi intercambio a Mexico. Me gusto inmediatamente la decoratiòn colorada y el ambiente festivo y acogedoro de Los Cuates. Los camareros me parecieron muy simpàticos y contentos de servir estudiantes que hablaban español y que querìan aprender. Entonces, fue un real plazer para mi de compartir con ellos y de practicar un poquito esta lengua que me gusta tanto hablar.





Como entrada, sirvieron una deliciosa salsa piquante con nachos. Pràcticamente todos tomaron la limonada tìpica para beber. Sin embargo, la bebida era extraña y me decepcionò: no encontré el mismo sabroso sabor de los limones frescos. Los platillos principales vinieron rapidamente con un torbellino de olores exòticas. Sus presentaciones eran variadas y artìsticas, todas con muchos colores y un estilo ùnico. Habìa pedido algo que se llamaba Camarones al Mezcal (comì los mejores camarones de mi vida en Mexico), con muchas verduras y frijoles. Frijoles! Qué feas! Y qué sabrosas! Evidentemente, mis compañeros no quisieron probarlas, entonces Rosie, Brenda y yo las comimos todas y fue una delicia.



En pocas palabras, el Restaurante Los Cuates fue definitivamente un éxito. Lo aconsejo a todos que buscan para una experiencia cultural alegre y colorada. Solamente evitan las limonadas y no estaràn decepcionados!

A Descent into Hell Worth Taking

May 8th, 10h00 AM,
# 100, Raoul Wallenberg Place,
Southwest Washington DC,
The Holocaust Museum.

A strong and warm wind blows wildly into my hair while I face the typical squared, white and elegant building, wondering which secrets and horrors are hidden inside. Very Washington-boring-type, for an edifice. Very enigmatic as well. I feel kind of strange, not knowing exactly what to expect, not knowing how I really feel anyway nor how should I. I’d rather try to concentrate a little bit, then. Why not starting with what I already know, some concrete, solid information?

The museum’s history
On November 1st, 1978, the President Jimmy Carter established the first commission on the Holocaust. His mandate was to commemorate the innumerable victims of the Jewish genocide during the Second World War. One year later, Carter’s commission made a report that determined three main components that the commemoration project should include: an educational foundation, a comity on conscience and a national memorial and/or museum. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum opened its doors 14 years later, on April 26th, 1993.


The Holocaust’s history
I’ll try to briefly summarize by seven points the causes, the circumstances and the consequences of what happened in Germany- not to say in Europe- between 1939 and 1945.

So mainly, the Holocaust is…
· The extermination of five to six million Jewishes by the Nazis, ruled by Adolf Hitler during World War II.
· Also called Soah, in Hebrew.
· Born with the paroxysm anti-Semitic present in the European population for many decades.
· The systematic elimination on men adults, but also of women and children.
· The murder of 1 500 000 children.
· Unique in the history of humanity because of its rigorous and well-prepared organization and its industrial and administrative characteristics.
· The disappearance of a huge part of the cultural and religious Jewish heritage.

My experience
I learned incredibly during my visit into the Holocaust museum. Besides, the exposition’s mission is very well accomplished: it informs, it honours and makes sure that nothing about it will be forgotten, so that the mistakes that were committed in the past won’t be repeated ever again. In addition, the texts, the movies, the graphics, the pictures and the objects presented described those terrible events in an extremely precise and significant way. Overall, I found my experience one of the most interesting and I was very pleased to be able to satisfy the obvious lack of knowledge I soon realized I had.
Nevertheless, I must admit that it’s been hard and painful for me – and for most of those who lived it, I believe- to go through those walls, painted with inhuman cruelty and violence. Some images still stick to my mind and my heart, blackening them with uncertainties, hate, misunderstanding and so many questions unanswered. When I made my way out, I felt empty and so dull, kind of colorless, without emotions. I was disgusted by men, which was very depressing and disconcerting, because I’m actually myself a human.

Even so, I think it must be everyone’s duty to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum if once they step by Washington DC, just in order to realize how lucky we are to live free and safe and to give those who did not have that chance consideration and remembrance.

**In closing, you might be interested in some short videos Véronique and I took in front of the museum. Unfortunately, it was strictly forbidden to take pictures inside, but here are some good ones we used for our presentation. You’ll also find at the bottom the poem we wrote and read together in front of the class.


General Dwight's speech

State of Deception: The exposition

«Think about what you saw»

«Hear their plea»

It often starts with one guy
He got an evil eye
Who sees the world
Permanently destroyed and hurled

It continues with ignorance
Even though, « Humanity has a moral sense! »
Still, it grows like a sunk fence
That divides our sanity, our country, our family
And break through our hasty defense

It rises with fear,
The fear and the weakness of people against deadly power and hate
Mouths shut, eyes closed
Backs turned to the horror and to the injustice
Like freaking flesh robots
Hearts blackened by murders and betrayal

And it ends with destruction
Of our sanity, of our country, of our families
And of hope, above everything
The death in the eyes of children
Surrounded by blood, ashes and tears
5 million souls murdered
In the name of a man’s ambition

So that you’re not ignorant
Hear their plea
That you can’t repeat old humanity mistakes
Hear their plea
And so that you remember, honor and love them forever
For what we did to them
Hear their plea

«We played, we laughed,
We were loved.We were ripped from the arms of our parents and thrown into the fire.
We were nothing more than children.We had a future.
We were going to be lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers.
We had dreams, then we had no hope.

We were taken away in the dead of night like cattle in cars,
no air to breathe, smothering, crying, starving, dying.

Separated from the world to be no more.
From the ashes, hear our plea.
This atrocity to mankind can not happen again.

Remember us, for we were the children whose dreams and lives were stolen away.»

Los lípidos

Informaciones generales

Definición: Los lípidos son compuestos orgánicos formados básicamente por una molécula de glicerol y tres moléculas de ácidos grasos. La mayoría son biomoléculas, compuestas principalmente por carbono e hidrógeno y en menor medida oxígeno, aunque también pueden contener fósforo, azufre y nitrógeno.

Grupo funcional: Carbolixilo.

Grasas: Son lípidos sólidos a temperatura ambiente. Generalmente constituyen las reservas en los animales y son grasas saturadas.

Aceites: Son grasas liquidas a temperatura ambiente. Son comunes en células vegetales y son grasas no saturadas.

Característica especiale: Las moléculas de grasa son apolares o insolubles en agua y también en disolventes orgánicos como la bencina, el alcohol, el benceno y el cloroformo. No son capaces de asociarse con moléculas de agua por la ausencia casi completa de diferencias de elctronegatividad.

Los principales tipos de lípidos

Hay 10 tipos de lípidos. Los 7 primeros son saponificables y los 3 últimos son insaponificables.

1. Ácidos grasos: Son las unidades básicas de los lípidos saponificables. Los ácidos grasos se dividen en saturados e insaturados

2. Acilglicéridos : Son ésteres de ácidos grasos con glicerol. Una molécula de glicerol puede reaccionar con hasta tres moléculas de ácidos grasos.

3. Céridos: Son moléculas que se obtienen por esterificación de un ácido graso con un alcohol monovalente lineal de cadena larga. En los animales las podemos encontrar en la superficie del cuerpo, piel, plumas, cutícula, etc. En los vegetales, las ceras recubren en la epidermis de frutos, tallos, junto con la cutícula o la suberina, que evitan la pérdida de agua por evaporación.

4. Fosfolípidos: Los fosfolípidos se caracterizan por poseer un grupo fosfato que les otorga una marcada polaridad.

5. Fosfoglicéridos: Están compuestos por ácido fosfatídico, una molécula compleja compuesta por glicerol, al que se unen dos ácidos grasos (uno saturado y otro insaturado) y un grupo fosfato.
6. Fosfoesfingolípidos: Tienen una arquitectura molecular y unas propiedades similares a los fosfoglicéridos. Es el componente principal de la vaina de mielina que recubre los axones de las neuronas.

7. Glucolípidos: Son formados por una ceramida (esfingosina + ácido graso) unida a un glúcido. Se localizan en la cara externa de la bicapa de las membranas celulares donde actúan de receptores.

8. Terpenos: Son lípidos derivados del hidrocarburo isopreno. Algunos terpenos importantes son los aceites esenciales, el fitol (que forma parte de la molécula de clorofila), las vitaminas A, K y E, los carotenoides (que son pigmentos fotosintéticos).

9. Esteroides: Son lípidos derivados del núcleo del hidrocarburo esterano. Entre los esteroides más destacados se encuentran los ácidos biliares, las hormonas sexuales, las corticosteroides, la vitamina D y el colesterol.

10. Eicosanoides: Son lípidos derivados de los ácidos grasos esenciales. Constituyen las moléculas involucradas en las redes de comunicación celular más complejas del organismo animal, incluyendo el hombre. Son mediadores para el sistema nervioso central, los procesos de la inflamación y de la respuesta inmune tanto de vertebrados como invertebrados.

Las funciones des los lípidos

Los lípidos cumplen funciones diversas en los organismos vivientes. Aquí están las 4 principales.

1. Función de reserva energética: Los triglicéridos son la principal reserva de energía de los animales. 1 gramo de grasa = 9,4 kilocalorías. ( cuando 1 gramo de proteínas o glúcidos = 4,1 kilocalorías. ) Además los triglicéridos son una reserva alimenticia y protegen del frió y del calor excesivo.

2. Función estructural: Los fosfolípidos, los glucolípidos y el colesterol intervienen en la estructura de las membranas celulares y la dan una cierta impermeabilidad. Los triglicéridos se encuentran también en el tejido adiposo, entonces recubren y proporcionan consistencia a los órganos y protegen mecánicamente estructuras o son aislantes térmicos.

3. Función reguladora, hormonal o de comunicación celular: Las hormonas esteroides regulan el metabolismo y las funciones de reproducción. Los glucolípidos son receptores de membrana y son esenciales en la comunicación celular, la inflamación y la respuesta inmune.

4. Función transportadora: Los ácidos biliares y las lipoproteínas son responsables del transporte de lípidos desde el intestino hasta su lugar de destino. Este procedimiento se realiza mediante la emulsión de los grasas en el intestino.

Necesidades diarias de lípidos
Se recomienda que las grasas de la dieta no aporten mas de un 30 % de las necesidades energéticas diarias.

Los porcentajes recomendados de dicho aporte deberían ser:
- 10 % de grasas saturadas (grasa de origen animal)
- 5 % de grasas insaturadas (aceite de oliva)
- 5 % de grasas poliinsaturada.

Alimentos que contienen lípidos

Alimentos que contienen lípidos saturados: Son aquellos que provienen de los alimentos de origen animal, tales como: alimentos enteros, mantequilla, grasa, carnes con grasa, quesos grasosos, tocino, fiambres o embutidos, crema de leche, helados de crema. También es posible encontrar grasas saturadas en alimentos como aceite de coco o aceite de palma. Un exceso de consumo de estos alimentos pueden aumentar de manera significativa los niveles de colesterol.

Alimentos que contienen lípidos monoinsaturados: Se pueden encontrar en alimentos de origen vegetal, tales como aceite de oliva y aceite de canóla.

Alimentos que contienen lípidos poliinsaturados: Podemos mencionar dentro de este grupo al pescado de mar, los aceites de pescado, girasol, maíz, soya, nueces, maní, almendras, castañas, semillas de lino, chia, sésamo.

To tell you a bit about me...

Dreams are the reflection of our soul.
Inside them hides what we really are.

I have many dreams, little ones and big ones. All of them represent a part of who I am and of the people I love. Some seem trivial, and others don’t. I’d say most of them are amazing, really. And that'why I believe that someday, when my hair is going to be completely white and my skin full of wrinkles, I’m going to be able to say how fabulous my existence has been. Because all those tremendous wishes would have been realized. In this first positing, I’m going to present you my three greatest dreams.

1) Animal’s BFFE
Tropical forest, savanna, mountains, arctic ice floe, Amazon… Tigers, horses, elephants, polar bears, deer, dolphins, giraffes, wolves, panthers, otters, rabbits, zebras, kangaroos, chimpanzees… I’m fascinated by those complex and splendid creatures. I would like to know them so much better, to learn everything about them and their environment. I’d like to be able to take care of them, to save and preserve the endangered species. I’d like to be part of their world. I hate the idea of myself working in an office, in front of a computer, starting at eight, finishing at six. I dream of adventures and phenomenal discoveries all around the planet. I don’t precisely know what’s the name of the job I want to exercise, but I know it exists. I’m delighted of being sure of which kind of career I’d be happy in, and, by doing so, it would realize one of my biggest dreams.

2) Love, frogs and everything (title by Arif :D)
I’ve always adored to read. When I was younger, I had a lot of imagination and I enjoyed the magical stories including the highest number of staggering and totally implausible creatures (I actually believed in the existence of most of them). Then came adolescence and I fell in love with romance, even though my favorite novels were often still matched with some kind of fantasy. However, I discovered that it was possible for the best authors to find a sense to the unreal manifestations that they invented, creating doubts in my mind, answering to existential questions scientists can’t respond. I had suddenly the desire of creating myself a chef-d’oeuvre, an unique and unbelievable epic. A logical fairy-tale full of intelligence and deep reflections, as well as, of course, the sweetest love story ever. I love to write and I’d say I’m pretty good at it. My friends and family have encouraged me greatly in that project and since that time, I’ve started to accumulate ideas. So my second dream is not to write a simple book, but a best seller. Something huge, something great, something that people will want to translate in other languages, a novel that will, as The Lord of the Rings or Twilight for examples, live trough the years and stay unforgettable.

3) I love you for ever, ever after
My last and biggest dream is about love and happiness. I said at the beginning that my wishes concern the people I love. The one that I love the most in the world is named Jérémie. He’s the person the most fabulous, the most charming, the most gentle, the most tender and amazing I’ve ever met. And since one year and a half, he has been mine. I can’t imagine being happy without his love and his shining smile. Maybe I’m just a naïve teenager daydreaming. Maybe not. Maybe it’s a very beautiful thing to believe in love forever, now that 50% of the couples in Canada are divorced. In fact, last year, my parents separated, too. Their absolute and undoubted love disappeared suddenly, with my certitudes. But this dark period didn’t last. Even if I was disappointed in them, and I’ll always be in a way (last year was how I found out that they weren’t perfect, as I always thought as a child), their separation had finally the opposite effect. It made my resolutions and my faith stronger. I swore to myself that this would not happen to me, that my children would always have two parents loving each other. Love means being happy. Love is happiness. So the greatest and the most extraordinary achievement of my life will be to love and be loved for ever.