Project Space Presents: El Pavo Bakeries

Main Entrance to the bakery

The main part of the bakery that has the sweet breads (pan dulce)

A closer look at the different kinds of powdery goodness

A glance of some products sold besides sweet, sugary bread including pinatas 

Top: On the right of the entrance on the corner is the "trademark" for the bakery

Bottom: Besides the sweet breads, the bakery sells cakes with various design

Project Space Was....(Reflect)

Naomi Flores

Professor Lawson

English 113B

Reflection

3/28/13

Project Space Reflection

1.      I chose El Pavo Bakeries in Glendale because it is located in the part of Glendale that is populated with the Latino community. The locations of the bakery is scarce and mostly in Los Angeles. It is small but quite satisfying for its products especially the taste of the sweet breads. My family has known the bakery since their arrival to the US during the 80’s. Every January 6 Mexico celebrates Dia de Los Reyes Magos (Day of the Wise Men), which recognizes the wise men that brought gifts when Jesus was born. Besides National holidays, my family and I add this event to the list of celebrations. In addition, this tradition/holiday includes circular, large, sweet breads that have a small plastic baby inside. Furthermore, my family always buys this rosca (sweet bread) at El Pavo. I realized that objectively the bakery is small but observing closely the bakery provides an insight into culture and appreciation of one’s cultural roots.

2.      Project Web was internet-based research and posting blogs about an issue, but Project Space was interactive and exploring places that surround communities that serve a purpose. Project Web was a cyberspace experience that set a particular environment to interact, while Project Space was taking notes and observing the location without any outside information. Also, Project Space was associating the place with subculture or a community and what is the importance.

3.      The difficult issue I had was trying to find a clear connection between my location and relate to a community or subculture. There were several connections I had in mind, but I felt that I was going “off topic” from the prompt. Also,  it was hard to find the focus when the prompt asked no specific question, besides the content of what should be included in the essay. 

Project Space Essay: Art and Food Within the Bakery

Art and Food Within the Bakery Reminds the Hispanic Heritage

The Hispanic community maintains their culture and its significance through its well-known and various unique meals filled with delicious and savory flavors that identify each Central, South, or Mexican village. Each heritage treasures its own special meals that represents where they come from such as tamales for the Mexican people, Pupusas for Salvadorian community, and the list goes on. However, sweets are another cultural significance for the Latino culture that is overlooked, while other Latino communities retain their hometown through all their traditional food and desserts. I realized that some places are preserving their cultural importance from disappearing, even when it means that specific places prevent the Latino communities from forgetting their meals or artwork that surrounds that community. Furthermore, the relationship between architecture and food is an importance to the Latino community because it symbolizes the appreciation and acknowledgment of people’s hometown. El Pavo Bakeries provide delicate and sweet desserts for Glendale communities, allowing special appreciation to Hispanic culture because of the flavors and texture of the products that resembles preserving their origins, but the absence of art in the bakery significance of the products within the Hispanic community.

El Pavo Bakeries is located in Northern Glendale populated with Latino members that allows them to grasp the rich, sweet, sugar-powdered breads that hints people to remember where they came from. Some cultural places incorporate the architecture and their products to create a significant response that relates to the Latino community. However, the bakery was not set accordingly to create a connection between the art and products. As I entered the bakery, the warm scent of the room alerted my senses to walk towards the cases of sweet, sugar-coded breads, but directly from my view was three casings of glass slide doors filled with cold beverages like Coca-Cola, Sprite, and few gallons of lemonade. The second case had water, Monster drinks, Kerns, Arizona, Minute Maid, Gatorade, and a Mexican brand of orange juice called Tampico. The third case had cans of Sprite, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola, Squirt varied in sizes. The cases above the soft drinks had three piñatas. There was a fourth case that had gallons and cartons of milk. Adjacent to the milk glass case stood an aluminum shelf that had edible ingredients like oils, sugars, Abuelita Mexican style chocolate for drinking, and Maruchan soups. On my right hand side, next to the aluminum stand was aluminum, rectangular shaped pot which is used to serve food while a burner lies beneath the pot heating the food. Following the pot was a microwave and next to it was a telephone with a fax machine, a computer, and a Mexican candy compartment. The cash register was on the right of the entrance between the sweet breads and the shelf of the aluminum stand, pot, microwave, etc. When I was facing the cash register, on the right, were small colorful cakes and some jello; while another glass like container had some chicharrones [pork skins]. Directly behind the cakes, was a picture of a turkey in front of a mountain with the sun behind it. Below the picture was the words El Pavo Bakeries. Above the counter that had the candy there were scattered, disorganized items that hung on the wall: a calendar, three pictures of optical illusions, posters of 2-3 layered cakes for special occasions.  Behind me was a coffee machine and next to the coffee were the sweet, sugary, breads. Above the bread containers there were pictures of colorful birthday cakes. The bakery is significant because it is located on a major location in Glendale where the Latino/Hispanic community lives and makes it easily accessible to visit and savor traditional, unique, tasteful desserts. The Latino community maintains traditional food sacred because besides the taste, it reminds members of the community of their homeland.

El Pavo Bakeries sells products that are recognizable to the Latino community like tamales. hot chocolate (champurrado), chicharrones, sweet breads [pan dulce] etc. that symbolizes the cultural significance for their homeland. The bakery offers these products to connect with the Latino community and “offer” cultural background appreciation. The sweet, sugary, bread contributes to the warm smell and the uniqueness taste that is a trademark within the Latino community. However, people are losing the meaningful of cultural value roots because they do not appreciate the bakery and its message to preserve the community’s origins. The food sold is homage of cultural traditions that should not disappear, as well as culture. Sometimes people are accustomed to their homes meals, but unaware that within the bakery holds a piece of their hometown too. However, the sweet, sugary bread remains a strong representation of the historical background of the Latino community which enforces to appreciate and remind the people where they came from. Another importance to the Latino community is the art and vibrant colors that connects with individual Latino heritage and hometown.

 Despite the fact that the food resembles the cultural heritage, the actual place lacks any connection to the culture. The bakery’s lacks of cultural structure makes the Hispanic community around it ignore the bakery. The architecture is not influenced by the kinds of products sold in the bakery. The bakery is unnoticed because the architecture is barely decorated except for the basic posters of cakes and such. An example of the lack of cultural reference to attract the Latino community is the logo which is not visible until people search for it; a turkey in front of the mountain with a sun including the name of the bakery. The architecture is absent from the bakery and the food because the Latino community identifies with colors like displayed on the piñatas. Art is vital because it resembles people’s heritage, history, and adventures including unfortunate events. The bakery does not provide a colorful meaning for the Latino community besides the food. The bakery is designated for the Latino community, but an official design within the place is needed to relate and Latino consumers to their food and remind them that their culture is where home is.

Project Space Fieldwork

El Pavo Bakeries

This weekend I decided to focus my fieldwork report on a Latin bakery called El Pavo Bakeries. On Sunday evening, I had a notepad and I went inside the bakery and immediately directly from my view was three casings of slider doors filled with cold beverages like Coca-Cola, Sprite, and lemonade gallons. The second glass case had water, Monster drinks, Kerns, Arizona, Minute Maid, Gatorade, and a Mexican brand of orange juice called Tampico. The third case had cans of Sprite, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola, Squirt along with bigger plastic portion sizes of few of the soft drinks. There was the fourth case that had gallons and cartons of milk. Adjacent to the four slider door stood an aluminum shelf that had edible ingredients like oils, sugars, Abuelita Mexican chocolate boxes for drinking, and Maruchan soups. On my right hand side, next to the aluminum stand was aluminum, rectangular shaped pot which is used when hot meals like rice or beans are served while a burner lies beneath the pot. Following the pot was a microwave and next to it was a telephone with a fax machine, a computer, and a Mexican candy compartment. The cash register was on the right of the entrance between the sweet breads and the shelf of the aluminum stand, pot, microwave, etc. When I was facing the cash register, on the right, were small colorful cakes and some jello; while another glass like container had some chicharrones (pork skins). Directly behind the cakes, was a picture of a turkey in front of a mountain with the sun behind it. Below the picture was the words El Pavo Bakeries. This is ironic because the pavo in English translates to “turkey” which the bakery does not sell. Above the counter that had the candy there was a calendar, three illusion pictures, posters of 2-3 layered cakes for special occasions.  Behind me was a coffee machine and next to the coffee was the main product of the bakery the sweet, sugary, breads. There were four aluminum glass cases that slid open giving access to the various breads that had the tastiest smell. Above the bread containers there were pictures of colorful birthday cakes. The cases above the soft drinks have three piñatas, which is a cultural significance for the Hispanic community. Throughout the process of observing there was astounding curiosity about the bakery.

While observing and glancing around the area, I realized that the prices or names of certain products were written or printed. There were no actual printed, colorful menus that listed all of their products because they were scattered. For example, the coffee machine had some label of a price but it was hand-written by hand on paper, which I have seen in Hispanic cultures. Also, the sweet breads did not have a label or sign that were not visible enough for the customers.  Another observation I had was that there was barely any significant architecture that defines the Hispanic culture in any way, considering that most of the products are related to that particular community. However, I had the impression that the “look” of the bakery was constructed in a way that it was not meant for a specific culture because looking closely the bakery offered American based products like the soft drinks, coffee and soups. I came to the conclusion it was a small mini-mart that appears to attract the Hispanic community. However, it could be that they do not want to put aside any outsiders that do not belong within that particular community. Overall, I got the impression the bakery wanted to offer American-based products to not disregard the neighboring communities or sell more than what it is meant to sell. I felt that the location of the bakery was barely visible because it looked enclosed in a small corner of the “plaza”. When I entered the bakery, it was warm and congested that looked like needed some ventilation. The place is small with small area but it is public for the customers. While at the bakery, I took notice that most customers did not buy the other products like soda, milk, etc. because they were interested with the sweet, sugary breads. The times I have eaten the sweet bread from the bakery seems to have a better taste than the other “sweet” breads in town. It has this distinguishing taste that is exquisite and different but better than other imitations of that type of bread. The people that were coming to the bakery were workers, people like myself that are “regulars”, and people around the area because there are businesses nearby. I felt confident walking into the bakery because it can get crowded but it is fairly small and intimate that it is easily accessible to walk in and walk out, without bumping into someone. The fieldwork experience was interesting and curiosity struck me when there were limited labels on their products and their computers were turned off. Also, the architecture and colors that was nonexistent and normally Hispanic community uses colors to distinguish or represent a place. It gives a more exciting feel to the place when it has colors rather than gloomy, plain. At first, the bakery was a place where they sell sweet breads but walking out it was a cultural significance difference in its representation that was alerting for a Hispanic like me.

Project Web End Reflection

1) I decided to write about the issue regarding, the constant use of technology that distracts people from communicating face-to-face. The increased use of technology has replaced the intimate level of interaction between people and their peers. I always wanted to express this concern that technology is widely and unwisely used throughout society because people think it "connects" them better to other people. However, people have begun to ignore that their relationships are being affected because they allow limitless access to technology without interest in communicating with their peers face-to-face. Also, as a young adult wanted to express the subliminal separation between themselves and their close peers through the use of technology. People are blinded by the advantages of technology that they refuse to acknowledge that excessive use of technology could be separating people from interaction, rather than emotionally "connecting" with the person face-to-face.

2)The writing process for this topic was a bit different because I had to research my issue in-depth rather than semi-reliable sources. I was a little disappointed that I procrastinated my rough draft because i had a difficult time to find sources that were valid to support my claims. The hardest part was trying to search in the CSUN database for something that connected with my issue or any kind of evidence to support. However, the easy section was creating blogs and finding any source of multimedia to connect with my topic and use it on my essay. It was helpful looking for any kind of pictures and videos to incorporate towards my issue.

Technology Does All the "Talking"

This video shows that cellphones are destroying the communication between relationships, in this case, mother and daughter. The young girl is texting on her phone while her mother stares, wondering why she is avoiding conversing with her. The advertisement summarizes my issue and the fading of face-to-face communication. Enjoy.

Can We Talk...Face-to-Face?

This picture is a representation of society through the effect of technology and the negative impact on communication. The couple has time to talk but they use their electronic device instead of talking to each other about their day. People are out of control when to use their technology and talking to each other. Does this represent your relationship with your family?

Don't Touch

The picture below is shows the young woman trying to shake the gentlemen's hand but he seems pleased and comfortable using his electronic device rather than acknowledging the young lady. This is the main focus of my issue with technology and technology taking over face to face communication. The picture reflects the lack of attention people achieve from technology. The caption below is a perfect example of the statement of my research paper. Even though texting can keep contact in between people 24/7..it sure has changed than when people used to shake hands and talk.

Look Familiar?

Freewrite Reflection

1. In order to successfully write my essay I need to have valid source(s), so far I have at least two sources and will proceed to search deeper about the issue I will be discussing:  How does technology change the way people communicate/ interact, negative? I found an article that I recently posted on this blog about the internet decreasing communication through the advanced technology. I would like to focus on communication as a major change through technology from a negative perspective because there is good and bad reasons for technology changing communication in society. I know that the information I have found could not be a strong evidence to support my claim. However, it helps me understand and maintain focus on the issue I want to argue.

2. The final presentation of the project includes the blog(s) and the essay itself. Throughout the process, I would improve my blog by posting about my writing process, vocabulary, or any thoughts/concerns I may have about my research. The final outcome of my research paper should be flawless, revised, and made sure I have corrected any grammatical errors, but most importantly, the paper answers the prompt clearly and carefully proven. The evidence proven will have to be strong and be selected from a valid source which is something I need to work on. Lastly, the research paper should be understood well from the audience that will read it.

How is the Internet Making Us Interact Less?

hey its Naomi! I posted this link to an article about the technology and its effects on society...

In the Collegiate Times, Sean Simons, columnist and student from Virgina Tech discussed his experience from avoiding Facebook because he felt the Internet was taking over his close interaction among his friends. Sean argues that advanced technology is decreasing the ability for people to think and learn by themselves and people communicate through internet sources instead of physical contact. He questions where the Internet is leading up to for the future and the falling out of communication.

"Modern Technology is Changing the Way our Brains Work" by Susan Greenfield

Hello Revolutionary Matadors and everyone! Since I will be discussing technology and the changes in interaction, in Beyond Words on pages 423-426 Susan Greenfield states that peoples' identity is deteriorating because of modern technology which changes the brain complexion into a less focused, lack of communication, and abstract thinking. Her argument that technology influences young people, in particular, to think and behave a certain way. Greenfield explains that the brain acts on anything whether it is violent video games, television , and etc. which could become a negative way to alter the behavior of a person. The brain  reacts and behaves based on the outer environment experiences which contributes to the people when they interact with someone. Modern technology is speaking for the people (almost literally) because sometimes people do not take the time to research and explorer options for themselves.

Beyond Words Reading Review: Does the Internet Make You Dumber?

"Does the Internet make you Dumber?" page 44-46

This article written by Nicholas Carr argues and proves that the internet has shifted the attention and cognitive thinking people gain from the internet browsing rather than a traditional book. Several tests were conducted, like , for example, Cornell University conducted a test such that half the class was able to access their internet; the other half maintained no contact with the internet. The results were that those who browsed through the internet did poorly on a test that tested their lecture retention. Other tests that were conducted showed that people maintaining their focus have failed on a test or less likely to do well. Carr argues that the fast-paced internet scatters the attention of people while the book tries to keep the mind focused. His claim proposes that people's minds are deteriorating from the various attention the internet allows to the viewer. This article proves a huge disappointment to society and technology because while becoming advanced should help society with their daily routines ,however, the attention and abuse from society to aspire to be better with technology is not helping become to become critical thinkers. As a young adult, it is difficult to maintain focus because of the many distractions and attention I allow myself to gain while there are other productive issues and work that can help my cognitive thinking.

About Me

I'm Naomi Flores and currently attend Cal State Northridge with a major in Biology; I am 18 years old and on a great journey to improve as a student and person while attending college. This blog was created for my English 113B class and I will be posting... hope you enjoy the posts :)