Imprint of Culture

Forgotten Foklore Hispania to Espania Constructing the Future Rolling with Sushi Lets Taco ‘bout Culture

Fall 2021

The Imprint Of Culture Dear Readers,

Thank you for choosing to read our e-zine. Our e-zine will include five feature stories. The first of which will be about folklore and how storytelling affects culture and identity. The second will be about the culture of Spain during the medieval ages. The third will be about how Mexican food has influenced the culture in the United States. The fourth is about sushi and its history.

And the last is about how construction technology affects the jobs and cultural identity of workers A lot of work went into the creation of this ezine and we have spent the past semester working on it. First we were put into our groups and participated in team bonding. After lots of practice being taught how to use different software like Adobe Illustrator, Indesign, Photoshop, and Lightroom, we finally got started on writing our feature stories. Each of us sent countless emails and left many voicemails searching for interviewers. After we scheduled and conducted no less than fifteen interviews in total, we had to tackle the challenges of the transcript. We manually transcribed our interviews and each of us had over ten pages of transcriptions that took hours to create. After spending days sifting through our transcripts to find useful information and only the best quotes, we finally started work on our feature stories. We created our layouts, first on Illustrator, then transferring them to Indesign. We edited and edited and edited some more. After finally creating our infographics, we were done!

We have worked tirelessly over the past semester on everything about this ezine and are incredibly proud of it. Again, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. We are incredibly grateful!

Happy Reading,

Editor Bios Roisin O’Driscoll- Roisin has lived in Austin, Texas her whole whole life and is currently a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy.

She loves to travel, read, and play with her dog. Roisin is a layout designer and editor for the ezine “imprint of culture” and is the writer and graphic designer of the feature story “Forgotten Folklore”. She has been very interested in the culture of different places since a young age when her family started traveling. This is her first time writing a feature story and she hopes there will be many more in the future.

Ryan Kellar- Ryan is a freshman at LASA who is a writer and graphic designer for the article “Constructing the Future” in the e-zine “Imprint of Culture”. Other than pet-sitting and doing chores, Ryan hasn’t had any real jobs yet, but he looks forward to doing more graphic design projects in the future. He was accepted into Kealing Middle School and LASA High his first year applying and plans to spend his remaining years in highschool at LASA. Outside of school, Ryan enjoys hanging out with friends and playing guitar in his free time.

Vinson Ratcliffgardy- Vinson is a regular teenager and a freshman at LASA high school, in Austin, Texas. He enjoys playing video games in his free time, listening to metal bands, playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends, making pizza, playing the bass and piano, sleeping, as well as swimming. He is also a self proclaimed food enthusiast, and likes Mexican food which is why he wrote “Mexican food and its influence on American culture” for this e-zine. In the future, Vinson hopes to become a nuero-surgeon, musician, or a billionaire.

4 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

Yashika Soni- Yashika is a 9th grader at the Liberal Arts & Science Academy in Austin, Texas and is deeply intrigued by the history of various regions and how they differ from neighboring ones. Yashika’s feature story in this magazine is about the culture found in Spain. Her hobbies are swimming, reading, and hiking. This is her first year in the AISD district and will hopely be attending LASA for her remaining years in high school. She has one brother and loves spending time with her friends and family.

Rafi Gold- Rafi is a highschooler at LASA who loves to read books, travel the world, eat good food, and play games with his friends. He is the writer and graphic designer of the Article “Rolling with Sushi.” He loves all different types of cuisine and is very open to trying new foods and flavors from different cultures. Sometimes he experiments with recipes in the kitchen. In the future, he hopes to try making sushi and other food with unique flavors.

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 5

Table of contents

Let’s Taco ‘Bout Culture!

Written by: Vinson Ratcliffgardy Page 20

Forgotten Folklore

Written by Roisin O’Driscoll Page 8

6 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

Hispania to España Written by Yashika Soni

Page 14

Rolling With The Sushi Written by Rafi Gold Page 26

Constructing the Future

Written by Ryan Kellar Page 32

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 7

Forgotten Folklore

By Roisin O’Driscoll

8 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

From telling stories around a campfire or laughing about something that happened earlier in the day, the art of telling stories and folklore connect us to our friends, family, heritage, culture, region and identity.

Starting from the beginning of time, people around the world have been telling stories just like these. These stories have existed for thousands of years almost solely through word of mouth. Stories like these are known as folktales or folklore and play a primary role in many cultures. Although folklore has survived a long time, it has changed and evolved through different families and regions.

Many families get together on holidays to celebrate their heritage and tell stories of

“We were all gathered around the fire and my mom used to tell scary stories,” Magdalena Brego, a Spanish teacher from Monterrey, Mexico said.

Families could have over 25 kids gathered around listening to stories.

“My mother would talk to my father and my father would be hiding after the story. All of the sudden you could hear the cries out over there in the dark. She would scare us after we were all in bed.” Brego said.

For many families this has become a tradition.

“We all do it when we get together. We still do scary stories,” Brego said, “This goes from generation to generation. So she [Brego’s mother] heard it from the great aunts and it just continued”.

Even families that don’t have children find ways to continue this tradition, “My son, he doesn’t have children, when he gets together to go camping out with friends he tells them,” Brego said.

Although many people end up growing up, leaving their childhood homes and sometimes even moving out of the country, they always find ways to come back to their homes.

“When we travel at Christmas, we always go back to the ranch so it continues.” Brego said.

These folktales help connect people to their families and heritage.

“Folktales are shared among families and communities, folktales are a common experience. These common experiences help shape us.” Pastor Minerva Camarena-Skeith said. Many families are connected through folktales and stories.

There are many ways you can tell where someone is from based on what folktales they were told as a child.

“Every region is gonna have different stories. It can be like the same story but with different variations,” Brego

Culture’s Impact on Latin America folklore.

Graphics by Roisin O’Driscoll

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 9

said.

These

stories reflect how people think and act.

“It’s very important because it distinguishes people from other regions and even other countries,” Brego said.

There are many examples of this everywhere in life.

“If you compare the stories of an indigenious farmer to the stories of a person in the city, it’s going to be very different backgrounds.” Brego said. “For the indigenious, nature is the topic because they depend completely on nature. We in the city aren’t as close. So the magic of the air and the water and the moon and the sun and the wind, everything plays into the story.

Here it’s

different because we are going to Society said. morph them into a more modern This story has been told many times story.” in different variations.

Some folktales have very serious “That same story got told a lot themes about subjects like death durig the crusades about a knight and life. Although folktales are from Europe who was a Christian traditionally thought of as scary would get captured and this beatiful stories with life lessons, they don’t always have to be. They can have themes ranging from serious to silly. One example of this muslim princess would fall in love is Dia de los Muertos. Although with him and it would be the same Dia de los Muertos is known for thing where she would rescue him being a holiday, the holiday itself from her father and she would go has hundreds of stories built back to europe with him and if around it. A modern example of we go back even further we can this is the Disney movie Coco. find that Muslim cultures in the “It expresses the whole idea that life middle east is just that you are born and you’re gonna die,” Brego said.

To many people, Dia de los muertos is not about grieving for death but enjoying life and expressing your humanity.

“You know that sometime in the future one of these days you’re gonna die so you have to enjoy your life and really live it so that by the time you die you have had a good life”, Brego said, “I think it’s very important to have those memories and honor those people that meant so much to you.”

Sometimes a single core folktale can have many variations that resurface over and over again at different points in history.

Top left, bottom left, bottom right, “So one American story that we Sugar skulls, otherwise known as have is the story of Pocahontas and John Smith.’’ Krisitna Downs, calaveras, are a big part of decoration the director of the Texas Folklore for the holiday Dia De Los Muertos.

“Folktale are shared among families and communities, folktales are a common experience. The common experiences help shape us” -Pastor Minerva Camarera-Skeith

would have the same kind of story but where they would be capture by a different culture and we can even find traces of this story in the bible,” Downs said.

Folk stories and ghost tales may only be thought of as campfire talk but in many places they have a large footprint in Latin American culture, “There’s always a ghost in a town. It doesn’t matter what town you go to in Latin America. There is always going to be a ghost,” Brego said, “The whole thing about folklore is that it connects you to everyone in your region.”

There are a variety of different folktales from all around Latin America.

“I think that

Graphics by Roisin O’Driscoll

storytelling is important because the stories you grow up with the traditions give you a past and impacts your identity. In my case it made me who I am,” Brego said.

“Folktales are an opportunity for people to see themselves as part of a particular community. The cultural norms, values, and beliefs are passed on from generation to generation.” Camarena-Skeith said.

These stories tie location and personality together and help strengthen a person’s cultural identity.

“It changes our perspective of the world”. Downs said.

Although folklore has lasting impacts on many, it is slowly fading.

“To be able to get together with people and just speak and tell stories is something that unfortunately is

disappearing. And it’s sad because I think we need more storytellers in the world” Brego said.

Time doesn’t just slowly fade the impact of folktales but it also can affect the perceived significance of a story.

“Many people have an idea that folklore is a thing that’s related to the past and they don’t recognize that it’s still very true and it still has a lot of impact in our lives right now.” Downs said.

Folklore ties people to their cultural identity and heritage. It brings people together and forms communities through the art of storytelling, “These stories can change how we interact with the world and with people in general.”

Downs said.

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 11

Folktales Across Latin Am Graphics by Roisin O’Driscoll

47.2% of 9th Graders in Texas know who La Llorona is

La Llorona Although nobody knows exactly where La Llorona originated, the first written documentation of the story is from Mexico City. There are many variations of the story but this is the most common one: A woman drowned her kids because her husband left her. After realizing what she did, she drowned herself out of grief. Now she wanders in the afterlife searching for her chidren. At nightime you can hear her crying out for her children and if kids go out at nightime without an adult it is rumored that she will take them thinking they are hers.

La Casa Matusita A wealthy man and his servants lived in this house. The servants wanted revenge because they were treated badly so they laced the food at a dinner party. After lacing the food, they locked the door. An hour later they opened the door and saw that the guests had all murdered each other. The servants hung themselves out of guilt. The house is now viewed as one of the most haunted places in south america. Many people say that if you walk past it you can hear the screams of the ghosts and spirits coming from inside.

12 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

merica

El Sílbon The story of El Sílbon Originated in Venezuela. A boy returned home from school one day to see his father abusing his mom. He flew into a rage, killed his dad, and fed him to his mom.When his grandfather found out, the boy was tied to a pole and teared apart by rabid hyenas. He was then cursed to wander the afterlife forever holding a burlap sack full of his father’s bones. If you hear whistling during the night it means that he is close.

1.9 percent of 9th graders in Texas know who El Sílbon is

Information from: fluentu.com, astonishinglegends.com

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 13

By Yashika Soni All places, no matter how different, have one thing in common; culture.

Every place has a form of culture, whether it be an old house, or a country that’s centuries old. For example, Spain is a country with vast cultural diversity, with every region and its provinces having particular niches that they are known for. Spain has deep roots in its rulers and the ages that have heavily defined it which impact what it is like today.

Spain has changed tremendously over the years due to the colonization of the land and the various monarchs who ruled it.

“Before the Romans, the Greeks, and Carthaginians came, it was very divided,” Stanley Payne, the Professor Emeritus of History in University of Wisconsin said. “Not really geographically, but in a variety of different politi-

cal and ethnic groups.”

The iberian peninsula was very divided, and the concept of Spain hadn’t even come into existence during this time. The large section of land had no unanimous political leader combining it before 19 BC. Due to this reason the regions were

“In addition to its diverse religions, Spain also was a land of varied languages” - Joseph F. O’Callaghan wrecked by the oncoming military from Rome and the other places the Romans had conquered.

“The pre-Roman civilizations in the Iberian Peninsula were relatively small, local groups. Therefore,

14 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

they were easily conquered militarily,” Payne said.

Soon, the entire area was under rule by the Romans.

“In the 3rd century B.C. the Romans began to move into Spain. By the 1st century A.D., they brought the entire peninsula under their rule,” Joseph O’Callaghan, the Professor Emeritus of History at Fordham University said.

Spain was then separated into two main regions.

“They divided it into Hither Spain and Farther Spain, in other words, Eastern Spain and Western Spain,” O’Callaghan said.

The Romans brought many differences to Spain when they came.

“The Romans introduced their language, their law, and their administrative structure. The Christian religion also found root there during

Basque Dancers Performing a Traditional Dance. Traditional dances are one of

the many things that contribute to a region’s culture.

Courtesy of Kezka Dantza Taldea Eibar.

Picture of Toledo Spain. Toledo, the “Imperial City” is known as the city of three cultures due to it’s influence of its succesive Islamic, Hebrew, and Christian occupants. Courtesy of Dennis Jarvas.

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 15

Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona is a city that has history that dates back to the Neolithic period. Courtesy of Jorge Franganillo. this period,” O’Callaghan said.

Spain during that time consisted mainly of a trio of religions that alternated depending on the leader who was ruling at that time.

“During the medieval period, Spain has been described as a land of three religions, namely, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism,” O’Callaghan said.

The main ages that Spain went through are pre-Roman Spain, Roman Spain, Visigothic Spain, Medieval Spain to 1492, Imperial Spain 16th-18th centuries, Spain

in decline, 19th-20th centuries, Franco’s Spain, and Constitutional Spain. This was mostly influenced by the amount of rulers from differing places that Spain has had.

Both church laws and public legislation maintained a severe social preservation of traditionalism throughout Franco’s reign. In the past, Spain respected gender separation and exerted tight control over public expression, social institutions, and the media.

However, Spain after Franco has a very relaxed and open culture,

16 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

probably due to the strictures and extreme control over social norms, morality, and lifestyles in the past.

Of course, the 1960s, the women’s movement, and the worldwide demand for religious and social freedom have had a significant impact on Spanish values and traditions, as they have in almost every other country.

“Women having civil rights became a major change when the country transitioned from Franco’s Spain to Constitutional Spain,” Sofía González, an average person

all

Madrid, Spain.

Madrid is the current capital of Spain.

Courtesy of Luis Rodriguez.

who was brought up in Spain said.

Spain has also become a parliamentary democracy since Franco’s death in 1975.

“PSOE (Spanish Socialists), PP (Popular Party), and IU are the three largest political parties in Spain today (United Left),” González said.

Barcelona, located on the Mediterranean’s western beaches, is a modern and cosmopolitan city with a long history.

“Barcelona’s early human settlements date back to the Neolithic period. The city was created by the

Romans, who established a colony known as Barcino around the end of the first century BC,” González said.

Barcelona visitors can wander through Roman ruins, medieval districts, and 20th-century architecture. Several World Heritage Sites can be found in Barcelona, including architectural marvels

by Catalan architects Gaud and Montaner. Barcelona, like Madrid (Spain’s current capital), attracts a lot of attention from the younger demographic too.

“The Picasso Museum and the

Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art are two of the most known examples of Spanish architecture in the city,” González said.

Although the differences are vivid between Hispania and Spain, we can clearly see how each thing originated, and how everything came to be in their culture.

Puento Nuevo is a bridge that spans across a canyon to join the city of Ronda, Spain.

Courtesy of Steven Gerner.

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 17

Spain vs Carthag How Spain and the languages spoken in the country changed as it was colonized by

2011 Asturias Galicia

Languages Iberian Language(s) Tartessian Language

Cantabria Basque Navarre

Celtic Upon Tartessian Language

La Rioja Castile & León

Madrid

Catalonia Aragon

Lusitanian Language Celtic Upon Lusitanian Language(s)

Balearric Islands

Hispano-Celtic Language (s) Vaconic Language(s)

Castile-La Mancha

Gallo-Celtic Language(s)

Extremadura Valencian Community Andalusia

Punic Language Castilian Language Catalan Language Basque Language Galician Language

18 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

ginian Hispania Spoken

264 B.C. - 146 B.C. Tarraconensis Gallaecia Cartaginesis Lusitania

Baetica Graphics By Yashika Soni Sourced from Wikimedia Foundation

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 19

Let’s Taco

‘bout culture Food culture in the U.S is deeply affected by immigrants and the food they brought with them

M

exican food is a very important part of our culture. in fact 18% of all restaurants in Texas are Mexican restaurants.

Since Texas is one of the border states between the U.S and Mexico, Mexican immigrants have had a large influence on American culture as a whole, with that being

Written by Vinson Ratcliffgardy

“Even though they might have the same dishes, the recipes are totally different. The recipes are special to this location alone.”

-Sergio, Owner of tequila azul

Texas. With a huge history of immigrants migrating to Texas from Mexico, lots of culture is brought with them, and a large part of that can be found in Mexican food and restaurants.

At Tequila Azul, the restaurant takes pride in the way they assemble their dishes, and from where these recipes come from.

“Our recipes are very unique” said Sergio, the owner of Tequila Azul “they come from my grandmother… passed down the family line”.

When inquired about what makes the recipes unique, Sergio replied “Even though they might have the same dishes, the recipes are totally different, the recipes are

all photos taken by Vinson Ratcliffgardy

even more of the case in

20 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

Employees at taco shack working hard to make tacos for guests during the morning, September 18th, 2021.

special to this location alone.” Both Taqueria Arandas and Taco Shack said that they were a family run restaurant.

Another factor that contributes to how Mexican cuisine is different from restaurant to restaurant is the place in Mexico where the recipes come from. In Mexico each of the different states have variations between how dishes are prepared, even if they have the same name or mostly similar recipes. This is shown by the fact that 3 random Mexican restaurants around Austin each had recipes that originated from different states in Mexico.

in their established ways. At Taqueria Arandas, almost all of the food there is stated to come from Jalisco, Mexico.

For example, Taqueria Arandas’s most popular dish is one of their specialty dishes, called the Carne Asada, which is prepared in a traditional way. Carne Asada is a thin steak served with nopal (prickly pear cactus, specifically the cactus’ pads which are sliced up and eaten), rice, and grilled

onion. For Tequila Azul, their most popular dish is called the Cochinita Pibil, which is a style of barbacoa, with a type of sauce akin to barbeque sauce, cooked slowly with agave in the traditional Mexican fashion.

The recipes from Tequila Azul originate from the state of Guerrero, which is south of Jalisco.

Additionally, the three restaurants each had different aspects of their store that they took the most pride in. For Sergio, owner of Tequila Azul, It was a simple answer.

When asked about what makes Tequila Azul stand out from other restaurants, he replied, “Our recipes. Our recipes are so very unique, in fact they come from my grandmother.

So nobody has these. Even though they might have the same dishes, the recipes are different”.

The manager of The teenage son of the owner prepares tacos for customers at Taco Taqueria Arandas Shack spicewood springs, September 18th, 2021. agreed with this, elaborating by

These different restaurants had their most popular menu items as traditional recipes, which were prepared

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 21

A couple enjoys food and drink in the brilliantly designed interior of Tequila Azul, September 18th, 2021. .

saying “our food is a very important aspect for us, and we like to share plates with a lot of people. Like with family sized meals”.

For Taco Shack, while food is important, they pride themselves on their customer service. When asked what makes their restaurant better than others, Francisco,

manager of Taco Shack, was quick to reply that the way they treat their customers is what makes them better than other restaurants.

All of these restaurants had at least one thing in common, and all of them were restaurants that have had an effect on their customers and local culture. While each

of these restaurants has a different story, the impact of restaurants like these is all across Texas and the United States, with Mexican food becoming an integral part of our culture.

Tacos from Taco Shack Spicewood Springs (left) and Tequila Azul (right)

22 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

“we have our loyal customers that keep coming. It’s especially because we treat them as family, and like family and they keep supporting us” -Manager of Taqeria Arandas

“I would describe this like a tour from the city of austin, to mexico through food” -Sergio, Owner of Tequila Azul

“while we own a Taco Shack location, this restaurant is run by my family and I”

-Francisco, Owner of Taco Shack Imprint ofSpicewood Culture Fall 2021 - 23 Springs

Statistics about the mexican food industry Graphics by Vinson Ratcliffgardy

1 in 11 resteraunts in the United States of America areMexican resteraunts.

Source: Food and Beverage magazine

800000

Mexican resteraunts make more money on average during their gross income than a regular resteraunt

Source: Food and Beverage magazine and investopedia

Different restaurants average yearly gross income in the United States 766,000

700000

624,000

600000 500000 400000 300000 200000 100000 0

Mexican resteraunts average gross income

24 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

national average restauraunt gross income

Taco bell makes up 17% of all mexican resteraunts in the United states.

Source: Food and beverage magazine

In Texas, 18% of all resteraunts are Mexican resteraunts! That is almost double the national average!

18% of all resteraunts in Texas are

Mexican resteraunts, which is almost twice the national Source: Foodaverage! and beverage magazine

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 25

Rolling with

Sushi

Expoloring how restaurants have implemented techniquies created thousand of years ago

By Rafi Gold

When Austinites want fresh fish, they seek out Japanese restaurants and enjoy dishes that many consider delicious, like sushi, sashimi, and nigiri. Making sushi has developed into a crafted art that takes years to master. It’s quickly becoming one of the most popular foods in the US, but lots of things have to happen

behind the scenes at restaurants for these dishes to be perfected.

In 2021, there are over 4000 sushi restaurants in the US. Sushi is a very delicious and popular food that is eaten across the world.

Many restaurants that serve sushi today still implement some of the techniques used thousands of years

26 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

A sushi dish ready to be served at Soto. photo by Rafi Gold

Types of Sushi

Salmon

Salmon sushi is a vibrant orange, the fish has a mild taste and a fatty texture

Tuna Tuna: Tuna sushi is bright red, has a mild taste and buttery texture that melts in your mouth

Yellowtail Chef Brian blowtorches raw fish at sushi bar.

Restaurants like Soto in Austin use creative techniques to create dishes. Photo by Rafi Gold

“I would say the intial

impact from the moment it sits down in front of the customer, to how it smells, how it tastes, how the guest feels on the first initial impression”

-Brian, Chef at Soto

ago into their sushi. While these ancient techniques are a basis to go off of, some restaurants have decided to experiment with the way sushi is created. For example, Soto, a popular sushi restaurant in Austin, says they like to build on older methods of making sushi. Soto uses traditional practices to prepare

thefish and then adds seasonal ingredients to the dishes to make them unique, and add new, creative thinking to all their dishes.

When creating a new dish there are many important aspects of the food making process to keep in mind throughout the process to

Yellowtail sushi is whitish pink, the fish has a slightly sweet mild taste and a firm and fatty texture

Tako

Tako is thinly sliced octopus, it has a sweet and sour, but mild taste and a very rubbery texture

Salmon, Courtesy of Milivigerova Tuna, Courtesy of Bokja Yellowtail, Courtesy of Alpha Tako, Courtesy of Lou Stejskal

Chef at Uchi prepares raw fish at sushi bar. photo by Rafi Gold

make sure each dish tastes delicious.

According to Bryan William, chef at Soto. “[Try] not to do anything too similar, you don’t want to do anything [that’s too similar to] something already on the menu,” William said, “Like say you have something that is very peppery, you don’t want to do anything just like that. You want to try to do something new, pull from what’s seasonal, maybe any personal experience. Like for me, I draw from family cooking.”

Ingredients aren’t the only

thing that varies when making sushi.

In fact, one of the most important aspects of making sushi is the types of cuts that you have to make.

“It depends on what your doing, for sashimi it’s a lot of knife work, to katsuke style cutting where you make a long thin sheet, to maki which is the sushi roll itself without it falling apart and cutting everything evenly, to making the nigiri and how to properly hold it in your hands.”

Cooking isn’t the only thing that matters when it comes to

28 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

making sushi. Work ethic could be the difference between a good chef and a bad one.

“You know, it’s okay to have fun in the kitchen, but you need to be critical on everything that matters.

If you’re not critical on your ingredients and you put out food that you know you’re not handling properly, [you’re only] doing an okay job,” said chef William.

At Uchi, another popular sushi restaurant in Austin, they consider rice to be one of the most important parts of the dishes. It is the base for all sushi rolls and nigiri,

and the methods they use have been practiced for thousands of years. As head chef of Uchi, Blake Luecke explained,

“We make a sushi Zu, in Japanese that basically means vinegar. Luecke said. “It’s salt, sugar, water, rice, wine, vinegar, and kombu, which is dried seaweed. This then gets turned into this kind of sticky, acidic, sweet Zu. [In the next step] the sushi chef has this big paddle and we pour the sushi Zu on top of the paddle and spread it out evenly, then they start the technique. [We] call it a cutting where they cut the rice and fold it over.”

There are a lot of things that factor into how good a sushi roll is, but Luecke thinks the rice is the most important.

“If the rice is wrong, the whole experience is wrong, and everything else is wrong. Said Luecke. “So that’s probably one of the biggest things that has to be right. That’s something that’s been passed down. That’s something that we train new people.

We take it very seriously and we take our time with training our staff.”

When it comes to the process of creating a new dish, Uchi has an Head chef Blake stands outside Uchi restaraunt. Photo by Rafi Gold interesting process.

“Once a month at all of our restaurants in the company, we do a specialist food. Explained Luecke. “A tasting. Luecke said. “We’re tasting lot of my chefs are Italian food, we’re tasting ingredients, or French, so we tend dishes. We’re looking at what’s I think a lot of inspration to pull a lot of different seasonal. What’s available to us. And inspiration that way. I also comes from the individual working on these dishes to create get some of my inspiration cooks and the individual something.” from Instagram. Just seeing They have to make sure the dish is what other restaurants, chefs, their backgrounds, perfect before it can go on the menu, other places, other chefs, where they’re from, what or it won’t live up to the expectations what they’re doing out of the customers. When it comes to there like, oh, can I take they’ve grown up with.” inspiration for a dish, Uchi chefs are that idea and transfer it to -Blake, Head Chef at usually influenced by their personal what I’m doing here?” background and social media.

Uchi “I’m from California, so I tend to pull Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 a lot of Hispanic influence from my

“

29

70

400 B.C. Rice is imported from Korea to Japan

Nare Zushi is in sushi that has b in rice for at lea

182

1900 The invention of the icebox allows for sashimi to be kept fresh for longer

Nigiri, or hand is invented. It eaten by the gr class of Japan

1970 The California roll and Otorto Sushi are invented

30 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

Sourced Duro Daruma

00

1400

nvented. It is been fermented ast a month

Nama Nare is fish that is only fermented in rice for a few days and is eaten raw

1650

27

d squeezed sushi is fast food and rowing middle

Haya Nare is no longer fermented at all, it is eaten fresh

The History of Sushi Graphics by Rafi Gold Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 31

Constructing the Future The effect of operated machinery

By Ryan Kellar

T

The houses people live in, their school or work, and the energy they use to access the internet can all be credited to construction. That is why construction engineers think it’s important that people are informed about the changes the construction industry is going through, as autonomous construction becomes

more and more concurrent.

This new type of construction is a great way to counter the downsides of using manually operated construction equipment, such as inexperience and the cost of employment. Autonomous construction equipment can work in harsher weather conditions, do jobs precisely, and work more efficiently. It can also make it easier on the people who work at

32 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

construction companies, because they don’t have to put their health and safety at risk with dangerous equipment, explained Erol Ahmed, Director of Communications at Built Robotics.

“Construction is the only major sector of the United States economy where labor productivity has fallen over the last forty years,” Ahmed said. For comparison, agriculture has

Baoli is a company which produces heavy construction equipment, such as this forklift.

Courtesy of Marko Milivojevic.

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 33

grown nearly four is being used to times in that same get the job done period of time, and and understand the overall economy the problems has nearly doubled the construction in terms of labor industry is going productivity. In through. That 2017, McKinsey being said, it is Global Institute misleading to published a startling say that in the report — labor future one is productivity in going to replace construction has the other. Rather fallen 50% since than contrasting Construction vehicle digging a trench. The vehicle is au1970. While other the two and tonomous and digging by itself. Courtesy of Built Robotics industries have viewing one been transformed, as superior, it but you’ve gotta make sure. I think construction has stagnated. makes more sense to value them that safety factor and the training The effect is that, adjusting for as assets to use to your advantage and education, just the experience inflation, a building today costs for the best productivity, cost, and that these men and women have twice as much as it did 40 years counter to labor shortages. as operators in the construction ago.”

“Construction is about results industry is very valuable.”

Although robotics may be and that means picking the right

All of this brings up one more skilled at doing the job they kind of tool — and worker — for question: what do the clients think are programmed to do, Brandon what needs to get done,” Ahmed about this? According to Ahmed, Willis, a construction worker said. “Sometimes that might be a most clients don’t actually care at the International Union of robot and sometimes that might about which type of construction Operating Engineers, thinks that robots are currently incapable of comprehending some tasks at a conceptual level.

“I just can’t see it being completely autonomous, because there are some things autonomous can’t see or visualize,” Willis said. “Certain things like the domino effect, where moving one piece may cause something to happen down the line. That may be the piece that the computer’s telling you to move

Layout of an autonomous construction vehicle. Courtesy Built Robotics 34 - Imprint of Culture Fallof2021

experience workers have.

“We see these articles and I see some cool demonstrations from these manufacturers, but as far as practicality, boots on the ground, it’s almost unseen and unheard of,” Willis said. “I have also seen some equipment that has been operated by remote control. We are starting to see a lot more of that especially in the tower crane industry and commercial construction. I think part of the reason we are starting to see some movement towards remote-operated equipment could be because of a safety factor.”

Construction workers think that the next decade is the most crucial time for these robotics to expand as companies like Built Robotics spread the use of them on commercial job

“I just can’t see it being completely autonomous, because there are some things autonomous can’t see or visualize, such as certain things like the domino effect. The education and the experience that these men and women have as operators in the construction industry is very valuable.” Brandon Willis, construction worker at IUOE be a skilled worker — or both. It’s never one or the other, but rather, what is the best tool for the task at hand?”

Willis thinks autonomous construction could be a good addition to the construction industry mainly for the safety factor but, he values the quality of the work more and thinks fully autonomous robotics can’t do better without the hands-on

sites across the globe. People can expect to see more knowledge and demonstrations of autonomous construction in the media, as construction becomes more prominent in households and a key factor in keeping many people safe.

“Construction is about results and that means picking the right kind of tool — and worker — for what needs to get done.

Sometimes that might be a robot and sometimes that might be a skilled worker — or both. It’s never one or the other, but rather, what is the best tool for the task at hand?” Erol Ahmed, Director of Communications at Built Robotics

Models of different construction vehicles. The vehicles have a product by Built Robotics attached called the Exosystem. Courtesy of Built Robotics

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 35

- Safer and doesn’t risk anyone’s lives to get the job done -Good for - Can malfunction or perform unexpectedly

different situations and gets the job done in the end

- Knows how to do the job and doesn’t need experience (excluding time spent testing)

- Understand such as dom

- Usually experience

- Can mak

- Can’t work conditions (h low hum

Auto v s Manu Construction

By Ryan Kellar

36 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021

ds concepts mino effect

requires prior e and training

k in as many heat waves, miditity, etc.)

ke decisions for themselves

Comparing and contrasting the pros and cons of using autonomous construction robotics versus using manually operated equipment.

ual

Information from abc.org

Imprint of Culture Fall 2021 - 37

Acknowledgements Thank you so much to all of those who helped us with the production of this magazine. Special thanks to Mr. Garcia who taught us how to write a feature story, and helped us improve throughout our journey. You are a great teacher and we learned so much about writing and design from you.. Once again, thank you to Pastor Minerva Camarena-Skeith, Dr. Kirstina Downs, Magdedlena Abrego (language teacher), Brandon Willlis (construction worker), Erol Ahmed (director of communications at construction robotics), Stanley Payne, Joseph O’Callaghan, Sofia González, Blake Luecke (head sushi chef), Bryan William (sushi chef). Sergio (owner of Tequila Azul) and Francisco (owner of Taco Shack spicewood springs) for letting us interview you, and giving us the information we needed to write our articles. We couldn’t have done it without you!.

38 - Imprint of Culture Fall 2021