At a breakfast on January 15, 2015, held at the upscale St. Regis Hotel, on the first occasion of a Duke University Networking Breakfast, George Baker, with two Duke degrees, spoke of the cultural landscape in Houston as well as developments in relation to Mexico’s energy reform.
Regarding the first topic, he noted a stark difference between Houston and Mexico City. In Mexico, an important feature of daily life is captured in the expression: mi casa es tu casa (My house is your house). Further, in speaking of one’s own home to another, one says “in your house”–to which courtesy “gracias” is said in return. In Mexico, there is residential collinearity between your home and mine; but in Houston there is residential polarity.
He observes that in this regard Houston is the most un-Mexican of cities. His article on Houston’s place as a world city was published in French in Sciences Humaines (June 15, 2011). http://www.scienceshumaines.com/houston-carrefour-de-l-or-noir_fr_24612.html
His notes for distribution at the Duke event may be downloaded here.
