Mexican culture has undergone a tremendous transformation in the last few years. Many Mexicans live in cities, but smaller rural communities still play an important role in defining the country's collective vibrant community.
Mexico's cultural heritage can be traced back to the Aztec and Maya peoples who once ruled much of Central America, but it also owes a lot to the colonial heritage of Spain. The customs in Mexico can be traced back to one of the branches of history.
Mexico's characteristics set it apart from other Spanish American nations. Peter and Steven M. Bell wrote that no other country has so thoroughly fused European and non-European cultural influences.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Mexico is the 10th most populous country in the world with over 128 million people. Mexico has several ethnic groups. The mestizo are people of mixed indigenous Central American and European heritage. The majority of the population has a mostly European background, with Indigenous Central American people accounting for 21 percent. The culture of Mexico is unique to these groups. Mexico does not collect census data on ethnicity.
The median age of the population in Mexico is 29 years old, which is up from 27 in 2015. A little over 8 percent of the population is 55 to 64 years old, and nearly 8 percent are 65 or older.
It is estimated that 81 percent of the total population of Mexico lives in urban areas, with Mexico City alone having a population of nearly 22 million, making it the fifth most populous city in the world.
The majority of Mexicans speak Spanish. Spanish is spoken by 98.3% of the Mexican population according to the CIA. Spanish is spoken by over 5% of the population, as well as other indigenous languages such as Nahuatl. Other languages, including English, have Mexican words. Chocolate, coyote, tomato, and avocados all originated in Nahuatl.
A marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles said that much of Mexican culture revolves around religious values and the church. According to the CIA, 78 percent of Mexicans identify themselves as Catholic, although many incorporate pre-Hispanic Maya elements as part of their faith. The first colonists wanted to bring Christianity to the region and merged the approaches of Europe and Central America.
Both pre-Columbian religion and Spanish Catholicism used public ritual. Linda A Curcio-Nagy, a professor of history at the University of Nevada, wrote that priests quickly introduced their aboriginal parishioners to religious plays, music, and festivals, especially at Easter and Corpus Christi, both of which celebrated the Holy Eucharist.
Presbyterians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, Mormons, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists and Anglicans are some of the Christian denominations in Mexico. Muslims, Jews, and Buddhists live in small communities.
Mexicans are very conscious of their responsibilities to immediate family members and extended family such as cousins and even close friends.Hosting parties at their homes plays a large part of Mexican life and making visitors feel comfortable is a large part of the values.
Family units are usually large, with traditional gender roles and extensive family involvement from the external members who assist one another in day to day life. There is a strong connection among family members.
A large event in a Mexican family is the birthday. A young lady is celebrating her 15th birthday. The journey from childhood to womanhood is marked by it. The party includes a dress for the girl of honor, food, dancing, friends and families. There is a mass at the church before the party. The girl is accompanied by her maids of honor andchamberlains throughout the festivities.
The Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington, D.C. published a publication called "Mexico For You," which states that Mexican cuisine varies widely between regions. According to History.com, rice is a staple.
Mexican food is one of the country's most popular cultural exports, with many foods that originated in Mexico being popular worldwide.
The climate of central Mexico is suited to the production of the alcoholic beverage, which is made from the prickly pear cactus. In Mexico, soda is a very popular drink.
Mexican folk art includes clay pottery, embroidered cotton garments, wool shawls, colorful baskets and rugs. Millennia-old traditions include silver-smithing, mosaics, textiles, pottery and basket-weaving.
The Mariachi style of folk music is associated with the country. It originated in the southern part of the state of Jalisco in the 19th century and involves a group of musicians playing instruments.
Two of Mexico's most famous artists are Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Their paintings depict life in Mexico. Rivera was a pioneer of Muralism, a movement that used expansive wall art to educate the people. The deep history of Mexico itself and personal pain are some of the things that inspired the work of Frida Kahlo.
Many people don't think of Mexico as a place that fosters high fashion, but there are many Mexican fashion designers. There is a fashion week in Mexico. In the cities, fashion is influenced by international trends, so the typical urban Mexican dresses are similar to people in Europe and the United States.
A sleeveless tunic-like dress called a huipil is a traditional Mexican dress for women. The cotton dresses were made very simple. Traditional Mexican women's clothing now includes lots of ornate embroidered images and patterns that have symbolic meaning attached to them.
A sarape is a large blanket cape and is one of the distinguishing articles of traditional men's clothing. A wardrobe staple is boots. The charro suit is associated with Mariachi musicians. At formal events in Mexico, the suit is an acceptable substitute for a tuxedo. The sombrero is a wide-brimmed hat that provides plenty of shade.
The currency of Mexico is the peso. According to the CIA, the service sector makes up 65 percent of the GDP and the industry makes up 31 percent. Its primary agricultural products are sugar cane, maize, milk, oranges, sorghum, tomatoes, poultry, wheat, green chillies/peppers, and eggs.
Mexican business culture tends to value personal relationships, a strong hierarchy and a clear consciousness of status.
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a major Mexican holiday that commemorates the appearance of the Virgin Mary to an indigenous Mexican in the first years of Spanish rule. She's the country's patron saint. This is followed by a nine-day celebration in which people re-enactment Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem to find a place to stay. Families go from door to door, asking for shelter until the owners open the door, at which point the party begins.
According to the University of New Mexico, the Day of the Dead is a day set aside to remember and honor those who have died. In Mexico, Carnival is celebrated to mark the period before Lent.
On September 16th, the country celebrates Independence Day, marking the separation from Spain in 1810. The Mexican military victory over the French in 1862 is celebrated in the United States as a beer promotion.
Read about one of the men who helped to shape events in the history of Mexico and Central America.
If the culture and life of Central America before the arrival of European colonizers interests you, then a visit to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitl is for you.
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