Culture of Mexico is a Latin American culture that reflects the complexity of Mexico's history through the blending of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican civilizations and the culture of Spain, imported during the Spanish colonization of Mexico, which lasted for more than three centuries. Latin American culture is the formal or informal expression of the peoples of Latin America and includes both High culture (literature high art and Popular culture Mexico is a country in North America and the largest Spanish -speaking country in the world Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined The culture of Spain is an Iberian culture marked by the period of Roman influences Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America.
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Way of life
The way of life in Mexico includes many features from the nation's long Amerindian past and the Spanish colonial period. Mexico, in the second article of its Constitution, is defined as a "pluricultural" nation in recognition of the diverse ethnic groups that constitute it The people of Mexico take great pride of their country, culture, ethnicity, lifestyle and economic independence. Mexican culture also exhibits strong family ties, respect, hard working and socializing together in the community.
Mexico has changed rapidly during the 20th century. In many ways, contemporary business life in its largest cities has become similar to that in neighbouring United States and Europe. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Most Mexican villagers follow the older way of life more than the city people do. About three-fourths of the people of Mexico live in cities and towns. Large populated urban areas include Mexico City, Netzahualcóyotl, Estado de México, Baja California, Guadalajara, Jalisco and Monterrey, Nuevo León, while rural areas include Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Yucatán and many more. Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico Nezahualcoyotl (Nezahualcoyōtl nesawaɬˈkojoːtɬ (meaning "Coyote in fast" or "Coyote who Fasts"( April 28 1402 &ndash June 4 Mexico State or State of Mexico (often abbreviated to " Edomex " from Estado de México in Spanish) is a state in the Baja California (pronounced ˈbɑːhɑː kælɨˈfɔrnjə in English is the northernmost state of Mexico. Guadalajara (ˌgwɑːdləˈhɑːrə Spanish pronunciation) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality This article is about the Mexican city for other uses see Monterrey (disambiguation. Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country The Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), in Spanish phonemically /oa'xaka/ named for its largest city, is one of the The State of Guerrero is a state in the southern meridional region of Mexico. Sinaloa is one of the 31 states of Mexico. Geography Sinaloa is bordered to the north by Sonora and Chihuahua; to the south Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states of Mexico, it is located in the northeast Yucatán is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucatán Peninsula.
Religion
The Spanish arrival and colonization brought Roman Catholicism to the country and became the main religion of Mexico. Today, 89% of the population belong to the Catholic faith, making the country as the second largest Catholic nation in the world, after Brazil. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld [1] Other Christian religions include Evangelical, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses. Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States and the largest and most well-known Jehovah's Witnesses is a restorationist, millenialist Christian denomination
In the southern areas of the country, which are predominantly of indigenous populations, traditional Amerindian religions are practiced and has been incorporated into the Spanish Catholic faith.
Art
Mexico is known worldwide for its folk art traditions, mostly derived from a combination of the indigenous and Spanish crafts. Folk art describes a wide range of objects that reflect the Craft traditions and traditional social values of various social groups Particularly notable among handicrafts are the clay pottery made in the valley of Oaxaca and the bird and animal figures made in the village of Tonalá. Colorfully embroidered cotton garments, cotton or wool shawls and outer garments, and colorful baskets and rugs are seen everywhere. Between the Spanish conquest and the early Twentieth Century, Mexican fine arts were largely in imitation of European traditions. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on After the Mexican Revolution, a new generation of Mexican artists led a vibrant national movement that incorporated political, historic, and folk themes in their work. The Mexican Revolution (Revolución Mexicana was a major armed struggle that started with an uprising led by Francisco I The painters Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros became world famous for their grand scale murals, often displaying clear social messages. Diego Rivera (December 8 1886 &ndash November 24 1957 was born Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez José Clemente Orozco ( November 23, 1883 &ndash September 7, 1949) was a Mexican social realist painter, who José David Alfaro Siqueiros ( December 29, 1896 in Camargo, Chihuahua, Mexico - January 6, 1974 in Cuernavaca Rufino Tamayo and Frida Kahlo produced more personal works with abstract elements. Rufino Tamayo ( August 25, 1899 &ndash June 24, 1991) was a Zapotecan Indian Frida Kahlo (July 6 1907 – July 13 1954 was a Mexican painter, who has achieved great international popularity Mexican art photography was largely fostered by the work of Manuel Álvarez Bravo. Photography (fә'tɒgrәfi or fә'tɑːgrәfi (from Greek φωτο and γραφία is the process and Art of recording pictures by means of capturing Manuel Álvarez Bravo ( February 2, 1902 &ndash October 19, 2002) Álvarez Bravo was born in Mexico City on February 41902
Literature
The literature of Mexico originated from the concepts of the Amerindian and Spanish settlements of Mesoamerica. Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined Outstanding colonial writers and poets include Juan Ruiz de Alarcón and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Juan Ruiz de Alarcón y Mendoza (1581? Real de Taxco, now in Guerrero - August 4, 1639) one of the greatest Spanish-American dramatists Sor Juana ( November 12, 1651 1648 according to some biographers &ndash April 17, 1695) also known as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Music
The foundation of the music of Mexico comes from its indigenous sounds and heritage. The original inhabitants of the land, used drums, flutes, gourd rattles, sea shells and voices to make music and dances. A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells The flute is a Musical instrument of the Woodwind family Unlike other woodwind instruments a flute is a Reedless wind instrument that produces its This ancient music is still played in some parts of Mexico. However, much of the traditional contemporary music of Mexico were written during the Spanish colonial period. Folk songs called corridos have been popular in the country, since the 16th century. Corrido is also a type of song in Capoeira music. For the Italian commune see Corrido Italy. It may tell the story about the Mexican Revolution, Pride, Mestizo, Romance, Poverty, Politics and Crime issues. Pride is a lofty view of one's self or one's own Pride often manifests itself as a high opinion of one's Nation (national pride Ethnicity (ethnic pride or appearance Mestizo is a Spanish term that was coined during the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry in Latin Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment
Today, popular musical groups known as Mariachis perform along streets, festivals and restaurants. MARIACHI, the Mixed Apparatus for Radar Investigation of Cosmic-rays of High Ionization, is an apparatus for the detection of Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR A Mariachi group includes singers, guitar, trumpets, violin and marimba players. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member In some parts of Africa the term "marimba" refers to the Kalimba. Folk dances are regarded to be one of the most important features of Mexican culture. The most significant of this dance tradition is the "Mexican hat dance", known as "Jarabe Tapatío". Traditional dancers perform a sequence of hopping steps, heel and toe tapping movements.
National holidays
Mexicans celebrate their independence day from Spain in September 15 and 16, and other holidays with colourful festivals known as "Fiestas". Every Mexican city, town and village holds a yearly festival to commemorate their local patron saints. During these festivities, the people pray and burn candles to honour their saints in churches decorated with flowers and colourful utensils. They also hold large parades, fireworks, dance competitions, beauty pageant contest, party and buy refreshments in the market places and public squares. In the smaller towns and villages, football, boxing, cockfighting and amateur bullfighting are also celebrated during the festivities.
Mexico also celebrates Carnaval (in February 3 to February 8), Semana Santa ("Easter", on March or April), Cinco de Mayo ("5th of May", celebrated on May 5) and Día de los Muertos ("Day Of the Dead", celebrated on October 31 to November 2). Carnival is a festival season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February and March Holy Week ( Latin: Hebdomada Sancta or Maior Hebdomada, "Greater Week" in Christianity is the last week before Easter. Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "5th of May" is a Mexican national holiday that honors the Mexican victory over the French army at Puebla de Los Angeles in 1862 The holiday commemorates The Other festivities include Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe ("Guadalupe Day"), Las Posadas ("The Inns", celebrated on December 16 to December 24), Noche Buena ("Holy Night", celebrated on December 24), Navidad ("Christmas", celebrated on December 25) and Año Nuevo ("New Years Day", celebrated on December 31 to January 1). Noche Buena, often translated as "Good Night" is a Spanish word referring to the night of Christmas Eve. New Year's Day is the first day of the Year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome (though "Guadalupe Day" is regarded by many Mexicans as the most important religious holiday of their country. It honours the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico, which is celebrated on December 12. In the last decade, all the celebrations happening from mid December to the beginning of January have been linked together in what has been called the Guadalupe-Reyes Marathon. Guadalupe-Reyes Marathon is a concept typical of Mexican culture.
Cuisine
Mexican cuisine is world-renowned for its blending of indigenous and European cultures. Mexican food is a style of food that originated in Mexico. Mexican cuisine is known for its intense and varied flavors colorful decoration and variety of spices Popular dishes include maize, tortilla, tacos, enchiladas, frijoles, atole, tamales, and pozole. Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica In Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the United States, and Canada, a tortilla is a type of thin unleavened A taco ( is a traditional Mexican dish composed of a Maize or wheat Tortilla folded or rolled around a filling Not to be confused with Enceladus. An enchilada ( is a corn Tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a chili Atole ( Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl atolli) is a traditional Cornstarch -based Mexican and Central American (where it is known as A tamale ( Spanish tamal, from Nahuatl tamalli) is a traditional indigenous American food consisting of steam-cooked corn Pozole (from Spanish pozole, from Nahuatl potzolli; variant spellings posole, pozolé, pozolli) is a traditional Traditionally the main Mexican ingredients consisted of chicken, pork, beef, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, peppers, chillis, onions, peanuts, avocados and guavas. The chicken ( Gallus gallus, sometimes G gallus domesticus) is a domesticated Fowl which is traditionally believed to have descended from Pork' is the Culinary name for Meat from the domestic Pig ( Sus scrofa) often specifically the fresh meat but can be used as an all-inclusive Beef is the Culinary name for Meat from Bovines especially domestic Cattle (cows The potato is a Starchy Tuberous crop Vegetable from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica The tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum, syn Lycopersicon lycopersicum) is a herbaceous usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family Organicsalsajpg||thumb|right|Onions used in salsa.]]Cooked onions in frying pan Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday Comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M The avocado ( Persea americana) (from Nahuatl āhuacatl) also known as aguacate ( Spanish) butter pear or Guava is a Genus of about 100 Species of Tropical Shrubs and small Trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. Popular beverages include water flavoured with a variety of fruit juices, and cinnamon-flavoured hot chocolate prepared with milk or water and blended until it becomes frothed. Hot chocolate (also known as hot cocoa, drinking chocolate or just cocoa) is a heated Beverage that typically consists of Froth is Foam consisting of bubbles in a Liquid. One common form of froth is Milk froth deliberately created as part of a drink Alcoholic beverages include mescal, pulque and tequila. Mezcal (from Nahuatl mexcalli, "earth roast maguey hearts" wrongly known as 'mescal' is a Mexican distilled spirit protected by International Pulque, or octli, is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of the Maguey, and is a traditional native beverage Tequila is an agave-based spirit made primarily in the area surrounding Tequila, in the northwest of Guadalajara and in the highlands (
Sport
The traditional national sports of Mexico are Bullfighting and Charreria. Bullfighting or Tauromachy (from Greek ταυρομαχία - tauromachia, "bull-fight" is a traditional spectacle of Spain The charreada is a style of Rodeo developed by people in Mexico interested in keeping the traditions of the Charro ( charrería) alive Football is also highly appreciated and is regarded to be the most popular contemporary recreation in the country. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Most state has its own representative teams. Among the country's significant teams include Club América, Chivas de Guadalajara, Cruz Azul and Pumas de la UNAM. Club América, most commonly known as just América, is a professional Mexican football club playing in the Primera División. Club Deportivo Guadalajara SA de CV, commonly known as Las Chivas ( The Goats) is a Mexican Association football team based in Guadalajara Club Deportivo Social y Cultural Cruz Azul, also known as Cruz Azul, is a popular Mexican professional Football (soccer club Club Universidad Nacional AC, also referred to as Pumas de la UNAM, is a Mexican professional football club Notable players include Hugo Sánchez, Claudio Suárez, Luis Hernández, Francisco Palencia, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Jared Borgetti, Rafael Márquez, Pavel Pardo, Ramón Ramírez, Jorge Campos and Oswaldo Sánchez. Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born July 11 1958 popularly nicknamed Pentapichichi, Hugol, was the former coach of the Mexican National Football Team from February 7 Claudio Suárez Sánchez (born December 17, 1968 in Texcoco, México) is a Mexican International football Luis Arturo Hernández Carreón (born December 22, 1968 in Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico) is a retired Mexican football Juan Francisco Palencia Hernández (born April 28 1973 in Mexico City) is a Mexican football striker, currently playing for UNAM Pumas Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo (born January 17 1973 in Mexico DF) also known as Cuau or Temo, is a Mexican international football Jared Francisco Borgetti Echavarría (born August 14 1973 in Culiacancito, Sinaloa) is a Mexican football Striker, who currently Rafael Márquez Álvarez (born February 13 1979 in Zamora Michoacán) is a Mexican football centre back and Defensive midfielder Pável Pardo Segura (born July 26 1976 in Guadalajara, Jalisco) is a Mexican international football player who currently plays for VfB Jesús Ramón Ramírez Ceceña (born 5 December 1969 in Tepic, Nayarit) is a Mexican Football (soccer player and one of the all-time capped Jorge Campos Navarrete (nicknamed El Brody or Chiqui-Campos) (born October 15 1966 is a Mexican football coach and Oswaldo Javier Sánchez Ibarra (born September 21 1973 in Guadalajara Jalisco) is a Mexican international goalkeeper currently playing for Santos Laguna
Mexico is also known for its strong boxing tradition, having produced world champions such as Julio César Chávez, Salvador Sánchez, Érik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Márquez and Jesús Chávez. Julio César Chávez González (born July 12, 1962 in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora) is a retired Mexican professional boxer Salvador Sánchez Narvaez ( January 26, 1959 - August 12, 1982) was a Mexican boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco Érik Isaac Morales Elvira (born September 1, 1976 in Tijuana, Mexico) is a retired Mexican professional boxer. Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974 in Mexico City) is a Mexican professional boxer. Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973, in Mexico City) is a Mexican professional boxer and the current The Ring Jesús Gabriel Sandoval Chávez (born November 12, 1972) is a Mexican professional boxer. Other popular recreational activities include lucha libre (Mexican professional wrestling), baseball, fishing, scuba diving, Jai alai, cockfighting, and basketball. Lucha libre ( Spanish for "free wrestling" is a term used in Mexico and other Spanish-speaking areas to refer to a certain form of Professional wrestling Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each For the computer security term see Phishing. Fishing is the activity of catching Fish. Scuba diving is swimming underwater, or taking part in another activity while using a Scuba set. Jai alai (ˈhaɪəlaɪ in English and jaɪɑlaɪ or xaɪɑlaɪ in Basque A cockfight is a Blood sport between two Roosters held in a ring called a cockpit Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m
The country also hosted the summer Olympic Games in 1968 and the FIFA World Cup in 1970 and 1986. The Olympic Games is an international Multi-sport event established for both summer and winter games The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international Association football The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup was held in Mexico, from May 31 to June 21. The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 29.
See also
References
- ^ "The Largest Catholic Communities." From: adherents. The history of Mexican cinema goes back to the beginning of the 20th century when several enthusiasts of the new medium documented historical events &ndash most Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic com. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
External links
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