Mexican Cultural Overview

Mexicans are the people of Mexico, a nation of Southern North America.

Geography

Mexico borders the United States to the north and Belize and Guatemala to the south. It is part of Central America’s narrow border between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, with coastlines along the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and Northern Pacific. The country is ecologically diverse. Moving north to south, its landscapes include hot deserts, tropical jungles, dry forests, sandy beaches, and lagoons.

• Climate: Tropical to desert

• Capital: Mexico City

• Total Population: 125,959,205 (2018 est.)

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History

The history of Mexico is the story of great empires, colonialism, and a nation founded on the ideal of liberty. The region is one of the hubs of world civilization, giving rise to ancient cultures like the Olmecs, Maya, and Aztecs. Of these, Mayan city-states and the Aztec Empire were the most prominent civilizations encountered by European explorers. The Aztecs rose to power in the 14th century by conquering and uniting the cultures around them. Their reign was cut short in 1519, when Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortes landed and made their way to the Aztec capital, the great lake city of Tenochtitlan. There, his soldiers captured King Moctezuma II, a move that ultimately resulted in Moctezuma’s death and the razing of the city. Modern Mexico City is built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan.

This sudden and shocking intrusion forever altered the history of Mexico. Spain established the Viceroyalty of New Spain and began extracting resources on the backs of indigenous people. Spanish immigrants mingled with native populations, creating a large population of people with mixed ancestry. After centuries of colonial rule, Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1810 and gained it by 1821. From there, the fledgling republic weathered repeated invasions, political violence, and economic struggles. It lost much of its northern territories to the United States, first through the secession of Texas and then through the Mexican-American war.

After a brief period of empire imposed by the French, Mexico reformed as a republic under Benito Juarez in 1867. He was followed by Porfirio Díaz, who worked to modernize the nation but triggered a civil war between 1910 and 1920 through rampant corruption. World War II brought a much needed influx of capital to Mexico, as the United States relied on its neighbor for war-time manufacturing. Over the next few decades, Mexico experienced both great economic growth and continued political instability. The nation has since emerged as a major contributor to the world economy.

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Daily Life

Mexico is an agriculturally rich nation with a long tradition of farming. Its historic people typically grew the North American staple crops of maize, beans, and squash. In addition, its upper classes enjoyed access to luxury items like chocolate, avocado, tomatoes, and chili peppers. They possessed few livestock, mainly raising turkeys, ducks, and a breed of short, plump dogs. The rest of their meat was gained by hunting and fishing. Many lived in thatched houses or urban apartments and wore white cotton clothing, though these could vary dramatically by climate and culture. Many lived in urban apartments, much like the modern day.

Spanish colonization brought many changes to life in Mexico, though peasant life often continued along similar lines. The Spanish introduced livestock like pigs, chickens, cattle, and horses as well as new crops. These fused with indigenous ingredients to form modern Mexican cuisine. While modern Mexico has struggled with poverty, the majority of its citizens now live in urban centers and pursue careers or wage labor.

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Society

The society of Mexico is the product of its own advanced civilizations and the influence of colonialism and European cultures. For thousands of years, the people of Mexico organized into complex societies like those of the Mayan city-states and Aztec Empire. These civilizations possessed writing systems, calendars, and advanced knowledge of fields like mathematics and astronomy. They operated on a familiar structure of nobility served by craftsmen, traders, priests, and a large peasant base. The Aztecs formed their empire through conquest and vassalization and were known to sacrifice defeated enemies. This habit, while effective, would later contribute to their downfall.

Spanish conquistadors led an expedition to the heart of the Aztec Empire in 1519, the lake city of Tenochtitlan. Under the leadership of Hernan Cortes and disgruntled Aztec vassals, the Spanish forces toppled the Aztec monarchy and imposed a new social system on its populace. Rather than replacing the Aztec aristocracy, Spanish colonizers preferred to preserve existing social structures with themselves and their descendants at the top of the system.

After gaining independence, Mexico went through a series of governments, including a brief occupation by France. Wealth concentration continued along the hacienda system, which was somewhat broken in the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution between 1910 and 1920. Since then, Mexico has seen remarkable economic growth, but also continued income disparities and a rise in organized crime.

• Major Languages: Spanish

• Urban Population: 80.2% (2018 est.)

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Economy

Before the 20th century, Mexico’s economy relied primarily on the labor of peasant farmers. Since its earliest civilizations, large cities and rural communities alike all needed a stable supply of food to grow and prosper. By exacting tribute from farmers, Mexican nobles, merchants, and craftsmen were able to build complex societies and amass greater wealth. During the Aztec era, luxury goods included cacao, gold, silver, jade, obsidian, cotton, feathers, and turquoise.

When Spain first sent conquistadors to the New World, they were primarily searching for fabled lands overflowing with gold. In Mexico, what they found instead was abundant silver. Spanish arrivals established large farming estates and silver mines using indigenous laborers. Working conditions were generally harsh, and only nominally different from slavery. Much of Mexico’s economy history in the 19th and 20th centuries is the story of modernization, corruption, and the struggle for workers’ rights.

The modern Mexican economy has its foundations in World War II. After a period of improved infrastructure and foreign investment, Mexico became a natural manufacturing partner of the United States. Mexican citizens not only fought in the war, but also ensured a steady supply of food, minerals, manufactured goods, and workers for the United States. From there, Mexico transformed into a major manufacturing and agrarian economy. It is now a member of NAFTA and the 11th-largest economy in the world.

• Major Industries: Food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism

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Beliefs

Prior to European contact, the civilizations of Mexico practiced a variety of faiths sharing similar themes and practices. They tended to feature large pantheons of gods, a strong tradition of astronomy, pyramidal temples, ritual sacrifice, and respect for the natural world. The practice of human sacrifice was viewed with horror by the Spanish, who began a zealous campaign to convert local nobles and, by extension, commoners. Within a few decades, the colony of New Spain was predominantly Catholic. The Catholic Church wielded incredible power in early Mexico, only limited by social reform movements in the mid-19th and early-20th centuries. Today, the vast majority of Mexican people still identify as Roman Catholic.

Religious Demographics:

• Roman Catholic: 82.7%

• Other Evangelical Churches: 5%

• None: 4.7%

• Unspecified: 2.7%

• Other: 1.9%

• Pentecostal: 1.6%

• Jehovah's Witness: 1.4% (2010 est.)

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Arts & Music

Mexico possesses a unique art history reflecting both indigenous and European styles. Its precolonial civilizations specialized in arts like sculpture, ceramics, weaving, and mural painting. The Mayan and Aztec alphabets used pictograms, allowing for a degree of artistic interpretation in both language and writing. Much of the indigenous art preserved today survived through codices compiled by missionaries. Spanish influences brought European painting techniques and perspectives to Mexico. Its arts and literature flourished particularly in the early 1900s alongside populist and socialist movements. Perhaps the nation’s most famous artists are Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, a painter and muralist respectively.

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References

Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel. Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. Oxford University Press. 2006.

Beezley, William. The Oxford History of Mexico. Oxford University Press. 2010.

Foster, Lynn. Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World. Oxford University Press. 2002.

Koch, Peter. The Aztecs, the Conquistadors, and the Making of Mexican Culture. McFarland & Co. 2006.

Long-Solis, Janet and Luis Alberto Vargas. Food Culture in Mexico. Greenwood Press. 2005.

Ruiz, Ramon Eduardo. Triumphs and Tragedy: A History of the Mexican People. W. W. Norton & Company. 1993.

“The World Factbook: Mexico.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 7 June 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html.

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