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Many Cultures of Mexico

What is Mexico?

A The most populous country in the Spanish-speaking world, Mexico is a popular tourist destination, offering coastal beach resorts, pre-Columbian ruins (from civilizations that lived in Mexico before the time of Columbus), colonial towns, and a vibrant capital city. But Mexico is more than Maya, mariachis, and margaritas. It is a developing nation with a population of over 100 million, made up of extremely diverse ecosystems, cultures, and ethnicities. It has many of the problems of developing countries, yet as one of the biggest economic forces of the Spanish-speaking world, it is also poised to become a world leader. What is the past of this North American nation, and what will the future bring? There are no simple answers to these questions. Instead a mosaic of cultures shapes this society and contains clues to the future. Here is just some of what makes Mexico special.

History

B Before the Spanish conquest in the early sixteenth century, many different civilizations flourished in Mexico, including the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and finally the Aztec civilizations. In 1519, the Spaniard Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, capturing Montezuma, the Aztec ruler, and toppling his empire. The Spanish ruled for 300 years, until they were overthrown in a series of battles leading to Mexican independence in 1821. The Mexican population is composed of mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish), Indian (over 60 distinct indigenous populations still exist), and white people. The official language is Spanish, but many indigenous languages, such as Mayan and Nahuatl, are spoken as well.

Mexican Megacity

C Mexico City is famous for its pollution. The city is home to some 16 million people who contribute to—and suffer from—the problem daily. The pollution, which is generated by car exhaust, factory emissions, and leaking residential gas tanks, leads to respiratory and eye problems among Mexico City residents. Infants suffer the most and on bad days fill hospital emergency rooms. In an effort to reduce automobile emissions, the government issued an order banning cars from driving on the road one day per week, according to their license plate numbers. This infamous decree does little to control the problem, as people buy a second or even a third car in order to circumvent the city ordinance. These secondary cars are often older and cause even more pollution.

D Yet despite a reputation for pollution, crime, and chaos, many visitors are enchanted by Mexico's capital city, with its parks, colonial architecture, and vibrant nightlife. Sean, a Canadian visitor, remarked, "I had expected an intense and difficult stay in a city out of control; but the case was the exact opposite in Mexico City. Tales of excessive crime and pollution were all I heard about this place, but I found it to be no more dangerous or polluted than any other major city. The culture here is rich. The old downtown center with its well-preserved colonial buildings is stunning." It's true, attests Julieta, a Mexico City native. Mexico City is a cultural center hosting the best of dance, theater, cinema, art, and offering restaurants for all tastes and pocketbooks. In addition, Mexico City is home to the best universities in the country, as well as a superb public transportation system, making the city more livable. So don't believe everything you read. See for yourself.

Cowboys and Indians

E The American West is famous for its images of cowboys, lassos, and rodeos. The source of U.S. cowboy culture lies in Mexico's heartland. Known as México Profundo (literally "deep Mexico"), Mexico's heartland is a part of the country that seems to live in the colonial past. The countryside is dotted with church spires and farms. Mexican cowboys, called charros, are part of charrería, a cultural complex of values, clothing, music, and equestrian sports that involve the handling of horses and bulls while on horseback. Charros show off such skills as riding and roping at a charreada, similar to the American rodeo. The charreada can be very dangerous, but the charros see that as part of the game. The charros played an important role in the Mexican fight for independence, and they hold on to their past with pride, often handing down the identity of charro from generation to generation.

F The Heartland is also home to a distinctively different group from the charros: the Tarascan Indians. For centuries, the Tarascan Indians have fished using butterfly nets, uniting in a circle and simultaneously plunging their nets into the waters of Lake Pátzcuaro to catch tiny white fish. They are also famous for their Day of the Dead festivities, celebrated every year on November 2. This Mexican tradition stems from the belief that the souls of the dead return each year to visit their relatives and comes from a mix of native Indian and Spanish Catholic customs. Living relatives honor the dead with their favorite food and drink as well as personal belongings and ornaments. The living also celebrate with pan de muerto (a special bread made to look like bones) and skull-shaped candies. To outsiders, this tradition may seem strange, even morbid, yet to Mexicans it's their way of saying that death is a natural part of life. While the Day of the Dead is celebrated all over Mexico, the Tarascans' Day of the Dead festivities are among the most dramatic and moving. They begin the night before with a ceremonial duck hunt. Then, at midnight, they bring the cooked duck and other treats to the cemetery, accompanied by the light of thousands of candles and the music of chanting men and women.

Chiapas

G The rainforest region of Chiapas is probably most well known for the Zapatista rebels, a masked group of Mayan Indian farmers who staged a rebellion against the Mexican government after the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. The rebels wanted better education, health care, and land distribution, as well as indigenous rights, freedom, and democracy for the Maya inhabitants of the region—things that many Mexicans today feel NAFTA robs them of. After the rebellion, many landless Mayan peasants seized and occupied land of cattle ranchers, mostly non-Indians. To the Maya, who are traditional gardeners, raising cattle is considered a waste of land.

H Despite Chiapas's reputation as dangerous, many visitors to the region comment that the state capital of San Cristóbal de las Casas is a gem. The city, in fact, has become a hot destination for international backpackers in search of a bohemian lifestyle. Yet while the political situation has settled in recent years, the numerous social issues - poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment - facing the mostly Indian population are still unresolved. Peace advocates in the region have noticed a recent increase in crime and human rights violations and fear that the region is a time bomb waiting to go off.

But There's More...

I These stories only show you part of what Mexico is all about. A mix of new and old, modern and traditional, indigenous and Spanish, snow-topped mountains, deserts, volcanoes, and glimmering beaches, it cannot be characterized in just a few paragraphs.

Recalling Information

Mark each of these sentences with a T (for true) or F (for false).


1		Mexico is a popular tourist destination.


2		Mexican culture is very homogeneous.


3		Mexico is a developed nation.


4		The Spanish ruled Mexico for hundreds of years.


5		Mexico City is one of the cleanest cities in the country.


6		The charros are one of the many groups of indigenous peoples in Mexico.


7		The charros fought to gain independence from the Spanish.


8		The Tarascan Indians are farmers.


9		During Day of the Dead celebrations, people eat sweets in the shape of skulls and skeletons.


10		Chiapas is now a politically stable region of Mexico.


11		Tourists generally avoid the Chiapas region.


12		The Maya population in Mexico still faces a lot of inequalities.

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