Culture of Mexico
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2022) |
Part of a series on the |
Culture of Mexico |
---|
Society |
Topics |
Symbols |
|
Mexico's culture emerged from the culture of the
First inhabited more than 10,000 years ago, the cultures that developed in Mexico became one of the
The culture of an individual Mexican is influenced by familial ties, gender, religion, location, and social class, among other factors. Contemporary life in the cities of Mexico has become similar to that in the neighboring United States and in Europe, with provincial people conserving traditions more than city dwellers.[7]
Religion
The Spanish arrival and colonization brought
In 2010, 95.6% of the population were
Other religious groups for which the 2000 census provided estimates included
Arts
Mexico is known for its folk art traditions, mostly derived from the indigenous and Spanish crafts.[14] Pre-Columbian art thrived over a wide timescale, from 1800 BC to AD 1500. Certain artistic characteristics were repeated throughout the region, namely a preference for angular, linear patterns, and three-dimensional ceramics.
Notable handicrafts include clay pottery from the valley of Oaxaca and the village of Tonala. Colorfully embroidered cotton garments, cotton or wool shawls and outer garments, and colorful baskets and rugs are seen everywhere. Mexico is also known for its pre-Columbian architecture, especially for public, ceremonial and urban monumental buildings and structures.
Following the conquest, the first artistic efforts were directed at evangelization and the related task of building churches. The Spanish initially co-opted many indigenous stonemasons and sculptors to build churches, monuments and other religious art, such as
After the
-
Murals of Bonampak (between 580 and 800 AD)
-
La huida a Egipto (The Flight into Egypt). Miguel Cabrera, around 1700.
-
Exconvento (Ex-convent), by José María Velasco. 1860.
-
La leyenda de los volcanes (The legend of the volcanoes). Saturnino Herrán. 1910-1912.
-
Liberación (Liberation). Jorge González Camarena. 1908.
Literature
Mexican literature has its antecedents in the literature of the indigenous settlements of Mesoamerica and European literature.
Other notable writers include
Language
Mexico is the most populous
Some Spanish vocabulary in Mexico has roots in the country's indigenous languages, which are spoken by approximately 6% of the population.[18] Some indigenous Mexican words have become common in other languages, such as the English language. For instance, the words tomato, chocolate, coyote, and avocado are Nahuatl in origin.[19]
Architecture
With thirty-four sites, Mexico has more sites on the
The
The Academy of San Carlos, founded in 1788, was the first major art academy in the Americas. The academy promoted Neoclassicism, focusing on Greek and Roman art and architecture. Notable Neoclassical works include the Hospicio Cabañas, a world heritage site, and the Palacio de Minería, both by Spanish Mexican architect Manuel Tolsá.
From 1864 to 1867, during the
After the Mexican Revolution in 1917, idealization of the indigenous and the traditional symbolized attempts to reach into the past and retrieve what had been lost in the race toward modernization.
Functionalism, expressionism, and other schools left their imprint on a large number of works in which Mexican stylistic elements have been combined with European and American techniques, most notably the work of
Enrique Norten, the founder of TEN Arquitectos, has been awarded several honors for his work in modern architecture. His work expresses a modernity that reinforces the government's desire to present a new image of Mexico as an industrialized country with a global presence.
Other notable and emerging contemporary architects include Mario Schjetnan, Michel Rojkind, Isaac Broid Zajman, Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta, and Alberto Kalach.
-
Ancient city of Teotihuacán (200 BC - 800 AD).
-
Ancient Mayan city of Uxmal, exuberant in Puuc style. ~700 AD.
-
Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Oaxaca. 1572-1724
-
Cathedral of Zacatecas. 1729-1772.
-
Casa del alfeñique (House of the alfeñique), Puebla. Late 1700s.
-
Hospicio Cabañas. 1791
-
Juárez Theater, Guanajuato. 1873-1903
-
Quinta Gameros, Chihuahua. 1910.
-
Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts). 1904-1934.
Cinema
The history of Mexican cinema dates to the beginning of the 20th century when several enthusiasts of the new medium documented historical events – most particularly the Mexican Revolution. The
Present-day film makers include Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores perros, Babel), Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth), Carlos Reygadas (Stellet Licht), screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and directors of photography such as Guillermo Navarro and Emmanuel Lubezki.
National holidays
Mexicans celebrate their Independence from Spain on September 16, and other holidays are celebrated with festivals known as "Fiestas". Many Mexican cities, towns, and villages hold a yearly festival to commemorate their local patron saints. During these festivities, the people pray and burn candles to honor their saints in churches decorated with flowers and colorful utensils. They also hold large parades, fireworks, dance competitions, and beauty pageant contests, all the while partying and buying refreshments in the marketplaces and public squares. In the smaller towns and villages, soccer, and boxing are also celebrated during the festivities.
Other festivities include Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe ("Our Lady of Guadalupe Day"),
"Guadalupe Day" is regarded by many Mexicans as the most important religious holiday of their country. It honors the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico, and it 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.
The
In modern Mexico, particularly in the larger cities and in the North, local traditions are now being observed and intertwined with the greater North American Santa Claus tradition, as well as with other holidays such as Halloween, due to Americanization via film and television, creating an economy of gifting tradition that spans from Christmas Day until January 6.
A piñata is made from papier-mache. It is created to look like popular people, animals, or fictional characters. Once made it is painted with bright colors and filled with candy or small toys. It is then hung from the ceiling. The children are blindfolded and take turns hitting the piñata until it breaks open and the candy and small toys fall out. The children then gather the candy and small toys.[23]
Cuisine
Mexican cuisine is known for its blending of Indigenous and European cultures. The cuisine was inscribed in 2010 on the
Popular dishes include
The most important and frequently used spices in Mexican cuisine are
Next to corn, rice is the most common grain in Mexican cuisine. According to food writer Karen Hursh Graber, the initial introduction of rice to Spain from North Africa in the 14th century led to the Spanish introduction of rice to Mexico at the port of Veracruz in the 1520s. This, Graber says, created one of the earliest instances of the world's greatest Fusion cuisines.[29][30]
In southeastern Mexico, especially in the Yucatán Peninsula, spicy vegetable and meat dishes are common. The cuisine of Southeastern Mexico has quite a bit of Caribbean influence, given its geographical location. Seafood is commonly prepared in the states that border the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico, the latter having a famous reputation for its fish dishes, à la veracruzana.
Chocolate originated in Mexico and was prized by the Aztecs. It remains an important ingredient in Mexican cookery.[31]
Music and dance
The foundation of Mexican music comes from its indigenous sounds and heritage. The original inhabitants of the land used drums (such as the
Mexican society enjoys a vast array of music genres, showing the diversity of Mexican culture. Traditional music includes
Mexicans also listen to contemporary music such as
Folk songs called
Mariachis perform along streets, festivals and restaurants. A common Mariachi group can include singers, violins, a guitarrón, a guitarra de golpe, vihuela, guitars, and trumpets.[38] The most prominent Mariachi group is Vargas de Tecalitlán, which was originally formed in 1897.
Other styles of traditional regional music in México:
).Folk dances are a feature of Mexican culture. Significant in dance tradition is the "Jarabe Tapatío", known as "Mexican hat dance". Traditional dancers perform a sequence of hopping steps, heel, and toe-tapping movements.
Among the most known "classical" composers:
Popular composers includes: Agustín Lara, Consuelo Velázquez ("Bésame Mucho"), José Alfredo Jiménez, Armando Manzanero, Álvaro Carrillo, Joaquín Pardavé and Alfonso Ortiz Tirado.
Traditional Mexican music has influenced the evolution of the
-
Northern Dance in Nuevo León
-
China Poblanadress.
-
Totonacs.
-
Baile Flor de Piña, a traditional dance evoking the delicate of pineapple blossoms
Sport
The traditional national sport of Mexico is
The country hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1968 and the FIFA World Cup in 1970, 1986, and the upcoming 2026 and will be first country to host the FIFA World Cup three times.[41]
See also
- Alebrije, folk art sculptures
- China Poblana
- Conquian, card game
- El Chavo del Ocho, sitcom
- Flag of Mexico
- Festivals in Mexico
- Folktales of Mexico
- Ghosts in Mexican culture
- List of museums in Mexico
- Lotería, game
- Mexican ceramics
- Mexican handcrafts and folk art
- Mexican tea culture
- Narcoculture in Mexico
- National symbols of Mexico
- Papel picado
- Quinceañera, celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday
- Rebozo
- Rodeo
- Serape, shawl
- Textiles of Mexico
- Traditional Mexican handcrafted toys
- Vaquero
References
- ^ "Cultural exchanges between Mexico and the Philippines | Geo-Mexico, the geography of Mexico". geo-mexico.com. 2010-09-04. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- S2CID 161852229.
- ^ Eye, The (2020-07-29). "Al Pastor and the Lebanese Influence on Mexican food". Beach, Village & Urban Living in Oaxaca. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ^ "History of Korean Immigration to America, from 1903 to Present | Boston Korean Diaspora Project". sites.bu.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ^ Cocking, Lauren (2017-07-19). "The Untold History of Afro-Mexicans, Mexico's Forgotten Ethnic Group". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ^ "Mexico's Lasting European Influence". www.banderasnews.com. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ^ Mexico - Daily life and social customs - Encyclopedia Britannica
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Mexico". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- JSTOR 24451552.
- ^ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. 12 September 2022.
- INEGI. 2000. Archived from the original(PDF) on 15 December 2005. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
- ^ "Church attendance". Study of worldwide rates of religiosity. University of Michigan. 1997. Archived from the original on 2006-09-01. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
- ^ "The Largest Catholic Communities". Adherents.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2000. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Mexican Folk Art - Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology
- ^ "Mexican muralists: the big three - Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros. : Mexico Culture & Arts". www.mexconnect.com. 2 June 2020.
- ^ "Western Literature". britannica.com.
- ^ "Learn Spanish in Mexico - Spanish Courses in Mexico - Spanish Schools in Mexico". Spanish-Language.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
- ^ a b "Mexico - General country information". MoveOnNet.eu. Archived from the original on 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
- ^ "Amerindian Words in English". Zompist.com. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
- ^ "Betraying the Maya". Archeology Magazine. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
- ^ Botto, Ricardo. "Dia de Reyes, the story of Los Tres Reyes Magos". Mexonline.com. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ^ a b Franco, Gina; Poore, Christopher (1 November 2017). "Day of the Dead is not "Mexican Halloween"—it's a day where death is reclaimed". America Magazine. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ "The mysterious origins of the piñata". BBC.
- ISBN 9781135057060.
It is said to resemble the star of Bethlehem. The Mexicans call it the flower of the Holy Night, but usually it is called poinsettia after the man who introduced it to America, Dr Joel Poinsett.
- ^ "The Legends and Traditions of Holiday Plants". www.ipm.iastate.edu. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ "Traditional Mexican cuisine - ancestral, ongoing community culture, the Michoacán paradigm". UNESCO. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
- ^ "Mexico Wine Routes & Regions - Vineyards & Wineries of Baja". chiff.com. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
- ^ "Which Herbs and Spices Are Commonly Used in Mexican Cooking?".
- ^ Me n Mine-English. p. S-84.
- ^ Vegan Mexico: Soul-Satisfying Regional Recipes from Tamales to Tostadas. 2016.
- ^ "History of Chocolate".
- ^ "The History of Vanilla". National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021.
- ^ "A Nice Cup of Tea: Searching for Camellia Sinensis".
- ^ Montoya Arias, Luis Omar; Díaz Güemez, Marco Aurelio (2017-09-12). "Etnografía de la música mexicana en Chile: Estudio de caso". Revista Electrónica de Divulgación de la Investigación (in Spanish). 14: 1–20.
- ^ Domic Kuscevic, Lenka (2000). "Geografía y literatura. Una aproximación metodológica". Estudios de Humaninades y Ciencias Sociales (in Spanish). 6: 51–54.
- ^ As well as an art, music is a way of life
- ^ Media industry in Mexico - statistics & facts
- ^ mariachi | music - Encyclopedia Britannica
- ^ ""Mexican Charrería", a national sport" (PDF). gob.mx.
- ^ Sports and recreation - Mexico - Encyclopedia Britannica
- ^ Dubov, Kalman (22 June 2022). Journeys to the United Mexican States. Kalman Dubov. p. 188.[self-published source?]