Mexico: A Country Profile - Research Paper Example

? Mexico Roosevelt Toomer Rio Salado Community College 29 March I. Mexico II. Mexico got its independence from Spain on the 21st of September 1821. It was declared and established as an independent republic in 1824. It is also known as the United Mexican States. Mexico went through numerous challenges because of invaders and other kinds of national problems that affected it throughout the twentieth century. It has risen from its troubled past, however, and is currently one of the most popularly liked and thriving nations of the world. Mexico is the fifth largest country in North America and the thirteenth largest in the whole world. Mexico fits in geographically with North-America, but ethnologically, it is part of Latin America (Nationsonline.org, n.d.). Mexico has the highest population in all of Spanish-speaking countries in the world. Around 70% of the people live in urban areas (Nationsonline.org, n.d.). Based on some estimates, the population of the area around Mexico City is roughly 18 million, which means it has the highest population concentration in the Western Hemisphere (Nationsonline.org, n.d.). The capital of Mexico is Mexico City. It has always been the centre of economic, political, social and cultural values of the nation, even before Mexico became a part of Spain. But when Mexico became independent, ultimately, Mexico City was made the capital of the United Mexican States. The flag of Mexico is quite different from other flags of the world. It is not only unique, but also holds a very deep and interesting story, as well as strong facts about the country Mexico. The flag consists of three colored bands placed in a vertical manner. Starting from the left, the first band is of green color, which represents hope, joy, love and prosperity (Barbezat, n.d.). The second band is of white color, which depicts peace, unity, and honesty (Barbezat, n.d.). The third band has the color red, which symbolizes courage and strength (Barbezat, n.d.). Initially, the green stood for independence, white symbolized religion, and red represented the union of Americans and Europeans; however, during the secularization of the country under President Benito Juarez (president of Mexico from 1858 to 1872), the implications of the colors were changed: green meant hope, white for unity, and red for the blood of the national heroes (Barbezat, n.d.). In the center of the white band is The Mexican Coat of Arms. It is composed of an eagle eating a snake on top of a cactus (Barbezat, n.d.). The Mexican Coat of Arms is based on an Aztec legend, which narrated the way in which the Aztecs came to select the site where they built their capital city of Tenochtitlan (where Mexico City is located at present). The Aztecs, also called as the Mexica ("meh-shee-ka"), were a nomadic people who came from the north of the country (Barbezat, n.d.). The god of war, Huitzilopochtli, showed himself in a dream of an Aztec leader. Huitzilopochtli told this leader that they should settle in the land, where they would find an eagle sitting on top of a prickly pear cactus with a serpent (Barbezat, n.d.). The Aztecs saw this eagle in a quite inhospitable place, a swampy location in the middle of three lakes, but they believed in this vision and built the grand city of Tenochtitlan (Barbezat, n.d.). The currency of Mexico is “Peso.” Though American and Canadian dollars are accepted at some places where there are maximum visits of tourists, the peso is widely used in every area of Mexico. III. Mexico is widely famous around the world for innumerable features, including its astounding natural beauty, as well as man-made amusements. It is a well-developed country and is popular in different parts of the globe. These are some of the reasons that attract tourists towards Mexico. Tourists are usually found in almost every season of the year, especially during school and office vacations, and there are many tourists who enjoy living the Mexican lifestyle for a few days. IV. The following are some of the discussions about language, art, marriage, family and religion of Mexico. V. Language is a group of words that form a sentence, include the groups of sentences that form a complete conversation or written text. Language is important to help speakers send their messages to recipients and to attain various communication goals. Before a systematic form of language is developed, it must have been difficult or slower to express oneself to other people. Language now includes body language and actions that play an important role in affecting what people actually want to tell each other. Mexico is a thickly populated country with a population of approximately 112,468,855 people (Info Please, n.d.). Its large area has included different dialects. Languages are spoken according to different areas and specific cultures. The official language of Mexico is Spanish and it has more than 66 Indian languages. Since Mexico was once a part of Spain, therefore, the official and most frequently spoken language in Mexico is Spanish. In fact, it is the most heavily populated Spanish-speaking nation of the world. Mexico is well-known for fluent Spanish and one can find Spanish being spoken in almost every part of Mexico. The most significant of the American Indian languages is Nahuatl. It is the main language of more than 1 million Mexicans and is spoken by almost one-fourth of all American Indians in the country (Angelo State University, n.d.). Maya is the next important Indian language that is spoken by 14 percent of American Indians, and Mixteco and Zapoteco, each used by about 7 percent of American Indians (Angelo State University, n.d.). In the present era, English is widely understood and spoken all over Mexico. As English is an international language, it is usually used in official works and meetings, especially at high levels of government and numerous organizations and corporations. It is hard to differentiate Mexicans from Indians because of intermarriages. Others can see some physical differences too among Mexicans and Indians. Before, however, Mestizos stood for Mexicans, where they were considered as a product of mixed indigenous and European blood (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). An Indian can be defined from an anthropological perspective. Anthropologist Alan Sandstorm provided minimum criteria that can fit Indian ethnicity. Sandstorm stressed that an Indian is someone who identifies himself as such; chooses to employ an indigenous language in every day speech; remains vigorously involved in village communal affairs; participates in spiritual ceremonies that have roots in Native American traditions; and tries to attain harmony with, rather than control over, the social and natural worlds (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). If one or more of these factors are lost, the Indian is said to have become a mestizo (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). This section will be describing art in Mexico. Art can be defined as a product of expression of one’s feelings, thoughts, and beliefs, which can be expressed in any form or channel, such as painting, sculpture, or live performances. It is a skill to express an idea by producing it in an intricate and exotic manner in the form of paintings, architecture, sculptures or any kind of dance or singing. However, art also depends upon the culture, the place where an artist is living, the environment where he/she is brought up, the circumstances in which he/she is living, the traditions which he/she follows, and the religion, as well. As described above, Mexico consists of different kinds of cultures. As a result, Mexico has a wide range of art works too. From wooden works to copper works, Mexico excels in almost each and every aspect of art and architecture. Some of the art works display Mexican culture or myths and beliefs, whereas other works represent spiritual beliefs that are deeply connected with God and the religion. Christianity, being a popular religion in Mexico, has resulted to numerous art works depicting Jesus Christ and other Christian personalities, especially the Virgin Mary. Apart from this, there is a wide range of art that displays a person’s self interest and passion. Wood masks, skeleton sculptures, ceramic work and copper are some of the popular arts in Mexico (The Art of Mexico, n.d.). Mexican folk art is one of the main art styles in Mexico. Some of its products are works called Talavera. Thinking of the word Puebla can result to imagining volcanoes that protect her, the Popocateptl and Iztaccihuatl, the culinary delicacies, the baroque architecture, and the ceramic of Talavera, which decorates almost every building, patio, square and even kitchens (Herz, 2012). Talavera is a kind of majolica earthenware, a white and glazed category of ceramic, which comes from clay that is abundant in Puebla (Herz, 2012). Although the Spaniards brought this type of pottery to Mexico, paradoxically the term Talavera is used more frequently in Mexico than in Talavera de la Reina, Spain (Herz, 2012). Talavera is “the oldest tin-glazed ceramic in America” and it is still being made using the same techniques as in the 16th Century (Herz, 2012). Puebla is not only the second most important city in Mexico, after the country’s capital Mexico City, it was the most central earthenware center of the Nueva Espana, which was the name of Mexico during the Colonial times (Herz, 2012). The manufacture of tiles and ceramic ware in Puebla started almost right away after the city was established in 1531 (Herz, 2012). The great quantity of quality clay in the region, as well as the magnificence of the arts at that time in Puebla had brought Talavera Poblana to its heights of beauty, which is why it was exported all over the world (Herz, 2012). See Figure 1 for an example. Figure 1: Talavera Source: Herz (2012) There are several hypotheses about its origin in Mexico, but the most established account is that Spanish monks from the Santo Domingo monastery in Puebla sent for craftsmen from Talavera de la Reina to educate the indigenous people of the region on how to work the clay, so that they could replicate the same pieces made in Spain (Herz, 2012). They wanted to decorate their monastery and church with tiles and religious sculptures made of talavera (Herz, 2012). The indigenous people of Mexico were already talented potters and had a very long custom of producing earthenware (Herz, 2012). But they did not know how to utilize the potter’s wheel or tin-glaze their pottery, which is one of the major characteristics of the majolica ceramic (Herz, 2012). Other versions of the story affirm that the Dominican friars were the ones that knew how to create this type of ceramic and that they were the ones that educated the Indians how to do it (Herz, 2012). Some documents showed the presence of a number of craftsmen from Talavera de la Reina in Puebla during the 16th Century, who established their workshops to create tiles and ceramic wares (Herz, 2012). It was a very gainful business, since there were so many churches and monasteries being made that time (Herz, 2012). This art work shows the immense resourcefulness and talents of the indigenous peoples of Mexico. This section will now discuss marriage in Mexico. Marriage is a pure, pious and spiritual bond between a man and a woman who intend to live their lives together as a husband and wife. Marriage is a common custom all over the world, but the ways and traditions of marriage differ in every place. In Mexico, marriages often occur in Catholic churches, as far as Christians are concerned. The bride wears a long white gown and the groom has his own option. The music is Salsa, which is quite popular as wedding music (WeddingDetails.com, n.d.). In Mexico, godparents act as padrinos and sponsor the wedding (World Wedding Traditions, 2004). They also act as mentors throughout the couple’s engagement and marriage (World Wedding Traditions, 2004). The bride and groom honor their godparents through having a special place on their wedding program. At times, the godparents present the couple with a rosary and Bible during the wedding ceremony (World Wedding Traditions, 2004). During the marriage vows, a white ribbon or rosary, called a "lasso," is representatively wrapped around the necks of the couple, which stands for their union (World Wedding Traditions, 2004). It was usual for a Mexican groom to give his wife a wedding gift of thirteen gold coins, which were then blessed by the priest during the marriage ceremony (World Wedding Traditions, 2004). This gesture stands for the groom's commitment to support his new wife (World Wedding Traditions, 2004). As the newlyweds leave the church, red beads may be tossed at them to give their marriage good luck (World Wedding Traditions, 2004). At the wedding reception, all the guests will link hands and form a heart shape around the newly married couple, when they have their first dance (World Wedding Traditions, 2004). A paper mach container known as a pinata is poised from the ceiling at Mexican wedding receptions. It often has the shape of a heart or an animal. It is filled with candy and swatted by children (World Wedding Traditions, 2004). When it is broken, the candy falls out and is shared among the guests (World Wedding Traditions, 2004). The Mexican wedding cake is frequently a fruit cake that has been soaked in rum (World Wedding Traditions, 2004). Family is another central unit in Mexico that deserves special mention and discussion. Family consists of parents, children, and other relatives. Unlike other western families, Mexico has a different family system, because it includes the extended family, or grandparents, and sometimes, even sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law. They live together and respect their family members. The extended family is as significant as the nuclear family for Mexicans, since it offers a sense of stability and continuity (Angelo State University, n.d.). Mexicans believe that it is their duty and responsibility to help family members (Angelo State University, n.d.). For instance, they will help their family members find employment or provide them credit (Angelo State University, n.d.). Most Mexican families are tremendously traditional, with the father as the head, the power figure, and the decision-maker (Angelo State University, n.d.). Mothers are significantly revered, but their role may seem secondary to their husbands (Angelo State University, n.d.). The Mexican people are quite religious and they have significant religious events where families get together to celebrate. Amongst the central dates for the Mexican families are the 12th of December which is known as the Nuestra senora de Guadalupe (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). The 24th and 25th of December are vital dates according to the Christian customs. The Mexican Independence Day, which is on the 16th of September, is also a vital day of family celebrations. Other Mexican holidays include the La Batalla de Puebla and La Noche de los Reyes Magos. During these events, families get together and catch up with each other’s stories and lives (Angelo State University, n.d.). Compared to other westerners, Mexicans seem to have a much unperturbed attitude when it comes to getting things done. They are sometimes misinterpreted as lazy, although in reality, most are industrious and finish the jobs provided to them. The society is focused on the bonds of the family, religion and tradition. Mexicans also have a strong spirit of hospitality. They will welcome visitors and are friendly to foreigners. This affection for outsiders is considered as part of the family values of Mexicans (Angelo State University, n.d.). They seem to treat others with the same love, respect and dignity like they would to their family members (Angelo State University, n.d.). Religion can be defined as a set of beliefs that are followed by a group of people who believe that they there is a higher power controlling everything in their lives. The most common religion found in Mexico is Christianity. As Mexico is a part of North America where Christianity is immensely common, Christianity exists in almost every area of Mexico. Mexican Catholicism is tremendously varied in practice. It spans from those who support long-established folk religious practices, typically in remote rural communities, to those who stick to the extremely intellectualized theology of liberation, and from charismatic renewal prayer groups to the traditionalist Opus Dei movement (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). Lay groups with dissimilar goals, purposes, and political orientations are renowned and ordinary in modern Mexico (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). The principal and most recognized include Mexican Catholic Action, Knights of Columbus, Christian Study Courses, Christian Family Movement, and different kinds of university students' and workers' organizations (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). The Virgin of Guadalupe has been historically the representation of the chief aspirations of Mexican society (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). According to Roman Catholic belief, in December 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared on three events to a Christian Indian woodcutter named Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac, six kilometers north of Mexico City's main plaza (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). She spoke to him in the Nahuatl language and named herself as Guadalupe (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). The Virgin instructed Juan Diego to look for Bishop Juan de Zumarraga and to notify him of her desire to have a church built for her on that spot (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). After two failed visits to the bishop's house, Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac and was ordered by the Virgin to get some roses, bear them on his cloak, and seek to make a third visit to the unconvinced bishop (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). Once in the bishop's office, Juan Diego opened his cloak to offer the roses, and an image of a mestizo Virgin had been astonishingly imprinted upon it (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). Bishop Zumarraga recognized the miracle, and a shrine was built on the site of Mary’s appearances (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). Nowadays, two neighboring basilicas of Our Lady of Guadalupe are at the base of Tepeyac hill. The first basilica, which was bestowed in 1709, but currently, is closed to services, accommodated 2,000 worshipers; the new ultramodern basilica, inducted in October 1976, houses up to 20,000 people (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). Juan Diego's original cloak with the mestizo Virgin image printed on it hangs above the altar of the new basilica (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). Based on the anthropologist Eric R. Wolf, the Guadalupe symbol connects family, politics, and religion; the colonial past and the independent current times; and the Indian and the Mexican (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). It stands for the outstanding social relationships of Mexican life and the emotions they produce (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). It is essentially a way of talking about Mexico (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). Harvey L. Johnson of the University of Houston shared the same views (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). For him, adoration of the brown-skinned Virgin has produced the resolution of two conflicting worlds, in the synthesis of two religions, two traditions, and cultures (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). Loyalty to Our Lady of Guadalupe remains vigorous even as other aspects of Mexican society have transformed (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). The UNAM national opinion poll discovered, for instance, that nine out of ten Mexicans continued to inquire intercessions from the Virgin or a saint (U.S. Library of Congress, 1996). VI. Conclusion: After the above study, I conclude that indubitably, the country of Mexico is an ultimate attraction for everyone who has not visited it yet and those who have will understandably wish to visit it again and again. There is no doubt in saying that Mexico is one of the most fantastic countries of the world that excel in every aspect, whether traditional or personal. Its fusion of the traditions and modern living can appeal to many people who want a sense of balance. Its strong family, social, and spiritual values also offer a more positive way of viewing and living life. References Angelo State University. (n.d.). Mexico. Retrieved from http://www.angelo.edu/dept/cis/country_profiles/mexico.php Barbezat, S. (n.d.). The Mexican flag: History and meaning of the Mexican flag. About.com. Retrieved from http://gomexico.about.com/od/historyculture/qt/mexican_flag.htm Herz, M. (2012). Talavera Poblana. Inside-Mexico.com. Retrieved from http://www.inside-mexico.com/folk/talavera.htm Info Please.(n.d.). Mexico. Infopleae.com. Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107779.html Nationsonline.org. (n.d.). Mexico. Nationsonline.org. Retrieved from http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/mexico.htm The Art of Mexico.(n.d.).The art of Mexico: The gallery of galleries. Retrieved from http://www.theartofmexico.com/about.htm U.S. Library of Congress. (1996). Mexico. U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved from http://countrystudies.us/mexico/ WeddingDetails.com. (2010).Mexican wedding traditions. Retrieved from http://www.weddingdetails.com/lore/mexican.cfm World Wedding Traditions. (2004). Mexican wedding traditions. World Wedding Traditions. Retrieved from http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/north_american_traditions/mexican_traditions.html Read More