Influences of the Culture

Aztec Culture…the start of it all• the Indians indigenous to the area of today’s Mexico

• had no written language, but spoke Nahuatl, a language unique to the Aztecs

• 2% of Mexico’s population still speaks this language today

• the Aztec’s mainly influenced today’s religious culture of Mexico

• the old Aztec pyramids and temples were the starting block of Catholic churches in Mexico today

• the idols the Aztec’s created were changed to look like Catholic saints and given Christian names

The influence of SPAIN

• the Spanish had the greatest impact on Mexican culture today

•they brought their language, Spanish, which is now the official and most commonly spoken language in Mexico

• the Spanish conquerors also brought with them architecture

• after the Spanish started to build you can see the difference between the old Aztec buildings and the newer, more European buildings

• the only real Aztec architecture left is the temples the Spanish turned into churches

• brought Roman Catholicism which is the most common religion today

USA…neighbors up north

• more recently America has had a more pop cultural influence on Mexico

• introducing modern technology

• popular TV shows and movies in the US usually get subtitled and aired or showed in Mexico

• the fashion in America has influenced Mexico, a lot of the same styles seen here are popular there too

• pop/rap music

These three different cultures have created the colorful and festive culture of…