Culture

• Traditionally, Mexico has been divided between the Spanish-meztiso north and Indian-meztiso south.

• The country can be further divided into 10 traditional cultural regions: the North, Northeast, Northwest, Baja Calipornia peninsula, Central, West, Balsas, Gulf Coast, Southern Highlands, and Yucatan Peninsula.

• Mexico’s population is composed of many ethnic groups, including indigenous American Indians who account for more than one-sixth of the total, and Mexican heritage who are nearly as numerous.

• Language-Spanish is the official national language and

language of instruction in schools. It is spoken by vastly majority of the population. Fewer than one-tenth of American Indians speak an indigenous language.

However, there are more than 50 indigenous languages spoken by more than 100,000 people, including Maya, Huastec, Tarastec, Otomi, Mazahua, Zapotec, Oaxaca, and Tzeltal.

Many public and private schools offer instruction in English as a second language.

• Religionthere is no official religion in Mexico, as

the constitution guarantees separation of church and state. However, more than nine-tenths of the population are at least nominally affiliated with Roman Catholicism.

The Basilica of Guadalupe, the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico’s patron saint, is located in Mexico city and a site of annual pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands of people, many of then peasants.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary of Mexico City is one of the oldest and largest Roman Catholic cathedral in the Americas and seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico’s patron saint

• There are also some protestants, small number but rapidly growing groups.

• A significant portion of indigenous peoples practice syncrectic religions—that is, they retain traditional religious beliefs and practices in addition to adhering to Roman Catholicism.

• Still, Catholic Church teachings, including its stances on birth control and abortion, have strong support in Mexican culture.

• Within the Catholic religion many superstitions have developed over centuries and are even practiced today but mostly with the uneducated and poorer population.

• A common Mexican superstition called "mal de ojo" in Spanish, (Evil Eye) it can cause all sorts of calamities to people and also to material items.

• In reality, the evil eye can be condensed down to jealousy and desire. If a stranger looks upon your child or baby with either of these emotions in her eyes, she has just given your child the evil eye. To keep the evil eye at bay, whenever a person looks at a baby and offers a compliment, she must touch the child at the same time.

• If a child is suffering from a high fever, crying fits, or nausea and swelling in some part of the body, it is generally thought to be due to the evil eye. If the person who gave the child the evil eye is located, she must pass three mouthfuls of water to the child to break the spell. A red bracelet can also be worn to protect against the evil eye.

Other widespread superstitions include the following:

•Never walk beneath a ladder. •Never cross a black cat's path. •If you drop a tortilla, you will have lots of company. •If you cut a baby's fingernails before the age of one

year, the child will have impaired eyesight.•Tuesday is unlucky; never start a journey or

anything important on this day

• Mexican Holidays -associated with Catholic feast days.

Some examples:Lenten SeasonEasterAll Saint’s DayChristmas Day

• Daily life in Mexico varies dramatically to socioeconomic level, gender, ethnicity and racial perceptions, regional characteristics, rural versus urban differences, and other social and cultural factors.

• Mexican society is sharply divided by income and educational level. Although a middle class has struggled to expand in the cities, the principal division is between the wealthy, well-educated elite, and the urban and rural poor, who constitute the vast majority of the population.

• Huge income disparties exist in Mexico, a country in which nearly half the population lives on less than $4 a day.

• The ever widening gap between rich and poor continues to create stress and generate great contrasts in the Mexican culture.

• Mexican culture is generally traditional, with Mexican men in particular holding onto old-fashioned ideas about gender roles and family.

• In the Mexican household, the father/husband or oldest male remains the primary authority figure, making most of the family decisions, while the mother/wife continues to bear the majority of the responsibility when it comes to raising children and maintaining the home.

• Mexican children are expected to be well-behaved, obedient and respectful of their elders. Older family members often live with their children and grandchildren and are a valued part of Mexican culture. These cultural traditions are also found in Mexican-American culture in the U.S.

• Mexicans will occasionally say that while their English-speaking neighbors to the north live to work, Mexicans work to live.

• The Mexican culture puts great emphasis on family and interpersonal relationships, and while Mexicans are industrious and dependable workers, work it is not the end all, be all of Mexican life or of the Mexican culture.

• Time can always be taken to enjoy a good meal with friends or to spend time with family, leading to a less stressful and perhaps more fulfilling way of life than that found in many highly-industrialized countries.

• The concept of time is an interesting aspect of the Mexican culture. Life is generally is very slow paced

• Generally, families and households gathers for a large midday meal at 2 or 3 pm. It is followed by siesta or afternoon nap.

• Their usual meals are consist of corn, beans, and rice.

She tucked them into her dress for safe keeping.After a while, she discovered that she was pregnant

“Who is the father of this child”, they commanded.“It was a ball of Hummingbird feathers”, she replied, but no one

believed her story.

The top half or her body went into the heavens and the lower half crashed into the seas, forming the earth.

He created a race of men from grey ash.

Their lives were easy and they lived without pain and suffering.

They forgot to honor their creators and they took the earth’s riches for granted

Quetzacoatl decided to spare these two and gave them instructions

Teta and Nena did as they were told.

The greedy men and women turned into fish and are still fish today.

Her hands and feest were decorated with animal claws. She became insatiably hungry for human blood and demanded regular human sacrifice.

If they didn’t, Coatlicue will withdraw the earth’s gifts and everyone will die out of starvation.

THE END