México

Cecilia Salazar Cantú679511

Location and sizeMexico is a country located in North America and is bordered by the United States to the north, Belize and Guatemala to its south, the Gulf of Mexico to its east and the North Pacific Ocean to its west.

Important facts about Mexico:•Oficial Name: The United Mexican States

•Size: 1.958.201 km². Mexico covers almost two million square kilometers. It is the fourteenth largest country in the world,and the fifth largest in the Americas

•Population: Mexico has a population of about one hundred and five million people.

•Political Division: Mexico consists of a federation of thirty one states and one federal district. The district, Mexico City, is one of the most populated cities on a global level.

•President: Felipe Calderon

•Capital: México, D. F.

• Monetary Unit: mexican peso

•Official language: The primary language spoken by Mexican people is Spanish, brought to the region by Hernán Cortéz and his men when they arrived from Spain to conquer the land in the name of the Spanish Crown. However, more than sixty two different native languages are still spoken by several Mexican people, mainly in rural areas. (náhuatl, otomí, maya, zapoteca, mixteca and others 61)

This is our flag:

The Mexican Flag is a green, white and red banner whose center contains an eagle eating a rattlesnake while standing with its left claw upon a nopal cactus, and a half circle of green oak on the left (symbolizing strength) and laurel branches on the right (symbolizing victory). The green symbolizes the fertility of the earth., the white symbolizes purity, and the red symbolizes the blood that was shed during the battles for Independence.

The eagle eating a snake while perched upon a cactus is from an ancient Aztec legend in which the Aztec people were told by Huitzilopochtli (their God) that to find their promised land, they were to find the place where an eagle landed on a nopal cactus while eating a snake. After wandering for hundreds of years, they found the eagle on a small swampy island in Lake Texcoco. This new Aztec home was named Tenochtitlan (meaning "Place of the Nopal Cactus"), and in 1325, they built what is now called Mexico City.

El Día de la Bandera or the Fiesta of the Mexican Flag is celebrated on February 24.

Interesting facts about Mexico

Mexican bio-diversity. It is known for its flora and fauna and is one of the seventeen mega-diverse countries in the world. It has a host of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and flora. It is therefore ranked second, first, fourth and fourth respectively.

Good old tequila: One of the most well known facts about Mexico is that Tequila is the national drink. What is not so well known is that this drink exists from before Mexico became a nation.

Pyramid: Fans of archaeology who fly to Mexico will spend entire days visiting the ancient pyramids and temples once built by the powerful Aztec warriors and the skilled Mayas, and be amazed by the impressive achievements they made. Mayan ruins are scattered throughout the Mexican jungle.

Volcanoes in Mexico: n the Central Highlands region of Mexico there are many volcanoes. Two volcanoes can be seen from Mexico City. These are Popocatépetl and Ixtacíhuatl. Both of these are quiet, although Popocatépetl sends up steam and smoke occasionally.

Popocatépetl Ixtacíhuatl

The national sport of Mexico is the masculine Bull fighting. All the large cities in Mexico have bullrings. The largest bullring in the world is La Monumental in Mexico City. Apart from the national sport, the favorite sport of Mexico is football. It has two National First Division Leagues. Baseball comes a close second in the list of popular sport of Mexico.

Football team Monterrey Baseball team

These are the most important football teams in Monterrey, Mexico

Tigres Rayados

Bull fighting

Mexico is one of the best countries of the world that attracts tourists across the globe; the reason of being unique is - as you can see on the given map of Mexico that the country's eastern side is flanked by Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Mexico) and Pacific Ocean lies on the western side.

Los Cabos San Lucas

Cancun Puerto Vallarta

Manzanillo

Huatulco

Olmec statue

History Before the arrival of the first Europeans to the Americas, the civilizations of ancient Mexico achieved important advances in military strategy, architecture, mathematics and agriculture. The Olmec culture was the mother of all Mesoamerican civilizations. They lived between 1200 BC and 800 BC, and among their achievements is a complex system of numbers, which is the predecessor of the Maya Calendar.

After the Olmecs disappeared, several other cultures raised. The most known of those cultures were the Maya, unparalleled architects, and the Aztecs, who greeted the Spanish Conquerors on 1519.

Maya Pyramid

Aztec Warrior

The Spanish supremacyAt the arrival of Hernán Cortés and his men, the natives of Mexico thought the Spaniards were sent by a God to help the Aztecs in their battles against other tribes. However, Cortés showed his intentions soon, and the war between Aztecs and Spaniards (the first big Mexican war) began. In 1521, Cortés defeated the Aztecs and claimed the land for the Spanish Crown. Although the Aztecs were superior in strategy and military organization, the Spaniards had more advanced weapons.

Forging the Mexican IndependenceAfter hundreds of years of Spanish domination, the population of Mexico began to dream about having a country of their own. At those times, Mexican society was formed by a minority of pure native descendants, by “Mestizos” (people with mixed Native-Spanish blood), by Spanish immigrants who came to Mexico to accumulate wealth, and by a majority of “Criollos” (people with pure Spanish descent who were born in Mexico). Tired of the taxes imposed by the Spanish Crown, the Criollos initiated an insurrection that resulted in the proclamation of the Mexican Independence in 1821. With the Spanish out of the land, the Criollos became the ruling class in Mexico.

Mexican FoodThe typical Mexican food is characterized by the intensity of its flavors. The Mexican dishes are usually very well seasoned - the spicy is a very distinctive flavor - and also tend to be abundant and colorful dishes.

The fact is that Mexican cuisine is famous worldwide, and this is because it has great flavor dishes such as tacos, enchiladas, tamales and guacamole.

GUACAMOLE

TACOS

TAMALES

ENCHILADAS

People

Mexican people are known for their kindness and hospitality. Descendants of the Aztecs and Mayas, they show great artistic skills as well as pride for their heritage.

Maybe the most important characteristic of the Mexican people is their festive spirit. It may be hard to believe that people who have suffered so much along their history have such a strong celebration mood. Every single holiday, National, religious or local, has its celebration.

Religiously, socially and culturally diverse, Mexican people are always ready to demonstrate their good will by offering their help to whoever may need it.

Culture• Mexican people have

preserved many of their ancestors traditions. Many of them are present in Mexican music, which resembles the music produced by the ancient Aztec’s drums and ceremonies.

The foundation of Mexican music comes from its indigenous sounds and heritage. The original inhabitants of the land, used drums, flutes, maracas, sea shells and voices to make music and dances. This ancient music is still played in some parts of Mexico. However, much of the traditional contemporary music of Mexico was written during and after the Spanish colonial period, using many European instruments. Some instruments whose predecessors were brought from Europe, such as the vihuela used in Mariachi music, are now strictly Mexican.

Tequila, Mariachi and Tacos, are considered symbols of mexican culture.

A very important fact is that in Mexico The family is the nucleus of the society.

Dances This includes the dances performed by the indigenous groups such as the Aztecs and Mayans, as well as dances brought by the Spanish and other Europeans beginning as early as the fifteenth century. The early Amerindian dances included ritual and secular dances. The many European dance influences included ballroom styles such as the waltz, the shottishe, and the polka.

Today, Mexican Folk Dance groups, or grupos folkloricos, perform representative dances from a variety of states and regions of Mexico. One of the most famous dance troupes in Mexico is El Ballet Folklorico de Mexico

We have holidays in almost every month of the year:

• January: New year’s day.• February: Constitution Day and valentine’s day.• April: Children's Day• May: Labor Day and battle of Puebla.• June: Father's Day• SEPTEMBER: Independence Day.• October: halloween.• November: day of the dead.• December: Christmas Day

GRACIAS!