Mexico
Country Facts
- Capital City: Mexico City
- Currency: Peso = 100 centavos
- International dialling code: +52
- Official name: United Mexican States
- Population: 120.3 million
- Web domain: .mx
- Historical Figures: Hernán Cortés (1485 - 1547) Spanish conquerer who established Veracruz, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753 – 1811) leader of the Mexican War of Independence, Benito Juárez García (1806 – 1872) great reformer and president from 1858 until his dead
- Food taboos and favourites: Mexican diet is very substantial: lots of meat, cheese and chili. Favorites: tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, pozole, mole poblano
- Holidays and Celebrations: Day of the dead (Día de los Muertos) is the celebration of dead as part of life (october 31st until november 2nd), Independence Day (september 16th), Christmas and Posadas as pre-Christmas parties
- Languages and Foreigners: Official language is Spanish, but in fact there are 62 indigenous languages which are officially recognized as national languages, for example: Náhuatl and Mayan
- Key words and national Identity: Viva México, hijos de la Chingada is the expression for the Mexican struggle in finding their national identity and Malinche is the key figure in the conflict with the Spanish conquest. She is the betrayer who sold herself to the Spanish Conquerors and was the lover of Hernán Cortés.
- Landmarks and places of cultural significance: Zócalo in Mexico City was a main ceremonial center in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, today you can find the National Palace there. The temples of Teotihuacán (north from Mexico City) and Chichén Itzá (Yucatán) and about 1000 cenotes which appear as huge holes in the earth filled with fresh water.
- Music genres: Traditional Mariachi music, salsa and Reggaeton
- Celebrities you should know: Enrique Peña Nieto (president), Mistico (Wrestler), Javier Hernandez “Chicharito” (soccer player), Vicente Fernández Gómez (“Ranchera” musician)
- Sports: ”Lucha Libre” (free wrestling), Soccer, Baseball.
- Religions: Roman Catholicism