The Mexican Culture Essay Samples

The Mexicans belongs to the race of Latinos. In the early days of the conquest, the Spanish conquistadores married some of the Aztecs who originally inhabit the place. The result of the intermingling of the cultures produced a new breed of people whom we now know as Mexicans. In studying one’s culture, it is necessary to know its context in order to fully understand the Mexican society. Saracho and Martinez-Hancock defined culture as a systematic approach of studying a country’s history, religion, beliefs, and practices respectively (Saracho and Spodek, 204). The culture is the soul of a country; it serves as an identity that distinguishes a country from another due to its unique traits, beliefs and practices. As a Mexican, the majority of the people I meet sometimes consider me as Spanish due to my language. In some instances, other races often confuse me as an Arab because of my physical attributes that is quite similar to the people living in the Middle East. Christianity is the largest and primary religion of the Mexicans. Originally, the Aztec Empire was one of the largest cultures in the North America. However, due to the Spanish conquest, the natives became Christianized and baptized with a Hispanic name. The changes brought by the conquistadors to the native Aztecs highly influenced their indigenous culture. History claims that the earlier Aztec civilizations were based on animism or pagan religions. The habit of animal and human sacrifices is quite a commonplace to the Aztecs. The Spanish invasion made Mexico another site of Christianity, in addition to it becoming a part of the Spanish empire. Furthermore, as part of the Spanish colony; Mexico played an important role in commerce. Perhaps one of the most important contributions of Mexico was the establishment of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade which started from 1565-1815. The galleon trade was responsible for the cultural exchange between the Philippines and Mexico (Agoncillo, 85). Compared to the Americans who value independence from their families, the Mexicans were known to have a strong sense of familismo. Strong family ties were preserved, unlike in the Anglo culture. Even Garcia-Prieto claimed that a Mexican family sometimes feels its obligation towards its members. They are shown to be more traditional rather modern. The elder son holds the authority in the family after the father dies. In some cases, a Mexican family might also consider having an extended family which involves the elderly (Santana and Santana, 14). Mexico currently uses Spanish as its primary language, although schools and universities often include English since it is the universal language. Moreover, Mexican food is probably one of the most popular in the world. Taco chips, tortillas, chilis, and tomatoes were all considered important in Mexican cooking. Most of the restaurants in Mexico still serve cochinillo, a meat of a young pig, taco which was made out of rolled corn tortilla chips filled with meat and other exotic spices became Mexico’s trade mark in the world cuisine. It is therefore true that once a country has been liberated by its invader, a fragment of their culture still remains intact; in Mexico’s case, it cannot sever its connection to Spain because their culture has become engraved in the country’s history for many generations.

Works Cited

Agoncillo, Teodoro. History of the Filipino People. 8th ed. Quezon City: Garotech Publishing. 1990. Print.
Santana, Sandra, and Felipe Santana. Mexican Culture and Disability: Information for US Service Providers. New York: Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange (CIRRIE). 2001. Web. <http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/culture/monographs/mexico.pdf>
Saracho, Olivia, and Bernard Spodek. Contemporary Perspectives on Families, Communities, and Schools for Young Children. United States: Information Age Publishing. 2005. Print.