Brief history of Mexico, a glimpse on their culture by studying about their politics, education, geography, cuisine and other facts.

1. A country rich in history,
tradition and culture..

3. Mother of Mesoamerican
Civilization
• The Olmecs grows out of the early villages, beginning in the
southern region of what is now Mexico.
• Marked by the effective cultivation of crops such as corn (maize),
beans, chili peppers and cotton
• Pottery, fine art and graphic symbols used to record Olmec
history, society and culture;
• and the establishment of larger cities such as San Lorenzo (about
1200-900 B.C.) and La Venta (about 900-400 B.C.).

4. The Mayans: Mesoamerica's most
brilliant civilization
The Mayan civilization, centered in the
Yucatán peninsula, becomes one of the
most dominant of the area’s regional
groups, reaching its peak around the sixth
century A.D., during the Classic period of
Mesoamerican history.
The Mayas ,
,
and , and left an
astonishing amount of
; the ruins can still be seen
today.

5. The Mayans: Mesoamerica's most
brilliant civilization

6. The Mayans: Mesoamerica's most
brilliant civilization
The Mayan alliance with
the Teotihuacán, a
commercially advanced
society in north-central
Mexico, had spread its
influence over much of
Mesoamerica.
were formedThey worshiped various gods related to
nature, including the gods of the sun, the
moon, rain and corn.
The Mayan kings, or " " (holy lords),
are claimed to be
and followed a

7. The Mayans: Mesoamerica's most
brilliant civilization
The less peaceful
side of Maya culture
includes: the
and the
importance of

8. The Toltecs: The beginning of militarism in
Mesoamerican society
With Teotihuacán and Mayan dominance beginning to
wane, a number of upstart states begin to compete for
power. The , who migrated from north of
Teotihuacán, become the most successful, establishing
their empire in the central valley of Mexico. The rise of the
Toltecs, who
, is said to have marked the
beginning of militarism in Mesoamerican society.

9. The Toltecs: The beginning of militarism in
Mesoamerican society
• The Toltecs made Tula their capital (also known as Tullan)
• Over the next 300 years, the Toltec civilization begins to
weaken due to internal conflicts and influx of new invaders
from the north.
• At 1200 A.D. the Toltecs were conquered by the
Chichimecha or the Aztecs.

10. The Aztecs: Nomads to ‘great empire’
• Aztecs, nomads from the north(The Aztlan, which
were the Aztecs is derived) arrived in Mexico’s
central valley.
• the settlement on central valley, Tenochtitlán,
near Texcoco was because of an eagle perched
on a cactus, preying on a snake, that they saw on
the marshy land. The Aztecs considered this as a
sign from their great god Huitzilopochtli.

11. The Aztecs: Nomads to ‘great empire’
in the city of Azcapotzalco.
, with an economy driven markets,
which was visited by 50000 people on major market days.
(Early forms of currency include cacao beans and lengths of
woven cloth)
• Their language, in
central Mexico by mid-1350s
• exquisitely feathered tapestries, headdresses and other
attire; finely worked ceramics; gold, silver and copperware;
and precious stones, particularly jade and turquoise.

12. The Aztecs: Nomads to ‘great empire’
• magnificent temples and palaces and imposing
stone statues decorating most street corners,
plazas and landmarks all embody the civilization’s
unfailing devotion to its many gods.

13. The Aztecs: Nomads to ‘great empire’
• magnificent temples and palaces and imposing
stone statues decorating most street corners,
plazas and landmarks all embody the civilization’s
unfailing devotion to its many gods.
plays an important role in Aztecs
religious rituals, with the most number of human
sacrifice a year compare to other mesoamerican
civilization.

14. The Aztecs: Nomads to ‘great empire’
: the arrival of the Europeans
, the to
visit Mexican territory, arrives in
the Yucatán from Cuba with three
ships and about 100 men.
• The locals clash with the Spanish
explorers, of them
and capturing several more.
• With these reports of Cordoba,
the Governor of Spain (Diego
Velasquez) ordered
to return to Mexico with
larger force.

15. The Colonial period (1519–1821)

16. The Colonial period (1519–1821)
with 11
ships, 600 soldiers and a large
number of supplies, including 16
horses.
• the
, where they begin
learning of the great Aztec
civilization.
• Cortés ,
on the Gulf of Mexico directly east of
Mexico City and took the place.
• Cortés made his way inward into
Mexicoto to
, enemies
of the Aztecs.

17. The Colonial period (1519–1821)
• When Cortez and his men arrived at
Tenochtitlán (the Aztecs’ capital city), they
were as honorable
guests,
whose return was
prophesied in Aztec legend.
Cortez and his allies attacked and conquered
the Aztecs. Cortez then colonized the area
and named it )
the diseases brought into the society by the
Spaniards devastated the indigenous
population of Nueva España, killing an
estimated
The was felt in the
region when missionaries began arriving in
Concerned about the Catholic Church's ever-
growing power,
from Nueva España in the late 1700s.

18. , a parish priest from the
town of Dolores, issued a call to rebellion (
)
rebel leader and defected royalist
general collaborated to gain
Mexico's independence from Spain
However, in
. A year later,
and drew up a
new constitution that established a
composed of 19 states and four territories.
From , served as
president, squelching Texas' stand for
independence in the battle of the Alamo during
his last year in office. He was later
and, by 1855, had gone into exile.
Following Mexico's
in the mid-1800s,

20. : Federal Republic
Branches of the Government
• Chief of the state/head of government: President Enrique
PENA NIETO
• Cabinet: appointed by the president; note - appointment
of attorney general, the head of the Bank of Mexico, and
senior treasury officials require consent of the Senate
• Bicameral National Congress
• highest court(s): Supreme Court of JusticePresident Enrique Peña Nieto

21. 1. The : a right-wing conservative party
founded in 1939
2. The , a center-left party that
was founded in 1929 to unite all the factions of the Mexican
Revolution and held an almost hegemonic power in Mexican
politics since then
3. The : a left-wing party,
founded in 1989 as the successor of the coalition of socialists
and liberal parties.

22. • Roman Catholic- 82.7%,
• Protestant -1.6%,
• Jehovah's Witnesses- 1.4%,
• other Evangelical Churches- 5%,
• other -1.9%,
• none -4.7%,
• unspecified -2.7%

23. The economy of Mexico is the
and the
, according to the World Bank.
GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate
- Total : $1.845 trillion (10th)
- Per capita : $15,608 (67th)
GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate
- Total : $1.327 trillion (14th)
- Per capita : $11,224 (62nd)
As such, Mexico is
now firmly established
as an
.

24. According to a 2008 UN report the
, while the
average income in
. Daily minimum wages are set annually by law and
determined by zone;
Mexico ranks:
• in electronics industry in the world after
China, United States, Japan, South Korea, and
Taiwan.
exporter of electronics to the United
States
produces the most automobiles of any
North American nation. The "Big Three"
(General Motors, Ford and Chrysler)
have been operating in Mexico since
the 1930s, while Volkswagen and Nissan
built their plants in the 1960s

25. Mexico has been traditionally among the
in the world according to the World
Tourism Organization and it is the most visited country
in the Americas, after the United States.
Mexico has the income from
tourism in the world, and the highest in Latin America.

26. Acapulco Beach
Catedral Metropolitana
de la ciudad de Mexico
Mayan pyramid ruins in
Chichen, Itza, Mexico

27. Education in Mexico is
n (Spanish: Secretaría de Educación Pública).
In Mexico,
primary school (primaria), comprising grades 1-6; junior
high school (secundaria), comprising grades 7-9; and high
school (preparatoria), comprising grades 10-12.
Depending on definitions,
, which are compulsory by law, while
Secondary education only includes preparatoria, which is
compulsory.

28. corresponds to primaria,
. It starts
the basic compulsory education system.
corresponds to secundaria, comprising grades 7-9,
when the student's age is 12 to 15 years old.
At this level, more specialized subjects may be taught
such as Physics and Chemistry, and World History.
There is also the which provides vocational
training, and the which provides distance
learning.

29. or " “ usually corresponds to preparatoria
or bachillerato, comprising grades 10-12, when the
student's age is 15 to 18 years old.
of
education, divided into six semesters, with the first
semesters having a common curriculum, and the latter
ones allowing some degree of specialization, either in
physical sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) or
social sciences (commerce, philosophy, law, etc.).

30. usually follows the US education model with an at
least 4-year Bachelor's degree undergraduate level
(Licenciatura), and two degrees at the postgraduate
level, a 2-year Master's degree (Maestría), and a 3-year
Doctoral degree (Doctorado).

32. is primarily a of
indigenous with
, elements
added after the Spanish conquest of the
Aztec Empire in the 16th century.

33. Corn
The remains corn in
almost all areas of the country.
Most corn is dried, treated with
lime and ground into a dough.
The importance of the chili
pepper goes back to the
Mesoamerican period. In the
16th century, Bartolomé de
las Casas wrote that
Beans are usually served as
side dish or ingredient to
most of their meals. The 1st
ever recorded dish made
from beans is the
which means "well-
fried beans“.

34. much of the food is with
the most traditional Mexican cooking
. It is considered to be , and
traditionally, girls have been considered ready to marry
when they can cook.
Food preparation, especially for
family and social events, is considered
to be an in order to
maintain social relationships.

35. Mexican street food is one of the most
varied parts of the cuisine. It can include
tacos, quesadillas, pambazos,
tamales, huaraches, alambres and food not
suitable to cook at home

36. The of Mexico’s street
foods, whose origin is based on the
pre-Hispanic custom of picking up
other foods with tortillas as utensils
were not used.
the filling varies from rice, to meat
(plain or in sauce) to cream, to
vegetables and cheese, or simply
with plain chili peppers or fresh
salsa.
a kind of sandwich, served on an
oblong 15 cm firm, crusty
white sandwich roll.
a flour tortilla or a corn tortilla
filled with a savory mixture
containing cheese, other
ingredients, and/or vegetables,
(often) then folded in half to form a
half-moon shape.
is the name of a Mexican white bread.
It is the dish (very similar to the torta)
made with this bread dipped in a red
guajillo pepper sauce and filled with
papas con chorizo (potatoes with
chorizo).

37. The land in this area
. This led to the dominance of meat,
especially beef, in the region, and some of the most
popular dishes include and .
The north produces the
. These include (fresh farmer's
cheese), (similar to Monterey Jack),
(a mildly sweet, creamy curd of fresh milk),
(similar to cottage cheese or riccotta), Chihuahua’s
creamy semi-soft and fifty-six varieties
of (smoked cheese).

38. Known for their
. The
seven are Negro
(black), Amarillo
(yellow), Coloradito
(little red), Mancha
Manteles (table cloth
stainer), Chichilo
(smoky stew), Rojo
(red), and Verde
(green)
in the region.
Tortillas are called
blandas and part
of every meal.
Another
important aspect
to Oaxacan
cuisine is
,
generally
consumed as a
beverage.

39. Yucatan food has its own unique style and is very
different from what most people would consider Mexican
food. It includes influences from the local Mayan culture.
There are many regional dishes. Some of them are:
is a slow-
roasted marinated pork dish
and by far the most renowned
of Yucatan food.
.
are soft, cooked
tortillas with lettuce, tomato,
turkey, and avocado on
top. feature fried
tortillas filled with black beans
and topped with turkey or
chicken, lettuce, avocado and
pickled onions.

40. is a "gourmet"
dish featuring ground pork
inside of a carved Edam
cheese ball served with
tomato sauce and gravy.
Egg tacos covered in pumpkin
seed sauce and tomatoes.
A fiery hot salsa or relish made with
habanero chiles and Seville
orange juice

41. is an sauce that
in Mexico. It is
traditionally made by mashing
ripe avocados with a molcajete (mortar and
pestle) with sea salt. Some recipes call
for tomato, onion, garlic, lemon juice, chili,
yogurt and/or additional seasonings.

42. is a traditional masa-based hot
corn based beverage of Mexican and
Central American origin (where it is
known as atol).
.
One variant of coffee is
, which is coffee
brewed with cinnamon and
raw sugar
is a distilled
beverage made from the
blue agave plant, primarily in
the area surrounding the city
of Tequila, north west of
Mexico.
The is a Mexican
cocktail consisting of tequila
mixed with Cointreau or
similar orange-flavoured
liqueur and lime or lemon
juice, often served with salt
on the glass rim.