WARM UP Get out your journals and make and fill out the following table on the top of your page What I ALREADY KNOW about Mexico’s Culture What I WANT to know about Mexico’s Culture 1 2 3 What I LEARNED about Mexico’s Culture TODAY
Dec 17, 2015
WARM UPGet out your journals and make and fill out the following table on the top of your page
What I ALREADY KNOW about Mexico’s Culture
What I WANT to know about Mexico’s Culture
1
2
3
What I LEARNED about Mexico’s Culture TODAY
Today’s Objective
To recognize that Mexico’s culture is a blend of many traditions.
Recognize the pros and cons of living in an urban or rural area of Mexico
Understand the significance of holidays in Mexico
A Blend of Cultures…O Mexico is a mix of traditions from 3
cultures• Native American• Spanish
• Modern
Urban MexicoO Roughly 1/6 of all of Mexico’s
population resides in Mexico City, Mexico’s Capitol
O Mexico City = 19.319 million people
O 10th largest city in the worldO Compared with :
O New York 20.464 million peopleO DFW 5.874 million people
Mexico’s City of Culture
O Mexico City is home to the Palace of Fine Arts Home to the National
Opera, Theater, and Symphony
The Palace is also home to the famous Ballet Folklorico, a group that performs dances based on Mexican traditions
Smog in the CityO Streets are jam-packed with trafficO Car exhaust blankets the city with
smogO Major gap between the rich and poor
Rural MexicoO Most people speak Spanish but many
also speak Native American languages
O At the center of each village is a plaza, where people meet and visit with neighbors
O Each village sets aside a market day each week where people gather in the village plaza to buy/sell/trade food, clothing, and other goods
Poverty in the Countryside
O Poverty is one of the biggest issues in the countrysideO Many homes have only one room, and
the floor is bare dirtO Many homes lack electricity and
running waterO Lack of education opportunities
Religion in MexicoO Roman Catholicism dominates Mexico
today as it has for centuries. O Protestant Christianity is the next largest
religious group due to the influence of Pentecostal Christianity in particular. O Roman Catholic 76.5%O Protestant 5.2%O Other or Unspecified 13.8%O Unaffiliated 3.1%O Jehovah’s Witnesses 1.1%
Important HolidaysO September 16th- “Grito de Dolores”
O Mexicans reenact Father Hidalgo’s call in 1810 to rise up against Spanish rule
O Similar to USA’s July 4th with fireworks, dancing, music, and parties in neighborhoods
Dia de los MuertosO The Day of the Dead: a time set
aside (Nov. 2) to honor and celebrate loved ones who have died.
• Celebrate by decorating graves with candles and flowers
• Relatives gather for meals at the cemeteries