Essay on "Cultural Awareness for Mexico"

Essay 4 pages (1229 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Mexico is an extremely diverse country that defines its cultural differences in a number of ways. Sharing a northern border with the United States and a Southern border with Guatemala, it is uniquely positioned between one of the world's Super Powers, and a region that is recently growing extremely quickly in its economic successes and influence on an international stage. Because of this location, Mexico is able to enjoy a culture that can take advantage of first world luxuries, while also holding fast to its humble roots. It is an extremely interesting culture, with many small facets that make up its larger identity.

One of the most commons ways of creating cultural subdivision is by identifying the culture with the northern, central, and south or south-eastern portions of the country (Countries and Their Cultures). Until recently, the northern portion of the country, with its expansive area and desert-like climate, was extremely sparsely populated with primarily indigenous peoples. Meanwhile, central and western Mexico is home to many more people and is considered the cradle of the nation, as it was populated by highly-developed indigenous cultures in pre-Columbian times, as well as being the heart of Spain's colonization (Countries and Their Cultures). Finally, the southern-most part of Mexico is home to a very tropical climate. Its inhabitants are primarily indigenous; it is also characterized as the poorest part of Mexico (Countries and Their Cultures).

Another look at the culture of Mexico is through its national identity. Mexico's national identity has developed through a number of different avenues, including the positioning of the country in the international arena, as well as through efforts within the country to achieve unity (Countries and Their Cultures). One important aspect of Mexico's internal national identity is that of race. While liberalism was adopted in the nineteenth century, and it was implied that all racial groups in Mexico were made legally equal, that is not the case in social practice (Countries and Their Cultures). As such, it was believed that the only way to create a national identity was through the creation of a racially homogenous society, which led to the promotion of racial mixing known as mestizaje (Countries and Their Cultures).

Mestizaje, in Mexico, is an idea that not only promotes the racial mixing of Spanish and indigenous people to create "one race," but also the creation of a new and uniform culture. However, in the late twentieth century a backlash developed against the idea of having a homogenous Mexican culture and race and, although the vast majority of Mexican population now identifies as mestizo, now ideas have certainly changed (Chorba 3). Today, there is a renewed sense of appreciation for cultural differences as well as diversity and pluralism in the Mexican community (Countries and Their Cultures).

Another aspect of Mexican culture that is extremely important. Roman Catholicism is the primary religion practiced in Mexico. At least 88% of adults in Mexico identify as at least nominally Catholic (International Religious Freedom Report). This widespread Catholicism reaches back to the Spanish conquest of Mexico; during this time, the indigenous people of Mexico were taught to accept the Catholic teachings of the conquistadors. However, instead of converting entirely to Catholicism, the indigenous population accepted the teachings on the basis of their pre-Columbian religious beliefs; this reconciliation of two schools of thought is known as syncretism, and is practiced widely in Mexico. One example of this syncretism is found in the Virgin of Guadalupe. This incarnation of the popular Catholic figure, the Virgin Mary, is associated with the pagan goddess Tonantzin (Countries and Their Cultures). This syncretism allows indigenous Mexican beliefs to remain a prominent part of Mexican culture. However, Catholicism is not the… READ MORE

How to Reference "Cultural Awareness for Mexico" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

Cultural Awareness for Mexico Essay

Cultural Awareness of Mexico

Mexico is the United States' neighbor to its south. However, cultural misunderstandings have existed between the two nations almost since their beginnings as independent nations. The… read more

Essay 4 pages (1472 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA Topic: Latin America / Mexico / Caribbean

---

Personal Statement as the Year 2009 Research Proposal

Personal Statement

As the year 2009 is ushered in by violence in Gaza and a struggling global economy, the importance of globalization and the global civil society cannot be emphasized… read more

Research Proposal 2 pages (661 words) Sources: 0 Style: APA Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

People Management to Strategic Human Resource Essay

People Management to Strategic Human Resource Management

The future of multinational corporations in global competitive market forces depends on the ability of global companies "to change and adapt their resources… read more

Essay 10 pages (3191 words) Sources: 10 Style: Harvard Topic: Management / Organizations

---

Organizational Behavior Study Guide Chapter Term Paper

Organizational Behavior Study Guide

Chapter 2 Study Guide- the high performance organization

High performance organizations deploy Total Quality Management strategies that are customer-responsive, as South West Airlines did in regards… read more

Term Paper 1 pages (324 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Management / Organizations

---

Art of Colonial Latin America Research Paper

Art of Colonial Latin America

In her essay, "Art of Colonial America," Bailey provides a timely overview of 330-year period of Latin American colonial art to the 21st century. The… read more

Research Paper 7 pages (1933 words) Sources: 3 Style: MLA Topic: Art / Painting / Sculpture

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>