The+Culture+of+Mexico+City



=__**Overview**__ = Mexico is a country in North America bordered by the United States to the north and Guatemala and Belize to the south. Its capital Mexico City is home to 8.8 million people while the greater Mexico City area has 19.2 million people inhabiting it. Mexico City is located in the valley of Mexico (Anahuac); the valley is surrounded by mountains on all four sides. The Teotihuacan civilization inhabited what is now Mexico City but abandoned the area it in 750 AD, the Toltec’s took over the region until 1200 AD, by the early 1500's there were multiple cities with 10,000 or more citizens. In 1521 the city was destroyed by the Spanish invasion but soon after its demise it was rebuilt using new style architecture that helped it too become larger and more prominent than ever. Other than having the largest population in Mexico City contains more museums than anywhere else in the country. According to David Foster's book //Mexico City in Contemporary Cinema// the city contains the fourth most theaters in the world behind only London, New York City and Toronto. Mexico City is considered too many the Mecca of classical music with a large number of orchestras. It also has a large number of venues to support pop music such as the National Auditorium and Teatro Metropolitan both with the capacity to seat more than 10,000 people. Mexico City places a high emphasis on education with one of the highest literary rates in the country. Mexican food is an important part of Mexican culture with many specialty dishes that combine rice, beans fresh vegetables homemade flour tortillas and special herbs and spices.  = = =__**Holidays & Festivals**__ =  The most well known Mexican holiday is Cinco de Mayo which is celebrated on May 5th. The holiday grows in popularity every year and seems to be more popular in the United States then it is in Mexico. On May 5, 1862 heavily outnumbered Mexican soldiers defeated the French army and helped to preserve the newly formed government system led by President Benito Juarez. The French army was sent to Mexico by Napoleon the third to collect a debt from the Mexican government but his real goal in coming to Mexico was to overthrow the president and to instill a monarchy that would be favorable towards France. The Mexican army soundly defeated the more experienced French army creating a national sense of pride surrounding their independent country of Mexico. El Grito De Indepencia otherwise known as Mexican Independence Day occurs on the 16th of September and represents Mexico's independence from Spanish rule. But the date actually represents the start of the Independence war which lasted more than ten years. Las dias de los Muertos refers to the day of the dead and is often looked upon as the Spanish Halloween. It means the day of the dead but the holiday really represents a Mexican celebration of life and death. Dias de los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd in order to honor the spirit of family ancestors. The spirits of children are believed to return on the first day and adults’ spirits return on the second. Altars are made and food and flowers are placed in them as gifts to the visiting spirits. Through music and dance both life and death are celebrated by the living in a way that shows honor those both living and deceased. Las Pasadas begins on December 16th and continuous for nine nights. Festive parties and candlelit marches happen in an attempt to remember the struggles Joseph and Mary had to make in their search for Bethlehem. A woman and man dressed as Mary and Joseph lead the long slow procession followed by children who are considered to be angels

media type="file" key="tim 2.wmv" I interviewed Tim Carmenez who is from Mexico City. We talked about when he most often uses Spanish and in what types of situations he goes back and forth between Spanish and English. We also discussed the differences between different Spanish speakers and how their accent causes him to infer different characteristics about them. It seemed like the way people talked did in fact cause him to judge the person and make assumptions about their personalities. =__**Sources**__ = __ Poniatowska, Elena. __Mexico City__. 2nd. Brooklyn: WorldView, 2000. Foster, David. __Mexico City in Contemporary Mexican Cinema__. 1st. San Antonio: University of Texas Press, 2002. Pedelty, Mark. __Musical Ritual in Mexico City__. 1st. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004. Myers, Brian. "Mexican Art and Architecture." __The Colombia Encylcopedia __610/4/2008 14-32. 5 Dec 2008 . legorreta, Ricardo. __Modernity and the Architecture of Mexico__. 2nd. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997.