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How to use this e-book

¡Bienvenido a México!

INTRODUCING MEXICO

SOCIAL MEXICO

SERVING MEXICO

ENTERTAINING MEXICO

CREATIVE MEXICO

CELEBRATING MEXICO

Acknowledgments

Copyright

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¡Bienvenido a México!

If you spent a lifetime traveling through Mexico, you’d scarcely scratch the surface. It’s the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Its history stretches back thousands of years to the great Mesoamerican empires. It forms a physical and cultural bridge between North and Central America, with landscapes encompassing snowy peaks, golden deserts, and tropical rainforests, and with each state home to an array of languages, cuisines, and climates.

Yet the country’s complexities have meant it’s often misrepresented. Stories of conflict and corruption mean Mexico’s darker side can obscure its light, while certain beloved icons of Mexico—think tacos, tequila, and sombreros—have been used to commodify its rich culture. In its sheer scale and diversity, Mexico defies simple definitions.

¡Viva México! is here to celebrate the country’s huge tapestry, bringing you closer to Mexico’s glorious landscapes, traditional dishes, and cultural touch-stones. In themed chapters, you’ll discover how history informs the present, from Indigenous communities celebrating their ties to the land to huge Catholic festivals in beautiful churches. You’ll also learn how Day of the Dead traditions vary from region to region, how staples of Mexican food have changed as they’ve traveled the globe, and how pioneering filmmakers continue to influence global cinema.

By the end, you’ll have fallen in love with this wonderful country as much as we have. As proud Mexicans cry aloud during the country’s annual Independence Day festivities: ¡Viva México! Long live Mexico!

A farmer riding through fields of agave in Jalisco

Busy streets during Independence Day celebrations in the city of Guanajuato

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Introducing Mexico

To get to know Mexico, you first need to understand its sheer size and diversity. This vast country is one of the largest in the Americas, with a varied geography that stretches from white-sand beaches on the coast to smoking volcanoes in the interior. These landscapes have witnessed the rise and fall of Mesoamerican empires, the arrival of the Spanish, and the advent of the modern-day nation, forged from rebellion and revolution. Great swathes of the country remain agricultural and are home to rural communities that sustain themselves on the bounty of the land. But Mexico has also become increasingly urbanized, with dynamic cities spreading across the country. It’s this glorious diversity that’s helped build the nation and make Mexico what it is today.

Introducing Mexico | CONTENTS

On the map: States of Mexico

Landscapes

Flora and fauna

Spotlight on: Coat of arms

Rural living

Urban lifestyles

On the map: Main cities

Spotlight on: Magic Towns

Brief history of Mexico

Spotlight on: Legend of La Malinche

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ON THE MAP

STATES OF MEXICO

Mexico, known officially as the United Mexican States, sits in southern North America and has a population of almost 130 million. More than half of the population live close to the capital, Mexico City, with the north and south sparsely settled. Sprawling over more than 760,000 sq miles (1,900,000 sq km), it’s the fifth-largest country in the Americas and the 14th-largest in the world by landmass. Mexico comprises 32 states spanning four time zones; here are the highlights.

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LANDSCAPES

Mexico is more like a small continent than a single country, with magnificent terrain encompassing rainforests, mangrove lagoons, deserts, coastal reefs, and snowy peaks.

Copper Canyon in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range

Across its vast and dramatic landmass, Mexico is home to a spectacular array of landscapes and climates. Situated between the US and Central America, with the Tropic of Cancer cutting through the state of Baja California, Mexico generally has a dry and arid desert climate in the north while the south is considered tropical.

Desert and Scrubland

Over half of Mexico’s land is arid, with vast scrubland taking up swathes of the country, particularly in the north. The Sonoran Desert, which is the hottest in Mexico, drags its dusty tongue over most of the Baja California peninsula and the state of Sonora, east of the Gulf of California. Its cousin, the Chihuahuan Desert, is found a little further to the east, with heavier rains nurturing rippling grasslands and colorful endemic cacti, creating a postcard vision of the Mexican desert, with vast mountains rising in the distance.

The Chihuahuan Desert in northern Mexico, home to 2,000 species of plants

Mountains and Highlands

A series of jagged mountain ranges run the length of Mexico, and around half of the country is at least 3,200 ft (1,000 m) above sea level. In the center, the Central Mexican Plateau is sandwiched between two mountain ranges: the Sierra Madre Occidental to the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental in the east. Within the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Sierra del Tigre range is famous for its unique sky islands: mountains with drastically different habitats in their upper reaches compared to their lowlands. Rich alluvial and volcanic soils with regular rainfall means the plateau between these ranges acts as the country’s tortilleria—it produces 60 percent of Mexico’s corn and a large proportion of its avocados.

The highlands and gorges of the Filo Mayor mountains in the southern state of Guerrero are dotted with red and purple opium poppies. The country’s wildly profitable heroin trade starts here, with impoverished farmers supplying opium paste to the cartels.

In the northeast, the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains contain the country’s tallest peak and the third tallest in North America, the dormant volcano Pico de Orizaba. The range plunges into the azure waters of the Mexican Riviera.

Coastline and Wetlands

Mexico’s coastline totals over 6,250 miles (10,000 km). On the Pacific side to the west and south, the coast is defined by islets and rocky promontories like those on the Sea of Cortés. This vast stretch of turquoise water is fondly known as the world’s aquarium and is beloved by whale sharks looking for a sheltered spot to birth their young. The coastline of the Baja California peninsula in the northwest is one of the country’s most biodiverse, while the coastal Yucatán Peninsula in the southeast separates the shimmering, emerald waters and golden beaches of the Caribbean Sea from the vast Gulf of Mexico.

Further inland, Mexico’s delicate wetland habitats range from mangrove swamps to saline lagoons. Mexico’s mangrove forests, like those at the Chacahua lagoon in the south, are among the world’s most productive ecosystems. The roots of the mangroves, submerged in brackish coastal water, act as nesting sites for young fish and crustaceans, while their branches are home to birds and monkeys. These forests are under stark threat, however, due largely to warming seas and coastal development. Coastal populations like those in the Yucatán Peninsula are working tirelessly to restore these landscapes by planting and nurturing mangroves.

Mexico’s Warming Seas

A warming climate could have devastating effects on Mexico’s coastal settlements and ecosystems. The Gulf of Mexico has seen water temperatures rise far faster than the global average, threatening the precarious livelihoods of communities along the coast. Flooding, for example, has doubled in frequency over the last 10 years. Climate scientists are looking to the Gulf to better understand the effects of warming seas, while local activists are pushing for increased investment in climate-resilient coastal infrastructure.

Rainforests and Jungles

Mexico’s tropical rainforests have faced similar challenges, with less than 10 percent of original rainforest still standing. The largest remaining rainforest in North America is the mighty Lacandón, which stretches from Chiapas into Guatamala. The Lacandón contains over 30 percent of all Mexican bird species and 25 percent of its mammal species. The huge Usumacinta River snakes past the southern edge of the Lacandón, flanked by ancient Mayan ruins like the city of Yaxchilán.

Vast forests are also found across the Yucatán Peninsula. Exploring the Peninsula’s interior is like being immersed in a Mayan creation myth and, indeed, this region was the heart-land of this ancient civilization. Every so often, ruins such as the pyramids of Chichén Itzá and Calakmul emerge from the tropical jungle. More than 6,000 cenotes—unique sinkholes that plunge deep into the region’s limestone crust, leading to a network of underground rivers—were believed to be the entrance to the underworld by the country’s Indigenous peoples.

Riviera Maya’s coastline on the Yucatán Peninsula

The ruin of Yaxchilán, on the banks of Usumacinta

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Flora and Fauna

With such abundant landscapes, it’s little wonder that Mexico lays claim to over 10 percent of the world’s known species and almost every type of natural habitat. Here are some of the country’s rarest and most magnificent inhabitants.

Axolotl

Incredibly cute but desperately endangered, the axolotl is so beloved in Mexico that when it was launched as the face of the 50 peso note, people refused to spend them. Endemic only to the canals of Xochimilco in Mexico City and once part of the Aztec diet, there are few left in the wild; however, numerous conservation efforts are underway to preserve this species of salamander.

The axolotl, with feathery gills and webbed feet

Cactus

Cacti in Mexico come in all shapes and sizes; in fact, close to half of the world’s cacti can be found in Mexico—and the majority of those are endemic to the country. From the towering saguaros of the Sonoran Desert in the north to the prickly pear producing nopales—the paddles of which are also consumed—to the diminutive potted varietals thriving on sunny windowsills across the country, these spiky plants are rooted (literally) in both the country and culture.

A nopal cactus, commonly used in Mexican cuisine

Xoloitzcuintle

Often referred to as hairless Mexican dogs, xolos—as they’re known colloquially—are associated with the Chichimeca god of death, Xólotl, and have been revered since Mesoamerican times, when they were believed to guide souls through Mictlán, the City of Death. In Mexico, they’re sometimes seen as pets, dressed in cozy sweaters or embroidered blusas to keep them warm.

The unique and furless xoloitzcuintle

Jacarandas

Though not endemic to Mexico, the blossoming branches of the iconic lilac jacaranda trees are a sight to behold each spring in Mexico City. Introduced to Mexico during Porfirio Díaz’s presidency in the 20th century by a Japanese gardener who fell into favor with the president, jacarandas are now symbolic of the capital and can be found flourishing on main streets across the city.

Purple blossom of the jacaranda tree

Golden eagle

Eagle iconography dates back to the Aztec Empire, and the golden eagle—or, simply, Mexican eagle—continues to sit at the heart of Mexican identity (and the country’s flag), a symbol of strength and courage. Mexico City soccer team Club Ámerica even has an eagle mascot named Celeste who appears before every game. In the wild, you’re more likely to spot golden eagles in the dry, arid reaches of the northern and central states.

A golden eagle, a symbol of Mexican identity

Monarch butterfly

Every winter, monarch butterflies make their annual migration from the upper reaches of North America back to the embrace of Central Mexico’s humid forests. Considered by some Indigenous communities to be the souls of the dead returning, the butterflies make for an impressive spectacle, coloring the skies and trees orange, branches bending beneath their collective weight. And although threatened by logging, even in the protected reaches of Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, the butterflies endure.

Monarch butterflies fluttering between branches

Cempasúchil

Known in English as Mexican marigolds, cempasúchiles (taken from the Nahuatl cempōhualxōchitl) are most strongly associated with the Day of the Dead and cultivated primarily in Central Mexico. Their strong scent and soft petals—most commonly deep orange in color—serve to help guide the dead back to the land of the living. Beyond Día de los Muertos altars, endemic-to-Mexico cempasúchiles are used to color textiles, relieve indigestion, and flavor ice cream.

Mexican marigolds, the iconic flower of the Day of the Dead

Agave azul

Closely related to the thorny mezcal-making maguey—all agaves are actually types of maguey—the blue agave is the plant to thank for top-shelf tequila (see History of tequila). Native to and cultivated principally in the state of Jalisco, as well as Colima, Nayarit and Aguascalientes, this enormous plant comprises fleshy but sharp-edged pencas