Fun facts about Mexico
It is known that humans have lived in Mexico for more than 30,000 years, which implies a lot of history and cultures full of interesting facts.
Mexico is one of the most surprising countries from a cultural and natural point of view. It is, together with Canada and the United States, the other country that makes up the North American region. It is a country with a particular and varied culture, a result of the synthesis of the pre-Columbian civilizations that inhabited it and of the Hispanic tradition with which it emerged after the discovery of America in 1492. In addition, Mexico is by far the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world, with an estimated 123 million people.
Fun facts about Mexico
Some of the curious facts about Mexico that many people do not know are the following. Although Spanish is the official and most used language, it also has a total of 67 indigenous languages that are also considered official languages. The capital of Mexico, Mexico City, is the most populous city in the country, with a total population estimated at more than 21 million inhabitants.
Mexico City is built on the ancient Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, which was built on a swampy area with many navigable canals that are currently completely dry. Mexico is considered one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world. This means that it has such a large climatic and biological variety that it deserves a separate mention, in comparison with the rest of the countries of the planet. Although it is commonly known as Mexico since its formation as a federal state, the official name of the country is the United Mexican States.
Learn more about its culture
Mexican culture is very broad. In general, it can be considered that the Mexican culture has been shaped by two fundamental elements, which are the pre-Columbian cultures and the Hispanic tradition. In this sense, the most important influence of the pre-Columbian cultures is found in the Aztec civilization, which extended through most of the territory that currently forms Mexico. However, it is also necessary to mention the Mayan civilization, located mainly in the Yucatan peninsula, and which also played a very important role in shaping the Mexican culture. Likewise, it is also important to mention other pre-Columbian peoples such as the Olmecs, the Teotihuacan, Zapotecs, Toltecs, and Mixtecs.
On the other hand, the Hispanic culture has survived in Mexico in different ways, one of the best examples is Spanish, which is the main language used in the country and the main vehicular language, both colloquially and by the Public Administration. Likewise, another of the elements that Mexico inherited from the Hispanic culture is its religion. It is estimated that almost 81% of Mexicans profess Catholic Christianity, while a little more than 9% profess some form of reformed Christianity, and the remaining 10% is divided into other faiths or absence of them.
The traditional Mexican food
One of the typical things about Mexico is its food. The typical food of Mexico is made from products both native to the area and from other products imported from Europe. In this sense, the tacos are his best-known and most internationally known dish. This typical Mexican dish consists of an omelet (which can be corn or wheat), inside which the taco body is placed, which is usually made up of different types of meat with vegetables and sauces.
In this way, you can find a wide variety of tacos, some of the most famous of the typical food of Mexico is the tacos al pastor or the cochinita pibil. Likewise, another of the interesting things about Mexico and its food is spicy. Mexican food tends to bite a lot. This is mainly due to the sauces with which the meals are accompanied, made mainly with hot chiles such as habaneros, which is considered the hottest chile used in Mexican cuisine.
Animals in danger of extinction in Mexico
To finish talking about interesting facts of Mexico really interesting, we still have to talk about its fauna. We have already mentioned that Mexico has the honor of belonging to the few countries known as megadiverse, which explains the variety of climates and ecosystems that it has. However, another of the interesting things about Mexico and worth noting is that it has a variety of animals in danger of considerable extinction, so it is also one of the countries on the planet that has more environmental conservation policies.
In this sense, some birds such as the scarlet macaw or the yellow-headed parrot are some of the most endangered, and whose population of specimens has fallen alarmingly in recent decades. Another animal that is in danger of extinction in Mexico is the Mexican axolotl, an amphibian of a whitish color and with a very particular aspect when combining a thin body with a head of much wider proportions.
The quetzal, the Mexican prairie dog, the jaguar, the ocelot, the black bear, the Mexican gray wolf, the manatee of the Antilles, or the vaquita marina (one of the native cetaceans of Mexico) are other species that would add to this sad list of animals in danger of extinction in Mexico.
