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The Temple of Warriors at Chichen Itza, Mexico

¡Bienvenido! Welcome to the Mexico portal

Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. Covering 1,972,550 km² (761,610 sq mi), it is the world's 13th largest country by area; with a population of almost 130 million, it is the 10th most populous country and has the most Spanish speakers in the world. Mexico is organized as a federal constitutional republic comprising 31 states and Mexico City, its capital and largest city, which is among the world's most populous metropolitan areas. The country shares land borders with the United States to the north, with Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; as well as maritime borders with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east.

Human presence in Pre-Columbian Mexico dates back to 8,000 BC, making it one of the world's six cradles of civilization. The Mesoamerican region hosted various intertwined civilizations, including the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Teotihuacan, and Purepecha. The Aztecs came to dominate the area prior to European contact. In 1521, the Spanish Empire, alongside indigenous allies, conquered the Aztec Empire, establishing the colony of New Spain centered in the former capital, Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). Over the next three centuries, Spain expanded its territorial control, enforced Christianity, and spread the Spanish language, with the colony's rich silver deposits fueling its empire. The colonial era ended in the early 19th century with the Mexican War of Independence. (Full article...)

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The Olmec colossal heads are stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders. They range in height from 1.17 to 3.4 metres (3.8 to 11.2 ft). The heads date from at least 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. All portray mature individuals with fleshy cheeks, flat noses, and slightly-crossed eyes; their physical characteristics correspond to a type that is still common among the inhabitants of Tabasco and Veracruz. The backs of the monuments often are flat. The boulders were brought from the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas mountains of Veracruz. Given that the extremely large slabs of stone used in their production were transported over large distances (over 150 kilometres (93 mi)), requiring a great deal of human effort and resources, it is thought that the monuments represent portraits of powerful individual Olmec rulers. Each of the known examples has a distinctive headdress. The heads were variously arranged in lines or groups at major Olmec centres, but the method and logistics used to transport the stone to these sites remain unclear. They all display distinctive headgear and one theory is that these were worn as protective helmets, maybe worn for war or to take part in a ceremonial Mesoamerican ballgame. The discovery of the first colossal head at Tres Zapotes in 1862 by José María Melgar y Serrano was not well documented nor reported outside of Mexico.

The excavation of the same colossal head by Matthew Stirling in 1938 spurred the first archaeological investigations of Olmec culture. Seventeen confirmed examples are known from four sites within the Olmec heartland on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Most colossal heads were sculpted from spherical boulders but two from San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán were re-carved from massive stone thrones. An additional monument, at Takalik Abaj in Guatemala, is a throne that may have been carved from a colossal head. This is the only known example from outside the Olmec heartland. (Full article...)

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Mexican muralism refers to the art project initially funded by the Mexican government in the immediate wake of the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) to depict visions of Mexico's past, present, and future, transforming the walls of many public buildings into didactic scenes designed to reshape Mexicans' understanding of the nation's history. The murals, large artworks painted onto the walls themselves had social, political, and historical messages. Beginning in the 1920s, the muralist project was headed by a group of artists known as "The Big Three" or "The Three Greats". This group was composed of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Although not as prominent as the Big Three, women also created murals in Mexico. From the 1920s to the 1970s, murals with nationalistic, social and political messages were created in many public settings such as chapels, schools, government buildings, and much more. The popularity of the Mexican muralist project started a tradition which continues to this day in Mexico; a tradition that has had a significant impact in other parts of the Americas, including the United States, where it served as inspiration for the Chicano art movement. (Full article...)

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Chapito, a Seri shaman from Punta Chueca, Sonora, Mexico. Chapito requested to be photographed pointing toward the mountain caves.

image credit:Tomás Castelazo

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Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral and the Metropolitan Tabernacle, pictured in 2009

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven (Spanish: Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María a los cielos) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico. It is situated on top of the former Aztec sacred precinct near the Templo Mayor on the northern side of the Plaza de la Constitución (Zócalo) in the historic center of Mexico City. The cathedral was built in sections from 1573 to 1813 around the original church that was constructed soon after the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan, eventually replacing it entirely. Spanish architect Claudio de Arciniega planned the construction, drawing inspiration from Gothic cathedrals in Spain.

Due to the long time it took to build it, just under 250 years, virtually all the main architects, painters, sculptors, gilding masters and other plastic artists of the viceroyalty worked at some point in the construction of the enclosure. The long construction time also led to the integration of a number of architectural styles in its design, including the Gothic, Baroque, Churrigueresque, Neoclassical styles, as they came into vogue over the centuries. It furthermore allowed the cathedral to include different ornaments, paintings, sculptures and furniture in its interior. The project was a point of social cohesion, because it involved so many generations and social classes, including ecclesiastical authorities, government authorities, and different religious orders. (Full article...)

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Diego Rivera (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo riˈβeɾa]; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the mural movement in Mexican and international art.

Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted murals in, among other places, Mexico City, Chapingo, and Cuernavaca, Mexico; and San Francisco, Detroit, and New York City, United States. In 1931, a retrospective exhibition of his works was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York; this was before he completed his 27-mural series known as Detroit Industry Murals. (Full article...)

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Vicente Fox Frida Kahlo Porfirio Díaz Juan Diego Emiliano Zapata Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Cantinflas Pancho Villa Antonio López de Santa Anna Chespirito Agustín de Iturbide Maximilian I of Mexico Benito Juárez Carlos Slim Francisco I. Madero Juana Inés de la Cruz Carlos Salinas de Gortari Miguel de la Madrid

In the news

19 June 2024 – 2024 Atlantic hurricane season: Tropical Storm Alberto forms in the Gulf of Mexico, the first storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. (USA Today)
18 June 2024 –: The United States Department of Agriculture announces a temporary suspension on imports of mangoes and avocados from Michoacán, Mexico, after an incident that reportedly caused security concerns for safety inspectors. (ABC News)
18 June 2024 – 2024 New Mexico wildfires: At least one person dies, over 500 structures are damaged or destroyed, and several thousand people are forced to evacuate from Ruidoso, New Mexico, United States, after the South Fork Fire burns over 15,276 acres of land. (AP)
12 June 2024 – Mexico–United States border crisis: The American Civil Liberties Union files a lawsuit in federal court against the Biden administration for US President Joe Biden's new presidential directive which limits migrants seeking asylum at the Mexico–United States border. (NPR)
9 June 2024 – 2024 Mexican general election: Mexico's ruling party Morena and its coalition allies win a supermajority in the Chamber of Deputies but not in the Senate, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to change the Constitution. (Reuters)
7 June 2024 – RICH nightclub railing collapse: A glass railing collapses outside the overcrowded RICH nightclub in Mexico, causing several concertgoers to fall three stories, killing two and injuring 15. (El Universal)

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Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Mexican cuisine ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and Maya who domesticated maize, created the standard process of nixtamalization, and established their foodways. Successive waves of other Mesoamerican groups brought with them their cooking methods. These included: the Teotihuacanos, Toltec, Huastec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomi, Purépecha, Totonac, Mazatec, Mazahua, and Nahua. With the Mexica formation of the multi-ethnic Triple Alliance (Aztec Empire), culinary foodways became infused (Aztec cuisine).

Today's food staples native to the land include corn (maize), turkey, beans, squash, amaranth, chia, avocados, tomatoes, tomatillos, cacao, vanilla, agave, spirulina, sweet potato, cactus, and chili pepper. Its history over the centuries has resulted in regional cuisines based on local conditions, including Baja Med, Chiapas, Veracruz, Oaxacan, and the American cuisines of New Mexican and Tex-Mex. (Full article...)

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Cuisine of Chiapas Cuisine of Veracruz Crema (dairy product) Aztec cuisine Oaxacan cuisine Mole sauce Guacamole Enchilada Mexican breads Nachos Burrito Mexican street food Pozole Cheeses of Mexico Taco Pan dulce Mexican wine Sopa de fideo Tostilocos Beer in Mexico Calavera Champurrado Mexican Coke Menudo (soup)

General images

The following are images from various Mexico-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Sawdust carpet made during "The night no one sleeps" in Huamantla, Tlaxcala (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 2Porfirio Díaz (from History of Mexico)
Image 3Liberación (Liberation). Jorge González Camarena. 1908. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 4"The Torture of Cuauhtémoc", a 19th-century painting by Leandro Izaguirre (from History of Mexico)
Image 5Panel 3 from Cancuen, Guatemala, representing king T'ah 'ak' Cha'an (from History of Mexico)
Image 6Chihuahua Cathedral and a monument to the city's founder, Antonio Deza y Ulloa (from History of Mexico)
Image 7Exconvento (Ex-convent), by José María Velasco. 1860. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 8La huida a Egipto (The Flight into Egypt). Miguel Cabrera, around 1700. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 9Three world leaders: (background, left to right) Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, observe the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement. (from History of Mexico)
Image 101985 Mexico City earthquake (from History of Mexico)
Image 11Lázaro Cárdenas mural (from History of Mexico)
Image 12Making cigarettes in the El Buen Tono factory, Mexico City (from History of Mexico)
Image 13A map of Mexico 1845 after Texas annexation by the U.S. (from History of Mexico)
Image 14Spanish and Portuguese empires in 1790 (from History of Mexico)
Image 15Entry into Mexico City by the Mexican army (from History of Mexico)
Image 16Plutarco Elías Calles (from History of Mexico)
Image 17José Pablo Moncayo known for his orchestral works, particularly "Huapango" (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 18Variegated maize ears (from History of Mexico)
Image 19The Castillo, Chichen Itza, Mexico, ca. 800–900 CE (from History of Mexico)
Image 20Ignacio Comonfort (from History of Mexico)
Image 21The Execution of Emperor Maximilian, 19 June 1867. Gen. Tomás Mejía, left, Maximilian, center, Gen. Miguel Miramón, right. Painting by Édouard Manet 1868. (from History of Mexico)
Image 22Viceroy José de Iturrigaray (from History of Mexico)
Image 23A unit of Cristeros preparing for battle. (from History of Mexico)
Image 24Buffalo Soldiers of the American 10th Cavalry Regiment taken prisoner during the Battle of Carrizal, Mexico in 1916. (from History of Mexico)
Image 25Pear, Quince and Psidium cajeta. In 2010 declared the Bicentennial Dessert of Mexico. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 26Surrender of Santa Anna by William Henry Huddle shows the Mexican president and general surrendering to a wounded Sam Houston in 1836. (from History of Mexico)
Image 27U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President-Elect Enrique Peña Nieto during their meet at the White House following Peña Nieto's election victory. (from History of Mexico)
Image 28President Obregón. Note that he lost his right arm in the Battle of Celaya (1915), earning him the nickname of Manco de Celaya ("the one-armed man of Celaya"). (from History of Mexico)
Image 29Battle of Centla, the first time a horse was used in battle in a war in the Americas. Mural in the Palacio Municipal of Paraíso, Tabasco (from History of Mexico)
Image 30A statue of a Chichimeca Warrior in the city of Querétaro (from History of Mexico)
Image 31General Pancho Villa at the entrance of Ojinaga (from History of Mexico)
Image 32Mexican Central Railway train at station, Mexico (from History of Mexico)
Image 33Murals of Bonampak (between 580 and 800 AD) (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 34Subcomandante Marcos (from History of Mexico)
Image 35Plaza de las Tres Culturas (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 36Gilberto Bosques Saldívar took the initiative to rescue tens of thousands of Jews and Spanish Republican exiles from being deported to Nazi Germany or Spain. (from History of Mexico)
Image 37Goddess, mural painting from the Tetitla apartment complex at Teotihuacan, Mexico, 650–750 CE (from History of Mexico)
Image 38Toltec carving representing the Aztec Eagle, found in Veracruz, 10th–13th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art. (from History of Mexico)
Image 39President Felipe Calderón with President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. (from History of Mexico)
Image 40The first Braceros arrive in Los Angeles by train in 1942. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. (from History of Mexico)
Image 41Singer and actor Pedro Infante, one of the leading figures of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 42Mexico City street market (from History of Mexico)
Image 43Club América vs Cruz Azul at the Estadio Azteca. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 44Chacmool, Maya, from the Platform of the Eagles, Chichen Itza, Mexico, ca. 800–90 CE (from History of Mexico)
Image 45El Chapo in US custody after his extradition from Mexico. (from History of Mexico)
Image 46Distribution of linguistic groups around 1500. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 47La leyenda de los volcanes (The legend of the volcanoes). Saturnino Herrán. 1910-1912. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 48Cerro del Cubilete ("Dice Cup Hill"). At the top of the hill is the Cristo Rey (Christ the King) statue. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 49Dining table, painted between 1857 y 1859, oleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) by Agustín Arrieta (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 50Olmec colossal (from History of Mexico)
Image 51Alegoría de la Constitución de 1857, Petronilo Monroy, 1869. (from History of Mexico)
Image 52Shield Jaguar and Lady Xoc, Maya, lintel 24 of temple 23, Yaxchilan, Mexico, ca. 725 ce. (from History of Mexico)
Image 53Logo of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario, with the colors of the Mexican flag (from History of Mexico)
Image 54President Carranza in La Cañada, Querétaro, January 22, 1916. (from History of Mexico)
Image 55Mexican Army troops in the Zócalo in the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre. (from History of Mexico)
Image 56Colossal atlantids, pyramid B, Toltec, Tula, Mexico, ca. 900–1180 AD (from History of Mexico)
Image 57Comanchería, territory controlled by the Comanches, prior to 1850 (from History of Mexico)
Image 58Cabinet Officers of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (left) and of Enrique Peña Nieto (right). (from History of Mexico)
Image 59Teotihuacan view of the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun, from the Pyramid of the Moon (from History of Mexico)
Image 60Equestrian statue of Charles IV in Mexico City (from History of Mexico)
Image 61Modern group monument of Cortés, Doña Marina, and their mestizo son Martín (from History of Mexico)
Image 62Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (from History of Mexico)
Image 63"The Fall of the Alamo" by Robert Jenkins Onderdonk (from History of Mexico)
Image 64The Zócalo (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 65Logo of Nacional Financiera (NAFIN), the state development bank. (from History of Mexico)
Image 66Victoriano Huerta, ruler of Mexico from 1913 to 1914 (from History of Mexico)
Image 67President Vicente Fox with Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh (from History of Mexico)
Image 68Portrait and book by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Baroque poet and writer. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 69Agustín de Iturbide the first Emperor of Mexico (from History of Mexico)
Image 70General Santa Anna. (from History of Mexico)
Image 71Battle of Tampico (1829) (from History of Mexico)
Image 72Battle of Miahuatlán (from History of Mexico)
Image 73Fireworks in Mexico City for New Year's Day. (from Culture of Mexico)

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