A summary of the history of Mexico
The history of Mexico is way a mess, but this is the reason of that beauty of culture that we have, I will talked only of the city of Mexico known as the Aztec reign....
Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in North America. It is located in the Valley of Mexico, a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 meters (7,350 ft.). The city consists of sixteen boroughs.
The 2009 estimated population for the city proper was around 8.84 million people. And has a land area of 1,485 square kilometers (573 sq. mi). According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments, the Mexico City metropolitan area population is 21.2 million people, making it the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere and the fifth largest agglomeration in the world.
Mexico City has a gross domestic product (GDP) of $390 billion US$ in 2008, making Mexico City the eighth richest city in the world. The city was responsible for generating 21% of Mexico's Gross Domestic Product and the metropolitan area accounted for 34% of total national GDP.
The city was originally built on an island of Lake Texcoco by the Aztecs in 1325 as Tenochtitlan, which was almost completely destroyed in the 1521 siege of Tenochtitlan, and subsequently redesigned and rebuilt in accordance with the Spanish urban standards. In 1524, the municipality of Mexico City was established, known as México Tenochtitlan, and as of 1585 it was officially known as La Ciudad de México (Mexico City). Mexico City served as the political, administrative and financial center of a major part of the Spanish colonial empire. After independence from Spain was achieved, the Federal District was created in 1824.
After years of demanding greater political autonomy, residents were given the right to directly elect the Head of Government and the representatives of the unicameral Legislative Assembly by popular vote in 1997. Ever since, the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) has controlled both of them. In recent years, the local government has passed a wave of liberal policies, such as abortion on request to any woman up to 12 weeks into a pregnancy, a limited form of euthanasia, no-fault divorce and same-sex marriage.
Food
When the Europeans arrived in Mexico in 1517, Mexico's indigenous (native) peoples included the Aztecs of the central interior, the Maya in the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Zapotec in the south. Their diet consisted mainly of corn, beans, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and herbs. Chocolate, native to Mexico, was considered a drink fit for royalty. The Indians occasionally hunted, adding wild turkey, rabbit, deer, and quail to their vegetarian diet. When the Spanish explorers landed in Mexico, they introduced livestock, including cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and chickens. On later journeys to this "New World," the Spanish brought plants from Asia, such as sugarcane and wheat. Spain ruled over Mexico for over 300 years. By the time Mexico gained its independence, Spain had left its mark on its people and culture, including their cuisine.
Some of the most representative plates are:
Beans Quesadilla Spiced coffee Three kings sweet bread Ranch-style eggs Pico de Gallo And more Architecture
Mexico City has different types of architecture; including pre-classic, classic, colonial, modern, contemporary, the big haciendas and more. Mexico City is the biggest city of the world and respecting this, the city has a mixture of all architecture types, some of the most important buildings and monuments that represent this fact are:
The hemicycle to Juarez The angel The hunter Diana The raze monument The monument to the mother The building of Tlatelolco Bellas Artes The pyramids Entertainment
The city is designed to be interesting and fun for different ages, I’ll be concentering in the nightlife. Mexico city is full of art and entertainment for the different ethnic groups, for example there are many bars for the metal rock fans and also is one specific for the “Beatles fans”, it exists a diversity of groups in Mexico city and a place designed for each of them; some of the most interesting and original places I found are:
The imperial
This bar has a new concept and is full of art images and is a music live bar, is placed in la colonia Roma and is known for having the best artists and music in Mexico. In the big list we can found San Pascualito Rey, Kinky, Atto and the Majestics, and many more, the architecture of this place is minimalist and the decoration also.
Worka
This place is situated in San Angel and is one of the best placed for Techno music, this place is full of psychedelic images and a very interesting social concept, is a different place to enjoy and is known for the after parties and the place where the foreign artists go, have fun and relax after a tiring concert.
El Tenampa
This place is one of the most ancient cantinas in Mexico, placed in Garibaldi (The plaza of the Mariachi) has a warm environment where you can eat, drink and listen to the best Mariachi Music. Nowadays is one of the most known places in America and Europe.
Economics
The economy in Mexico Among the most important industrial manufacturers in Mexico is the automotive industry, whose standards of quality are internationally recognized. The automobile sector in Mexico differs from that in other Latin American countries and developing nations in that it does not function as a mere assembly manufacturer. The industry produces technologically complex components and engages in some research and development activities, an example of that is the new Volkswagen Jetta model with up to 70% of parts designed in Mexico. The "Big Three" (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) have been operating in Mexico since the 1930s, while Volkswagen and Nissan built their plants in the 1960s. Later, Toyota, Honda, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz joined in. Given the high requirements of North American components in the industry, many European and Asian parts suppliers have also moved to Mexico: in Puebla alone, 70 industrial part-makers cluster around Volkswagen. The relatively small domestic car industry still is represented by DINA Camiones S.A. de C.V., a manufacturer of trucks, busses and military vehicles, which through domestic production and purchases of foreign bus manufacturers has become the largest bus manufacturer in the world; Vehizero that builds hybrid trucks and the new car companies Mastretta design that builds the Mastretta MXT sports car and Autobuses King that plans to build 10000 microbuses by 2015, nevertheless new car companies are emerging among them CIMEX that has developed a sport utility truck, the Conin, and it is to be released in September 2010 in Mexico's national auto show, And the new electric car maker Grupo Electrico Motorizado.
Ethnic groups
The Ethnic Diversity in Mexico has been filled for years and years of suffering, discovering Catholicism, wars, conquests, and many more aspects, but today Mexico have different groups such as the Mayans, Zapotec, Aztecs, Toltecs and also, Mexico has a region of American natives.
Culture
Mexico is the house of a mix of cultures as we already said; Mexico has a lot of interesting museums and galleries for example the museum of Frida Khalo and The museum of Bellas Artes, The museum of the Chopo, the Diego RiveraMural Museum, the Franz Meyer Museum, and many more.
References
And from the Book: Mexico, history and art.
