Mexican Culture and Traditions

The modern lifestyle you might see in Mexico today parallels that of its neighbouring countries like the USA but is also still heavily influenced by its Aztec and Spanish roots. Majority of Mexicans live in cities, but it's the small country neighbourhoods that still define the country’s ideals of unity and brotherhood that shape its many vibrant communities.

Mexico is predominantly Catholic, but other subsects of Christianity such as Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, as well as other religions like Judaism, Islam and Buddhism also have a large number of followers. Mexico has the world's second-largest population of Catholics after Brazil.

Credit: Flickr / Mike McCune / CC-BY-2.0

Mexican gastronomy is a delectable mixture of Indigenous and European cultures with some African and Asian influences as well. Traditional Mexican ingredients include beans, maize, both red and white meat, lots of tomatoes, potatoes, seafood, chilli peppers, avocados, squash, nuts and various herbs native to the region. While popular dishes are tacos, mole, enchiladas, tamales, atole and pozole have gained popularity worldwide. Mexico is well known for its tequila, which is prepared from the agave cactus.

Items linked with Mexican folk art are embroidered cotton garments, Clay pottery, wool shawls with angular designs, colourful rugs and baskets. Mexico’s famous artist Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera have colourful paintings depicting vibrant life in Mexico.

Credit:  Flickr / Oaxaca Profundo / CC-BY-SA-2.0

Traditional Mexican attire includes skirts, sleeveless tunics called huipils, capes known as quechquémitls and shawls called rebozos for women and a huge blanket cape called a sarape for men. However, in cities, Mexican fashion is influenced by global trends, so the urban Mexican crowd dresses similarly to the people in Europe and the United States.