Mexico City is a true capital city. Geographically central, a cultural center, and central to the country’s history. Before we move on to the interesting facts about Mexico, we will discuss about a brief history of Mexico city or we can say Mexico itself.
Brief history of Mexico.
The history of Mexico City is the history of Mexico itself Or rather, it’s a nice summary of the history of Mexico.
The country’s true history — which contains several empires before the Spanish — is far too complex to distill into one narrative. Still, when you look at Mexico City from the Castillo de Chapultepec (the Chapultepec Castle), you notice several things.
The first thing I noticed, having lived in China for a year, was the air pollution. Hemmed in by mountains, Mexico City’s car fumes and other air pollutants tend to get somewhat trapped by the troublesome (albeit beautiful) natural walls that surround the city.
You’d be forgiven, of course, for not knowing that Mexico City is surrounded by mountains. On days when the pollution is particularly bad, you can’t even see them. The other thing you’ll notice is that Mexico City is big. With no immediately discernible centre, the city just spreads and spreads until it reaches those aforementioned mountains. If you look closer, or from a different vantage point (such as from the bar at the top of the Latin American tower), you might also notice the city’s diversity.
The financial center in one in direction and some extremely poor areas in another direction. The Centro Historico (the Historical Centre) in one direction and some extremely modern buildings in another direction. Coyocan, Roma, Condensa, Zona Rosa, Chinese influence, Japanese influence, Korean influence, the influence of a thriving Jewish community, as well as the influence of Aztec, Olmec, and many other pre-Hispanic civilizations
Mexico City contains within it the history of Mexico. This is true in a very literal sense. The Museo Nacional de Antropologia (The National Anthropological Museum) isn’t just one of the best museums of anthropological history in Mexico.
It is one of — if not the — greatest museums of anthropological history in the world. I’m not being sycophantic, either. The museum is objectively impressive.
It’s vast and contains countless original artefacts clearly chronicling hundreds of thousands of years of not just Mexican history, but human history. It’s a kind Big History (capital B, capital H) which puts humans in their proper place as both significant and insignificant. We are significant in the sense that, offer the course of just a few thousand years, we have irreversibly changed the entire planet — both in a good way and a bad way. Yet we are also insignificant in the sense that those “few thousand years” are just a blink of an eye compared to the immense
4.5 billion years history of planet earth and the even more immense 14 billion year history of the universe. If you want to learn more about Big History, I’d highly recommend Crash Course’s series on Big History. You can find a link to that in the description. This museum, with its two floors and over twenty different exhibitions, tells this story — from the introduction of anthropology as a study and the beginnings of homo sapiens to 19th century Mexico.
20 interesting facts about Mexico
1. Mexico is the 11th most populous country in the world with over 128 million people.
2. the official name of Mexico is the United Mexican States.
3. Mexico is the third largest country in Latin America after Brazil and Argentina.
4. Mexico has a rich history and was home to many ancient civilizations including the Mayans and Aztecs.
5. Mexico has the second largest economy in Latin America after Brazil.
6. Mexico is the world's largest producer of silver and one of the top producers of copper zinc and gold.
7. The capital of Mexico is Mexico City which is one of the largest cities in the world.
8. Mexican Cuisine is known for its rich and diverse flavors and is recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
9. The Mexican flag features an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak which represents the legend of the founding of tenochtitlon the ancient capital of the Aztecs.
10. The traditional Mexican folk dance is called the harabe Tapatio which is commonly known as The Mexican Hat Dance.
11. Mexico has over 30 UNESCO world heritage sites including the historic Center of Mexico City the ancient ruins of Chichen Itza and the Monarch butterflied biosphere Reserve.
12. Mexican artist Frida Carlo is one of the most celebrated artists in the world and is known for her unique and colorful Style.
13. The mariachi music which originated in Mexico is recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
14. Mexico is home to a variety of unique animals including the Jaguar the Mexican gray wolf and the Axolotl which is a type of salamander.
15. The Mexican Revolution which lasted from 1910 to 1920 was a major political and social upheaval that transformed the country.
16. Mexico is the birthplace of the ancient ball game called ulama which is still played in some regions of the country today.
17. The Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that celebrates the memory of loved ones who have passed away and is recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
18. The Yucatan Peninsula which is located in Southeastern Mexico is home to the world's largest underwater cave system.
19. Mexico is home to several active volcanoes including popocatipatar which is the second highest peak in Mexico.
20. Mexico is famous for its tequila which is made from the blue agave plant and is a major export for the country.
