Mexico
United Mexican States Estados Unidos Mexicanos North America AREA 757K mi²; 1.96M km² ARABLE 10% POP 132M (173/mi²; 67/km²) GOV’T Federal presidential republic CAPITAL Mexico City (22.5M) GDP/CAPITA $22,000 UNEMPLOYMENT 3% IN POVERTY 36% % WEALTH HELD BY TOP 10% 34% LIFE EXP 75 yrs MEDIAN AGE 31 yrs INFANT MORT 12/1K live births LITERACY 95% INTERNET USERS 81% LANGUAGES Spanish and indigenous languages (includes Mayan, Nahuatl, others) RELIGIONS Roman Catholic 78%, Protestant/Evangelical 8%, other 3%, none 11% HEALTH 6% of GDP EDUCATION 4% of GDP MILITARY 1% of GDP GDP BY SECTOR Agriculture 4%, industry 34%, services 62% PCVs 2004–Present CURRENT: 0, TTD: >500 |  Mexico Indigenous peoples of Mexico have used masquerades to tell stories for millennia. In colonial times, Spanish evangelists co-opted native customs of dance and mask-wearing to teach the Catholic faith. The Parachico masquerade reflects this melding of cultures, and is regularly enacted today: In the 1700s, a healer in the town of Chiapa de Corzo saved a Spanish boy’s life. To assist in his recuperation, villagers devised a dance wearing masks reflecting the boy’s blond hair and blue eyes. Later, when the village’s crops failed, the boy’s grateful mother sent food to the village, saying, “It’s for the boy,” or “Es para el chico.” In honor of her compassion, the villagers repeated the dance, and a tradition was born. |
Adult Books
Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire & Revolution in the Borderlands
By Kelly Lytle Hernández
Genre: History/Nonfiction
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2022
Language: English
Print length: 384 pages
ISBN-10: 1324004371
ISBN-13: 978-1324004370
Goodreads Ratings: 4.2/5 | Amazon Ratings: 4.5/5
Summary:
The book tells the dramatic story of the magonistas, the migrant rebels who sparked the 1910 Mexican Revolution from the United States, and puts the magonista revolt at the heart of U.S. history.
“A beautifully crafted, impressively inclusive history of the Mexican Revolution.” —Kirkus Review
Awards:
Winner of the Bancroft Prize • Shortlisted for the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award • Shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award • One of The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2022
Kids' Books
Tamales For Christmas
By Stephen Briseño, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez
Publisher: New York, NY: Random House Studio, 2024
Format: unpaged; col. illus.
ISBN-10: 0593647815
ISBN-13: 978-0-59364-781-3
Age Range: 4–8 yrs.
Summary:
Christmas is soon arriving and Grandmother is making tamales to sell so that she can earn enough money to get gifts for her many children and grandchildren. Based on the author’s own grandmother.
“A dazzling Yuletide remembrance.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“A triumphant work jam-packed with activity and pure familial love.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
Films
Film: Prayers for the Stolen (Noche de fuego)
Director: Tatiana Huezo
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 2021
Language: Spanish with English subtitles
Run Time: 1:51
Synopsis: The film tells the story of three girls growing up in a rural mountain village in Mexico in the shadow of the narco trade; puberty opens up the possibility they might be kidnapped and trafficked. The families live in fear, and the girls are often hidden or disguised to protect them.
Reviews: “As absorbing as it is harrowing, Prayers for the Stolen observes life under the shadow of systemic violence with startling clarity.” —Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus
Available: Netflix
Music
Peso Pluma: Nueva Vida
