Descriptive Essay About Mexico

Growing up in an area with a large Mexican community I never really understood how much my culture means to me. I grew up with the stories my dad and grandfather would tell me about my ancestors. My people were the raiders from the hills of Mexico City and that we were a family of warriors. I never held much weight to the warrior part of my grandfather’s stories but I did know that my great grandfather was a fighter. He left Mexico and rode the train up to Denton Texas and sold tamales on the square his entire life. He fought to give my grandfather a better life here. I don’t talk about my dad’s side of the family much, in this day in age being seen as white has more advantages than being seen as Mexican. This thought changed as I came to

a city where an eagle with a snake in its beak rested on a cactus. This

From January 20 to 23, I went to Santa Fe and San Ildefonso in New Mexico with Dr. Laughlin and my classmates. I was totally surprised by the architecture of the housing and the rich collection of Native American cultures. I expected to see traditional suburbs but instead I found almost everyone has built houses resembling traditional adobe homes which I had never seen. Houses, businesses, government buildings including museums are almost built in this style. The colors seem to blend in with the desert. One of the most exciting events I attended in New Mexico was the museum presentation of the Zuni tribe. Although we actually did not meet the Zuni tribe, we learned a lot about them because Dawn Kaufmann who is a guide at the Museum of

The major reason why the Americans were not justified for war with Mexico was because of their decision to try to annex to the United States. In Document C, it shows us Mexico’s thoughts on the Annexation. Jesus Velasco-Marquez says,” The Annexation of Texas to the United States was inadmissible for both legal and security reasons.” Mexico saw Texas’s action to join the United States as a real big threat. Nobody would want a very powerful and strong country right on their border.

In 1846 the united States went to war with mexico, was this justified or unconstitutional?

“The most dramatic event in the history of relations between Mexico and the United States took place a century and a half ago,” wrote Mexican historian Jesus Velasco-Marquez. Thousands of Mexicans and Americans died. HAlf of Mexico was taken by the United States. The U.S was not justified to go to war with Mexico because of spread of slavery, cultural imperialism, and disputed territory.

The United States went to war with Mexico in 1846 after the two countries disputed over its borders along the Nueces and Rio Grande River. The war resulted in the annexation of Texas and Mexico's other territories by the U.S. while killing/sacrificing thousands of lives on each side. The United States was not justified to start this war against Mexico. The United States did not have proper justification to respond with violence against the Mexican government and threaten them by the annexation of Texas, nor did they have the right to steal their land and disrespect the Mexican ordinance of freedom. The war with Mexico was also a product of the United States’ belief of manifest destiny, which hypnotized the whole nation to believe this idea

The United States has been in multiple conflicts throughout the 19th century. Unlike the War of 1812, American Revolution, the Mexican American War was with completely different entities (meaning not a fight with Britain). There were many ways that you can interpret whether America was right or wrong in waging war against Mexico. I believe that America had all right to fight against Mexico in terms of the treatment of our envoys, the Manifest Destiny and congress. In America’s defense, God gave them visions to connect and expand the nation from coast to coast.

Mexican, Filipino, and Thai these are just a few of the diverse cultures in this group. To begin with, some interesting aspects of the Mexican culture is that the primary language of the culture is Spanish, the primary religion is Catholicism, and in Mexico one of the popular celebrations are The Day of the Dead. To begin with the primary language of the Mexican culture is Spanish. Approximately 92.7 percent of the Mexican population Speaks spanish. The lesser used dialects in Mexico include such as Mayan, and Nahuatl. Another interesting aspect of the Mexican culture is the primary religion is Catholicism. 82% of the Mexican population identifies as Catholic. There are also very few Muslims, Jews, and Buddhists. Last but not least, Day of the dead is celebrated in Mexico. It is celebrated on November 2. This day is set aside to remember and honor those who died.

[Tension arose between the United States and Mexico when the United States decided to annex Texas, but the two countries couldn’t come to an agreement about where the border was. When sixteen American soldiers were patrolling along the north of the Rio Grande River, Mexicans shot every one of them dead, thus making the United States declare war on Mexico.] The U.S. was not justified in going to war with Mexico.*One reason is that the shooting of the U.S. troops occurred on disputed territory, so Mexico believed that the United States was invading their land.* [Doc C is an informative article about Mexico’s viewpoint of the war, written by Jesus Velasco-Marquez in 2006.] Doc C states,

Should the US have all of Texas and California or should we not have them? The US went to war with Mexico in 1846. In this war the US wanted to have the Manifest Destiny come true, so the US fought over land which is now called Texas. After the war had been fought over Texas, the US had a little later had attempted to take more land. In which, they were successful and now we call the land they fought for part of California. The US was right for going to war with Mexico for three reasons, Manifest Destiny, there was a vote on it, and Mexico attacked first.

Mexico is bordered by the United States on the north, the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea on the east, and Guatemala and Belize on the south. It is characterized by an extraordinary diversity in topography and climate and is crossed by two major mountain chains, the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental. The high central plateau between these two mountain ranges historically funneled most of the human population toward the center of this region. Mexico features volcanic peaks, snow-capped mountains, tropical rain forests, and internationally famous beaches. Mexico City is an enormous metropolitan area and dominates the rest of the country's culture, economy, and politics. Nearly

Mexico is a populous country with more than 120 million people ("Mexico Guide"). 60 percent of the population is mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish), 30 percent is Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian, and 10 percent is white and other ("Mexico Guide"). According to the article, "Mexican Culture: Customs & Traditions," Spanish is spoken by the majority, with 92.7 percent of the Mexican population (Zimmermann). This is the result of Spain colonized Mexico during the 16th and 17th centuries. Before that, Mexicans used the Maya and Aztec languages, which explains why some small Mexican groups today still speak indigenous languages, such as Mayan, Nahuatl and other regional languages (Zimmermann).

In 1521, the fall of Tenochtitlan proved to be an integral piece in the Spanish conquest of Mexico. After months of devastating warfare between the Aztecs and the Spanish as well as the infection of smallpox into the Aztec population, the Spanish conquered New Spain (Mexico) as their own, resulting in the Spanish occupation and rebuilding of Tenochtitlan. The reshaping of the city was an arduous and complex feat to say the least, as Hernan Cortés faced many challenges following the satisfying victory of the conquest. In order to determine these various challenges involved in post-conquest Mexico, one must assess the various feats Cortés struggled through as well as Carlos I’s attempts to deal with the chaos in Mexico. The most decisive endeavours that the Spaniards faced included: fixing a city of ruins, incorporating the indigenous peoples into society, and creating a Christian basis throughout the land. Thus, post-conquest Mexico faced a magnitude of challenges based on the socio-political, religious, and economic values necessary to conceive their perfect image

Like an enormous living museum, Mexico City provides an extraordinary showplace for the thousands of years of human cultural achievement that Mexico has attained. It ranks as one of the world's great capitals and is a must for anyone craving to understand Mexico's complex past, its fast-paced present, and its ever challenging future. The size and grandeur of the city are staggering. It is not only the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Western Hemisphere, but, by some accounts, has also become the largest city in the world. Before we look at present day Mexico City, let us look into it deep and storied past.