For those lucky enough to be spending spring break in Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas or any other Mexican beach destination make sure to check out the local culture. Mexico boasts a rich cultural background aside from beautiful shores crowded with college students. So if you need to take a break from baking in the sun, check out some other Mexican hot-spots.
Architecture:
Architecture of the ancient Mayan, Toltec and Aztec Indians was related chiefly to religion. They built stone temples on flat-topped pyramids and decorated them with murals and sculptured symbols. These symbols represented the feathered-serpent god Quetzalcoatl and the Indians’ other gods. Many ancient structures still stand near Mexico City and at Chichen Itza in Yucatan. After the Spanish conquest, the earliest mission churches were designed in a simple style. Later churches, especially those built during the 1700’s, took on a more ornamental style. The huge Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City, begun in 1573 but not completed for hundreds of years, shows the influence of many different styles of architecture.
Painting:
During the Spanish colonial period, many artists painted murals in churches or portraits of government officials. Mexican painting is best known for its post-Mexican Revolution artists. Beginning in the 1920’s, Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera and David Siqueiros painted the story of the revolution on the walls of public buildings. Frida Kahlo also came from Mexico and her artwork depicted the indigenous culture of her country in a style combining realism, symbolism and surrealism.
Music:
Early Indians used drums, flutes, gourd rattles and seashells as well as their voices. This ancient music is still played in some parts of Mexico. Folk songs called “corridos” are also popular in Mexico. They can tell stories of the Mexican Revolution, a bandit or a sheriff, or the struggle between church and state. In the 1900s, Mexican composers including Carlos Chavez and Silvestre Revueltas have used themes from corridos or ancient Indian music. Today, strolling musical groups called mariachis perform along streets and in restaurants. Mariachi groups include singers, guitarists, trumpets and violins. The music of marimbas – instruments similar to xylophones – is also popular.
Folk dance:
Folk dances are important features of Mexican parties. In the Mexican hat dance, also called the “jarabe tapatio,” dancers perform a lively sequence with hopping steps and heel-and-toe tapping.
