Transcript México Powerpoint

Mexico: Community
and Culture
Joy Lewis-Méndez
[email protected]
http://python.paideiaschool.org/~lewismendez.joy
Writing Assignment
• What’s the first thing that comes to mind
when you think of Mexico?
• What do you know about Mexico?
• What do you think the majority of
Americans think of when they visualize
Mexico?
• Small Group/ Class Discussion
Introductions
True or False?
• Number a piece of paper 1-20.
True or False?
About the
country:
1. Mexico is in Central America.
2. Mexico is mostly arid desert.
3. Donkeys wander around in
Mexico.
True or False?
3. The skull is a Mexican cultural
symbol.
•
Bullfighting originated in Mexico.
5.
Mexico has a lot of pyramids.
True or False?
7. Mexico has a rich indigenous
culture.
8. “Don’t drink the water” in
Mexico.
9.
Most of Mexico is dirty,
polluted, and impoverished.
True or False?
About the people:
10. Mexicans are all short, darkskinned and dark-haired.
11. Mexicans live in multi-colored
cement houses.
12. Mexicans are mostly poor
farmers and/or manual
laborers.
True or False?
13. Mexicans have really
big, close-knit families.
14. Mexicans are not very
educated.
15. Mexican kids play with
piñatas.
True or False?
16. Mexicans eat tacos
almost every day.
17. Mexicans wear
sombreros.
18. Mexicans listen to
Mariachi music.
True or False?
19. Mexicans are lazy and
take siestas all the time.
20. Mexicans are very
religious.
First, some terminology:
• Do we refer to all people
who speak English as English?
• Should we refer to all people
who speak Spanish as Spanish?
NO
NO
• Spanish= the language.
• Spanish= people from Spain.
• Hispanic and/or Latino= Spanish-speaking
people.
1. Mexico is in Central America.
False.
• Mexico is in North America.
• Official name: Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
(The Mexican United States)
• Population: 100,349,766
• Area: about 3x the size of Texas
• Comprised of: 31 states and 1 federal district
• Capital: Mexico, D.F.
• Government type: federal republic
2. Mexico is mostly arid
desert covered in cacti.
False.
• Mexico definitely has arid deserts, but it also has:
• High, rugged mountains, carribean, gulf, and pacific
beaches, low plains, high plateaus, active volcanoes,
and tropical/rain forests
• Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold,
lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
3. Donkeys wander around in Mexico.
True and False.
• Donkeys are still used in rural areas and by
some workers in small cities for cargo.
4. Skeletons are a Mexican cultural
symbol. True.
• Skulls and skeletons represent one of
Mexico’s most intriguing traditional holidays:
The Day(s) of the Dead, November 1st & 2nd
5. Bullfighting originated in Mexico.
False.
• Bullfighting originated in Spain.
• However, there are frequent bullfights in
Mexico.
• What is originally Mexican is what’s called a
charrería, a type of rodeo.
6. Mexico has lots of pyramids. True.
• Mexico has pyramids dating back
to 900 B.C., older than those in
Rome.
7. Mexico has a rich indigenous culture.
True.
• The Mexican government recognizes 56 different
indigenous groups.
• The largest indigenous group is the Nahua,
descendants of the Aztecs. There are at least 1.7
million Nahuatl speakers. There are approximately 1
million Maya speakers, 500,000 Zapotecs, 500,000
Mixtecs, 260,000 Totonacs and 130,000 Purepechas.
8. “Don’t drink the water”
in Mexico. True.
• Moctezuma’s Revenge:
• Our stomachs are not used to the water (and
food) in Mexico because of differences in
bacteria. It takes months to get used to
another country’s bacteria. If you stay in
Mexico for 3 or more months, you might go
through a period of adjustment when you go
back to the states!
• This is your stomach’s fault just as much as it
is the Mexicans’.
• Mexicans who travel to the states suffer from
the same maladies as we do when in Mexico.
9. Most of Mexico is ugly, dirty, polluted,
and impoverished. False.
• Mexico does have pollution problems (Mexico
City), litter problems, and much poverty.
• However, so many cities and rural areas in
Mexico are very clean and beautiful.
10. Mexicans are all short, dark-skinned
and dark-haired. False.
• Many Mexicans do fit
this description; however,
many others do not…
Ethnic groups within Mexico:
• Mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%
• Amerindian 30%
• White 9%, Other 1%
11. Mexicans live in multi-colored
cement houses. True and False.
• Typical houses are made of cement and
painted different colors.
• Others are very modern.
12. Mexicans are mostly poor farmers
and/or manual laborers. False.
• Mexicans have all types of jobs. There is
a whole country of them!
• 75% of Mexico’s people live in the cities.
• Population below poverty line: 27%
(vs USA: 12.7%) 1999 est.
13. Mexicans have really big, close-knit
families. True and False.
• Mexican families are not as big as they used
to be.
• Mexican families are very close-knit and often
live very close to one another.
14. Mexicans are not very
educated. False.
• The UNAM is the most
prestigious university in
Latin America, having
produced 3 Nobel
laureates and most of
Mexico’s modern-day
presidents
15. Mexican kids play with piñatas.
True.
• It is still very typical for Mexican kids to
have a piñata on birthdays and special
occasions.
16. Mexicans eat tacos almost every day.
False.
• Mexicans do eat tacos, but only as
much as we might eat hamburgers.
• Taco stands are found on most city
street corners.
• The Mexican taco is much different from
the American taco!
17. Mexicans wear sombreros.
True and False.
• It’s about as common as the cowboy
hat.
• And as traditional.
18. Mexicans listen to Mariachi music.
True.
• They also listen to Salsa, Merengue, Latin,
Rock, Hip-hop, Rap, Techno, Reggae, Heavy
Metal, etc.…just like we do!
• Many Mexicans are very good dancers and
enjoy many different types of music.
• The Mexican dance club scene
is hard to beat!
19. Mexicans are lazy and take siestas
all the time. False.
• Mexicans do have a “siesta break” (really a
lunch break) from about 3-5pm where many
people get off work and stores are closed.
• However, Mexicans
often go back to work
and work into the night.
• Mexicans are known
for being very
hardworking people.
20. Mexicans are very religious.
True.
•
•
•
•
Religions in Mexico:
Nominally Roman Catholic 89%
Protestant 6%, Other 5%
La Virgen de Guadalupe is one of the
most important Mexican cultural icons.
Where do these stereotypes come from?
Where do these stereotypes come from?
•
•
Television, Hollywood
Immigration
What if…
• Mexicans judged
Americans only by looking
at the tourists that they saw
visiting their country?
• Other cultures judged
American culture after one
trip to Miami or Vegas?
• People thought we were
really like the people on
Friends or The Simpsons?
What do Mexicans think about
Americans?
• In general, Mexicans are very respectful and
accepting of Americans.
• However, stereotypes of us definitely exist.
• They include our being ethno-centric, devoid
of culture, materialistic, workaholics, sexually
loose, & domineering.
• Where do you think these ideas
come from?
And now…
Some class notes…
Required Materials
• NO BOOKS
• Copy pack fee of $10 due tomorrow
1. Small 3-ring binder
2. 3 tab dividers (Journals,Notes Readings)
3. Paper, pen/pencil
This class consists of…
• READING
• You will have reading assignments that you MUST
read and be prepared to discuss and write about.
• DISCUSSING
• Your active participation is ESSENTIAL to your
success in this course.
• WRITING
• You will be responding to topics covered in class via
writing assignments.
• PROJECT
• Each of you will do a final project on the topic of your
choice (approved by me)