project: mexico - web viewwhen the spanish conquistadores came into the americas and took over...

Jenna Guadagna, Kayla Jones, Paige Holt, Alana Issacs

Geography

Mexico is a country that is three times the size of the state of Texas. It is located at

the southern portion of North America, in which it shares a 5,000 kilometer border with. Also

it is bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the west and south, and the Gulf of Mexico in the east.

Belize and Mexico share 251 kilometers of border and 271 kilometers with Guatemala. The

Caribbean Sea borders the south east. The total area that Mexico covers is 1,972,550

square kilometers, including 6,000 square kilometers of the islands that the Mexican

territory includes; Isla Guadalupe and Islas Revillagigedo. There are a few mountain ranges

that basically dominate the landscape. The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in

southern Mexico that extends about 1,000 kilometers from southern Michoacán east

through Guerrero, to the Istmo de Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca. The Sierra de los

Tuxtlas, also called the Tuxtlas Mountains, are both a volcanic belt and a mountain range

that is along the southeastern Veracruz Gulf coast in Eastern Mexico. Mexico has about

150 rivers in which the majority empty into the Pacific Ocean. The other rivers flow into the

Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean Sea. Five of the 150 rivers make up 52% of the countries

average annual volume of surface area: The Usumacinta, Grijalva,

Papaloapan,Coatzacoalcos and Panuco. All of those rivers flow into the Gulf of Mexico.

Since 2010, about 112,468,855 people reside in Mexico and the Rio Panuco contains about


12% of the population. Northern Mexico contains 60% of the population but less than 10%

have access to these water resources.

History and Its Influence on Culture and Food

Many of the present Mexican dishes are based on pre-Hispanic traditions, along with

Aztec and Mayan. The Mayans hunted for food, foraged and they were agricultural, most of

their food was corn-based. The Aztecs also had corn-based dishes, then also beans,

squash and chocolate. When the Spanish conquistadores came into the Americas and took

over the Aztec empire into what they called “New Spain”, they brought over their own

traditional dishes which contained rice, beans, beef, pork, chicken, wine onions and garlic.

The Pre-Columbian indigenous people of Mexico were the ones that survived the Spanish

conquest; their traditional foods consisted of chocolate, peanuts, fish, papaya, pineapple

and chilies. Similar to all countries, it depends on location to decide what are the popular

dishes, or traditional cuisine. Yucatan is in southeastern Mexico; many years ago that’s

where the Mayans lived. Yucatan had a lot of European, African and Caribbean influence in

their food. The majority of their dishes include: corn, pork, avocado and lime. Puebla was

originally a pre-Hispanic area, when the Spanish arrived the traditional food had been

influenced by the Spanish nuns. To the north of Puebla the food there has a lot of fruit,

wine, vegetables, seeds, nuts and corn. The food of central Puebla is mostly consistent of

fresh produce, spices and herbs. The southern part of Puebla corn is consumed in some

way in every meal. Veracruz has European and Afro-Cuban influences in their cuisine,

which was mainly corn, seafood, vanilla, rice, spices, tubers, and peanuts.


Popular Foods throughout Mexico

Even though the history of Mexico varies from the location in the country, the

majority of popular foods are the same in almost every area; the differences are how they

prepare them. The most popular grains throughout Mexico are beans, rice, corn and

amaranth. Amaranth has been cultivated for about 8,000 years and was a grain of the

Aztecs, in which they used it a lot for religious ceremonies. When the conquistadors came

they banned the cultivation, and amaranth continued to grow as a weed. The popular

vegetables throughout Mexico are chilies, nopal, chayote, verdolaga and tomatillos.

Actually, in Mexico, salsa is made with tomatillos, not tomatoes. There are a lot of fruits that

are most used in cuisine in the country, a few of them are guava, guanabana, papaya,

avocado, pineapple and mangoes. Before the Spanish conquistadores, dairy products were

unknown in this area. The Spanish brought over cattle and they knew how to make cheese.

The majority of cheese during this period was made mainly with cow’s milk, and little with


goats. One of the most popular cheeses throughout the country are Oaxaca, which is also

called the “Mozzarella Cheese of Mexico.” The meats that are most use throughout Mexico

are mainly the meats that the Spanish brought over: Pork, chicken, beef, goat and sheep.

Mexico is about 6,000 miles from the coastline so they do eat quite the bit of seafood,

especially during the months of March and April during lent. The majority of seafood that the

country eats are shrimp, in Veracruz they eat a lot of whole fish normally dressed with olive

oil, capers, tomatoes and lime. In Mexico one of the most popular beverages is beer, and

the other popular beverages throughout the country are margaritas, horchata, which is

made of ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice and barley, and Agua Frescas, which is fresh

fruit drinks- the most popular is Agua de pina (Pineapple Water). The spices that are used

in Mexico are very regional, but in every region they use fresh spices, the most popular are:

Ajo (garlic), Albanaca (basil), Canela (cinnamon), Comino (cumin), Sal (salt), Vegibre

(ginger) and Perejil (parsley). Other kinds of ingredients people in Mexico use for flavor are

chilies.

Typical Dinner in a Mexican Home

In Mexico a typical dinner menu consumed in Mexico depends on where in the

country people are from. In northern Mexico it is very common for the main dish to be beef

burritos, pinto refried beans and rice. In the south, burritos are not a common dish, and beef


isn’t the “go to” meat. In coastal Mexico a typical dinner dish would be Pescado a la

Veracruzana, which translates to fish from Veracruz. It is normally a whole, white fish,

covered in tomato and chili pepper sauce. In southern Mexico chicken and vegetables are

mainly consumed. Corn tortillas, opposed to flour tortillas in northern Mexico, are used in

almost every meal. A typical main dinner dish in southern Mexico would be chicken

enchiladas. Chicken enchiladas are chicken and vegetables rolled into a corn tortilla. There

is light tomato sauce that goes either over the tortillas or the chicken can be “nestled” into

the sauce. Also, light cheese is optional to add on the top of the dish right before baking.

Dishes Associated with the Main Dishes of Mexico

Dishes that are associated with these cuisines also depend on the region. For

example in northern Mexico, a common appetizer would be four tortillas and salsa. A

popular dessert in northern and coastal Mexico would be flan. Flan in Britain is an open

pastry with a sweet filling; in Mexico it is also called Crème Caramel. Mexican flan is baked

custard with a caramel sauce over the top. A common appetizer in coastal Mexico is Cold


Shrimp Cocktail served with Salsa Verde, which is salsa made with tomatillos. The cocktail

is cold shrimp with lemon, jalapenos, garlic, white pepper and parsley. In southern Mexico,

for example, Oaxaca has an appetizer called Cheese Topped Guacamole. It’s made out of

avocados, mint, tomato, red onion, salt, ground pepper and Oaxaca cheese. An Oaxaca

dessert would be sweet preserved pumpkin. Sweet Preserved Pumpkin is made of pumpkin

wedges, lime, sugarcane, brown sugar, berries and cinnamon. It takes about four days to

make and is traditionally prepared for The Day of the Dead.

Additional Information on Mexico

Some additional information about Mexico is that there are two main seasons; it

differs between rainy and dry seasons. The weather in northern Mexico, there is a very hot

dry season and during the colder months there can be some snow fall. In central Mexico the

weather is warm in the day and by mid-day it’s hot, and the warmest months are right

before the rainy season. In southern Mexico the weather is very similar to the weather in

central Mexico. As a whole, the region has struggled with drug-related violence. In Mexico

the rural population is about 25,179,916, and the number of the people who are living in

rural areas of Mexico and poor is about 15,309,389. Throughout Mexico they have a few

holidays separate from what people in North America celebrate. One of the few holidays is

Dia de los Muertos, translated to Day of the Dead. Day of the Dead is a day to celebrate

the lives of all the loved ones who have passed away. The start of this holiday is October

31st and the last day is November 2nd. The families of the ones who have passed build


altars and top them with many flowers called Flor de Muerto, crosses, statues of the Virgin

Mary, pictures of their loved ones and their favorite foods. Many also visit the cemeteries

where their loved ones are buried and place candles and candies on the grave. Skulls and

skeletons are also very common decorations for this holiday. Another big holiday that is

celebrated in Mexico is called Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo translates to the 5th of May.

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in North America, but originated in Puebla, Mexico, and it was

originally called El Dia de la Ballata de Puebla. El Dia de la Ballata de Puebla translates to

The Day of the Battle of Puebla. In North America we celebrate it because it symbolized

democracy and freedom during the American Civil War. In Mexico it’s a day to remember to

Mexican army’s victory over the French army in the battle. Despite what many think, Cinco

de Mayo is not the Mexican Independence day, September 16th is. The Mexican War of

Independence started on September 16th Mexico wanting independence from Spain.

project: mexico - web viewwhen the spanish conquistadores came into the americas and took over...

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