¡Bienvenidos a México!
Mexico is the largest country in North America that speaks Spanish. It is located directly south of Los EEUU, and north of Central America.
Pyramid in Mexico.
There are many historical places in Mexico to visit, most notably the ruins of the ancient Mayas. Several large sites are located throughout Mexico, including Becan, Bonampak, Calakmul, Chacchoben, Chac Mool, Chicanna, Chichen Itza, Coba, Dzibilchaltun, Ek Balam, Kohunlich, Mayapan, Muyil, Palenque, Tulum, Uxmal, Xel-Ha, and Yaxchilan. In looking of the list of names, you may notice that the words do not look like Spanish words. That's because they aren't! They are named in the languages of the Natives who inhabited these special ruins. In addition to all the archeological sites to visit in Mexico, there are also beautiful beaches, forests, deserts, and mountains.
The capital city of Mexico is la Ciudad de Mexico. It is in the south central portion of the country. It is the largest city in Latin America, and has the largest population of cities in the Americas (which includes North and South America). That's right-Ciudad de Mexico has a larger population than cities in the United States!
la Ciudad de Mexico was once called Tenochtitlán. It was the capital of the Mayas and there was once an advanced civilization there. After Cortes conquered Tenochtitlán, they built modern day la Ciudad de Mexico on top of the ancient Tenochtitlán.
Since Mexico shares a continent with the United States, the countries influence each other strongly. Every year, millions of Mexicans come to el norte to build a better life for their families. Every year, Americans travel to popular Mexican vacation resort areas, such as Cancun and Cabo San Lucas. The language of Mexico is Spanish, but Mexicans speak a different dialect of Spanish than people of Spain. There are many words adopted from English to “Mexican” Spanish, and sometimes words have different meanings depending on where the person who is speaking them is from.
Mexico is an amazing country that many Americans will visit in their lifetime. I encourage you to look at Mexico for more than a beach vacation opportunity, and to recognize the close ties Mexico and los EEUU have.
Test Your Knowledge
What was la Ciudad de Mexico called before it was conquered by Cortes?
Tenochtitlán
Las Angeles
Mexico
Peru
What is the origin of the names of ruins in Mexico?
They come from English.
They are french names.
They are American names.
They come from the natives that lived there before they were conquered by Cortes.
Do Mexicans speak Spanish?
Yes, exactly like Spaniards.
Yes, but a different dialect than Spaniards.
No, they speak English.
No, they speak native languages.
Activities