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The Porfirian era (''el [[Porfirio Díaz|Porfiriato]]''), in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, was marked by economic progress and peace. After four decades of civil unrest and war, Mexico saw the development of philosophy and the arts, promoted by President Díaz himself. Since that time, though accentuated during the [[Mexican Revolution]], cultural identity had its foundation in the ''mestizaje'', of which the indigenous (i.e. Amerindian) element was the core. In light of the various ethnicities that formed the Mexican people, [[José Vasconcelos]] in his publication ''La Raza Cósmica'' (The Cosmic Race) (1925) defined Mexico to be the melting pot of all races (thus extending the definition of the ''mestizo'') not only biologically but culturally as well. This exalting of ''mestizaje'' was a revolutionary idea that sharply contrasted with the idea of a superior pure race prevalent in Europe at the time. The Porfirian era (''el [[Porfirio Díaz|Porfiriato]]''), in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, was marked by economic progress and peace. After four decades of civil unrest and war, Mexico saw the development of philosophy and the arts, promoted by President Díaz himself. Since that time, though accentuated during the [[Mexican Revolution]], cultural identity had its foundation in the ''mestizaje'', of which the indigenous (i.e. Amerindian) element was the core. In light of the various ethnicities that formed the Mexican people, [[José Vasconcelos]] in his publication ''La Raza Cósmica'' (The Cosmic Race) (1925) defined Mexico to be the melting pot of all races (thus extending the definition of the ''mestizo'') not only biologically but culturally as well. This exalting of ''mestizaje'' was a revolutionary idea that sharply contrasted with the idea of a superior pure race prevalent in Europe at the time.
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-=== Cinema === 
-[[Cinema of Mexico|Mexican films]] from the [[Golden Age of Mexican cinema|Golden Age]] in the 1940s and 1950s are the greatest examples of Latin American cinema, with a huge industry comparable to the [[Hollywood, Los Angeles, California|Hollywood]] of those years. Mexican films were exported and exhibited in all of Latin America and Europe. ''Maria Candelaria'' (1944) by [[Emilio Fernández]], was one of the first films awarded a [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] in 1946, the first time the event was held after World War II. Famous actors and actresses from this period include [[María Félix]], [[Pedro Infante]], [[Dolores del Río]], [[Jorge Negrete]] and the comedian [[Cantinflas]]. 
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-More recently, films such as ''[[Like Water for Chocolate|Como agua para chocolate]]'' (1992), ''[[Cronos (film)|Cronos]]'' (1993), ''[[Amores perros]]'' (2000), ''[[Y tu mamá también]]'' (2001), ''[[The Crime of Father Amaro (film)|El Crimen del Padre Amaro]]'' (2002), ''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]'' (2006) and ''[[Babel (film)|Babel]]'' (2006) have been successful in creating universal stories about contemporary subjects, and were internationally recognised, as in the prestigious [[Cannes Film Festival]]. Mexican directors [[Alejandro González Iñárritu]] (''[[Amores perros]]'', ''[[Babel (film)|Babel]]''), [[Alfonso Cuarón]] (''[[Children of Men]]'', ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]''), [[Guillermo del Toro]], [[Carlos Carrera]] (''[[The Crime of Father Amaro (film)|The Crime of Father Amaro]]''), and screenwriter [[Guillermo Arriaga]] are some of the most known present-day film makers. 
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-=== Music === 
-Mexican society enjoys a vast array of music genres, showing the diversity of Mexican culture. Traditional music includes [[Mariachi]], [[banda music|Banda]], [[Norteño (music)|Norteño]], [[Ranchera]] and [[Corrido]]s; on an every-day basis most Mexicans listen to contemporary music such as [[Mexican pop music|pop]], [[rock music|rock]], etc. in both [[english language|English]] and [[spanish language|Spanish]]. Mexico has the largest media industry in [[Latin America]], producing Mexican artists who are famous in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]] and parts of Europe, especially Spain. Some well-known Mexican singers are 
-[[Thalia]], [[Luis Miguel]] and [[Paulina Rubio]]. Popular groups are [[Café Tacuba]], [[Molotov (band)|Molotov]], [[RBD]] and [[Maná]], among others. 
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-Most states, through their Ministry of Culture or of Education, sponsor an ''Orquesta Sinfónica'' or ''Orquesta Filarmónica'' ([[Orchestra|Symphony Orchestra or Philharmonica Orchestra]]) so people can enjoy [[classical music]]. 
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-=== Fine arts === 
-[[Image:Palacio de las Bellas Artes (Mexico City).jpg|thumb|[[Palacio de Bellas Artes|Palace of Fine Arts]] in Mexico City.]] 
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-Post-revolutionary art in Mexico had its expression in the works of renowned artists such as [[Frida Kahlo]], [[Diego Rivera]], [[José Clemente Orozco]], [[Rufino Tamayo]], [[David Alfaro Siqueiros]] and [[Juan O'Gorman]]. Diego Rivera, the most well-known figure of Mexican [[mural]]ism, painted the ''[[Man at the Crossroads]]'' at the [[Rockefeller Center]] in New York City, a huge mural that was destroyed the next year due to the inclusion of a portrait of Russian communist leader [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]].Some of Rivera's murals are displayed at the Mexican [[National Palace (Mexico)|National Palace]] and the [[Palacio de Bellas Artes|Palace of Fine Arts]]. 
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-Academic music composers of Mexico include [[Manuel María Ponce]], [[José Pablo Moncayo]], [[Julián Carrillo]], [[Mario Lavista]], [[Carlos Chávez]], [[Silvestre Revueltas]], [[Arturo Márquez]], and [[Juventino Rosas]], many of whom incorporated traditional elements into their music. [[Nobel Prize]] winner [[Octavio Paz]], [[Carlos Fuentes]], [[Juan Rulfo]], [[Elena Poniatowska]], and [[José Emilio Pacheco]], are some of the most recognized authors of Mexican literature. 
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-=== Broadcast media === 
-Two of the major television networks based in Mexico are [[Televisa]] and [[TV Azteca]]. Televisa is also the largest producer of Spanish-language content in the world and also the world's largest Spanish-language media network. [[Grupo Multimedios]] is another media conglomerate with Spanish-language broadcasting in Mexico, Spain, and the United States. [[Soap opera]]s ([[telenovela]]s) are translated to many languages and seen all over the world with renowned names like [[Verónica Castro]], [[Lucía Méndez]], [[Lucero]], and [[Thalía]]. Even [[Gael García Bernal]] and [[Diego Luna]] from [[Y tu mamá también]] and current [[Ermenegildo Zegna|Zegna]] model have appeared in some of them. Some of their TV shows are modeled after counterparts from the U.S. like ''[[100 mexicanos dijeron|Family Feud]]'' (''100 Mexicanos Dijeron'' or "A hundred Mexicans said" in Spanish) and [[¿Qué dice la gente?]], ''[[Big Brother (TV series)|Big Brother]]'', ''[[American Idol]]'', ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' and others. Nationwide news shows like ''[[Las Noticias por Adela]]'' on Televisa resemble a hybrid between ''[[The Phil Donahue Show|Donahue]]'' and ''[[Nightline (US news program)|Nightline]]''. Local news shows are modeled after counterparts from the U.S. like the ''[[Eyewitness News]]'' and ''[[Action News]]'' formats. Border cities receive television and radio stations from the U.S., while [[satellite]] and [[cable]] subscription is common for the middle-classes in major cities, and they often watch movies and TV shows from the U.S. 
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-=== Cuisine === 
-Mexican cuisine is known for its intense and varied flavors, colorful decoration, and variety of spices. Most of today's Mexican food is based on pre-hispanic traditions, including the Aztecs and Maya, combined with culinary trends introduced by Spanish colonists. The ''[[conquistador]]es'' eventually combined their imported diet of rice, beef, pork, chicken, wine, garlic and onions with the native [[pre-Columbian]] food, including [[maize]], [[tomato]], [[vanilla]], [[avocado]], [[papaya]], [[pineapple]], [[chili pepper]], [[bean]]s, [[Squash (plant)|squash]], [[Lime (fruit)|limes]] (''limón'' in [[Mexican Spanish]]), [[sweet potato]], [[peanut]] and [[Turkey (bird)|turkey]]. 
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-The most internationally recognized dishes include [[chocolate]], [[taco]]s, [[quesadilla]]s, [[enchilada]]s, [[burrito]]s, [[tamale]]s and [[mole (sauce)|mole]] among others. Regional dishes include [[mole (sauce)|mole poblano]], [[chiles en nogada]] and [[chalupa]]s from [[Puebla]]; [[cabrito]] and [[machaca]] from [[Monterrey]], [[cochinita pibil]] from [[Yucatán]], [[Tlayuda]]s from [[Oaxaca]], as well as [[barbacoa]], [[chilaquiles]], [[milanesa]]s, and many others. 
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Culture

Mexican culture reflects the complexity of the country's history through the blending of pre-Hispanic civilizations and the culture of Spain, imparted during Spain's 300-year colonization of Mexico. Exogenous cultural elements mainly from the United States have been incorporated into Mexican culture. As was the case in most Latin American countries, when Mexico became an independent nation, it had to slowly create a national identity, being an ethnically diverse country in which, for the most part, the only connecting element amongst the newly independent inhabitants was Catholicism.

The Porfirian era (el Porfiriato), in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, was marked by economic progress and peace. After four decades of civil unrest and war, Mexico saw the development of philosophy and the arts, promoted by President Díaz himself. Since that time, though accentuated during the Mexican Revolution, cultural identity had its foundation in the mestizaje, of which the indigenous (i.e. Amerindian) element was the core. In light of the various ethnicities that formed the Mexican people, José Vasconcelos in his publication La Raza Cósmica (The Cosmic Race) (1925) defined Mexico to be the melting pot of all races (thus extending the definition of the mestizo) not only biologically but culturally as well. This exalting of mestizaje was a revolutionary idea that sharply contrasted with the idea of a superior pure race prevalent in Europe at the time.




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Mexico" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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