Portal:Mexico

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The Temple of Warriors at Chichen Itza, Mexico
The Temple of Warriors at Chichen Itza, Mexico

¡Bienvenido! Welcome to the Mexico portal

Location of Mexico
LocationSouthern portion of North America

Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It covers 1,972,550 km2 (761,610 sq mi), making it the world's 13th-largest country by area; with a population of almost 130 million, it is the 10th-most-populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is organized as a federal constitutional republic comprising 31 states and Mexico City, its capital. It shares land borders with the United States to the north, with Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; as well as maritime borders with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east.


Human presence in Pre-Columbian Mexico dates back to 8,000 BCE, making it one of the world's six cradles of civilization. The Mesoamerican region hosted various intertwined civilizations, including the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Teotihuacan, and Purepecha. The Aztecs came to dominate the area prior to European contact. In 1521, the Spanish Empire, alongside indigenous allies, conquered the Aztec Empire, establishing the colony of New Spain in the former capital, Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). Over the next three centuries, Spanish expansion enforced Christianity, spread the Spanish language, and exploited rich silver deposits in Zacatecas and Guanajuato. The colonial era ended in the early nineteenth century with the Mexican War of Independence. (Full article...)

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Imaging from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission STS-99 reveals part of the diameter ring of the crater in the form of a shallow circular trough. Numerous cenotes (sinkholes) cluster around the trough marking the inner crater rim.

The Chicxulub crater (IPA: [t͡ʃikʃuˈluɓ] cheek-shoo-LOOB) is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Its center is offshore, but the crater is named after the onshore community of Chicxulub Pueblo. It was formed slightly over 66 million years ago when a large meteorite, about ten kilometers (six miles) in diameter, struck Earth. The crater is estimated to be 200 kilometers (120 miles) in diameter and 20 kilometers (12 miles) in depth. It is the second largest confirmed impact structure on Earth, and the only one whose peak ring is intact and directly accessible for scientific research.

The crater was discovered by Antonio Camargo and Glen Penfield, geophysicists who had been looking for petroleum in the Yucatán Peninsula during the late 1970s. Penfield was initially unable to obtain evidence that the geological feature was a crater and gave up his search. Later, through contact with Alan R. Hildebrand in 1990, Penfield obtained samples that suggested it was an impact feature. Evidence for the crater's impact origin includes shocked quartz, a gravity anomaly, and tektites in surrounding areas. (Full article...)

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Three varieties of tequila

Tequila (/təˈklə/; Spanish: [teˈkila] ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila 65 km (40 mi) northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (Los Altos de Jalisco) of the central western Mexican state of Jalisco.

The red volcanic soils in the region of Tequila are well suited for growing the blue agave, and more than 300 million plants are harvested there each year. Agave grows differently depending on the region. Blue agaves grown in the highlands Los Altos region are larger and sweeter in aroma and taste. Agaves harvested in the valley region have a more herbaceous fragrance and flavor. Due to its historical and cultural importance, the region near Tequila was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006, the Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila. (Full article...)
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Adult perched in a honey mesquite tree

The cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) is a species of wren that is endemic to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. It is the state bird of Arizona, and the largest wren in the United States. Its plumage is brown, with black and white spots as markings. It has a distinctive white eyebrow that sweeps to the nape of the neck. The chest is white, whereas the underparts are cinnamon-buff colored. Both sexes appear similar. The tail, as well as flight feathers, are barred in black and white. Their song is a loud raspy chirrup; akin in the description of some ornithologists to the sound of a car engine that will not start. It is well-adapted to its native desert environment, and the birds can meet their water needs from their diet which consists chiefly of insects, but also of some plant matter. The cactus wren is a poor flier and generally forages for food on the ground. Ornithologists generally recognize seven subspecies, with the exact taxonomy under dispute.

Its common name derives from their frequenting desert cactus plants such as the saguaro and cholla, building nests, roosting, and seeking protection from predators among them. Its bulky and globular nests are constructed of plant material and lined with feathers. They do not migrate; instead, they establish and defend the territories around their nests where they live all year-round. It lives in pairs, or as family groups from late spring through winter. Pairing among cactus wrens is monogamous; in each breeding season, the males chiefly build nests, the females incubate eggs, and both parents feed the young. (Full article...)

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Posthumous portrait of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811), by Joaquín Ramírez, 1865

Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (Spanish pronunciation: [miˈɣel iˈðalɣo]), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican War of Independence and recognized as the Father of the Nation.

A professor at the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo in Valladolid, Hidalgo was influenced by Enlightenment ideas, which contributed to his ouster in 1792. He served in a church in Colima and then in Dolores. After his arrival, he was shocked by the rich soil he had found. He tried to help the poor by showing them how to grow olives and grapes, but in New Spain (modern Mexico) growing these crops was discouraged or prohibited by colonial authorities to prevent competition with imports from Spain. On 16 September 1810 he gave the Cry of Dolores, a speech calling upon the people to protect the interest of their King Ferdinand VII, held captive during the Peninsular War, by revolting against the European-born Spaniards who had overthrown the Spanish Viceroy José de Iturrigaray. (Full article...)

In the news

6 April 2024 – 2024 raid on the Mexican embassy in Ecuador
Nicaragua suspends diplomatic relations with Ecuador following the raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador. (Al Arabiya)
5 April 2024 – Ecuador–Mexico relations
2024 raid on the Mexican embassy in Ecuador
After local police arrest former vice-president Jorge Glas at its embassy in Quito in violation of Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Mexico suspends diplomatic relations with Ecuador. (The Guardian)
2 April 2024 – 2024 Mexican general election
A mayoral candidate is assassinated in Celaya, Guanajuato, ahead of Mexico's upcoming general election. (CNN)
27 March 2024 –
At least four people are killed by several wildfires across the State of Mexico, Mexico. (Reuters)
20 March 2024 – Mexican drug war
Twelve bodies are found in Mexico, five inside a truck in the municipality of Villa Corona, Jalisco and seven in Sonora. (El Universal)

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