Putting the magnifying glass into the Mexico’s Culture, today I will go deeper into the Culture within a Country as I’ve done in some of my previous posts. In this case, the many geographical cultures with Mexico. Mexico can be seen as a diverse group of regional Mexicos, some of them being, urban and country, employees and self-employed, private industries and government.
Mexico is extremely geographically diverse, regions with deserts, high mountains, plateaus, and tropical coastlines. A large part of Mexico’s population lives in the central regions, while fewer are in the dry north and tropical south. As I mentioned in previous posts, the dominant culture of Mexico reflects a blend of indigenous and Spanish customs; however, traditions vary greatly across the country.
Many of the things often thought of as distinctively ‘Mexican’ have a local or regional origin. As an example, Tequila, mariachi music, and embroidered outfits of the charro are from the west of Mexico (Jalisco, and then extended to Tlaxcala, Puebla, State de México, and Hidalgo). As we see in many large countries around the world, region or states, generally have unique cultural identity and associated cuisine, folk songs and craftsmanship.
Settlement patterns and regional identities
Roughly 80% of Mexicans live in urban areas while 20% live rurally. The growth of urbanization is a continuing trend as the rural poor are attracted by the economic opportunities of industrial and commercial areas. Differences in attitudes and practices are very noticeable between urban centers and rural areas. Those in rural towns generally continue to follow traditional lifestyles and hold quite conservative beliefs, often preserving strong identities that are particular to them. Such regional identities are particularly important to many indigenous communities.
On the other hand, many towns and cities are highly industrialized and cosmopolitan. Popular coastal towns are generally also quite Westernized given the influx of tourism. People from cities tend to be less conservative; however, this is still highly dependent on which region the city is in. For example, those from Guadalajara are generally more traditional than people from Mexico City.
Indeed, Mexico City is somewhat of a cultural outlier in the country. It is the fifth biggest metropolitan area in the world, now being topped by Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai and Sau Paulo. Being a global economic and cultural center, it tends to attract more liberal and unconventional Mexicans from other areas of the country. Almost one in five Mexicans live in the capital.
Top regional cultural differences
The most common cultural subdivisions are northern, central, and south or south-eastern Mexico.
- The extensive and arid NORTE was only sparsely populated until the middle of the 20th century, except for some cities such as Monterrey. It has traditionally housed only small indigenous populations and is generally regarded as a frontier culture. Although I will touch upon this subject in a future post, this frontier culture can be compared with the south regions of the U.S., this is obvious if we study the regions’ history.
- The nature of the Norteños is said to be, outspoken, loud and a bit brusque, and hardworking and responsible. Famous for their hard labor and conservative morals, and for enjoy spending the weekends around family and great food.
- The north developed more due to the colonization of Spaniards, Creoles, mestizos, and indigenous people from the center of the country (mainly Tlaxcaltecas); similar to U.S. colonization, they had to undertake this process, face an inhospitable territory, printing their character, this made northerners seek to solve their own lives through hard work, savings and reinvestment of profits.
- Densely populated central and western Mexico is the cradle of the nation. Highly developed Indian cultures populated this region in pre-Columbian times and it was also the heart of the colony of New Spain. Many prominent colonial cities are major urban and industrial centers today. with roads very distant from the rich cities of the Viceroyalty.
- Southern Mexico has a tropical or subtropical climate and some rain forest. It is characterized by a strong indigenous heritage and is also the poorest part of the country.
- The region is more complicated, the mestizos emerged from the mixture of the native peoples that existed before the arrival of the Castilians in the area, and the Castilians themselves. There is a Creole and Creole-mestizo elite that has monopolized the means of wealth during the last 500 years, of which is money, production methods and political power.
- Unfortunately, the indigenous have been left out of everything, and many have preferred to remain that way, after very bad experiences of exploitation and looting that they have suffered over 500 years. They consider that the State must support them in order to get ahead, because that is what they have always heard. Life rhythm may seem a little slower than the other two regions
Even though Mexican culture is diverse, there is also a strong identification with the nation-state; nationalism is strong. There is a saying “como México no hay dos” -There is none other like Mexico, which reflects this strength and uniqueness.
Awareness is key
As I have been so insistent in mentioning in the short narratives in my blog, understanding one’s culture and understanding the cultures with which we work, is crucial to continuously increase our own capability to identify cultural differences, understand and work effectively with other organizations by not judging them.
On the contrary, adjusting my perception about the other cultures and learning to combine and enjoying the best from each one of them, is key to successfully building a bridge between the different cultures, and thus be more successful as global leaders.
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