Mexicans

For a specific analysis of the population of Mexico, see Demographics of Mexico. For a more precise analysis on the nationality and identity of Mexico, see Mexican nationality law.

Mexicans
"Mexicanos"

File:Octavio Paz.gifFile:MARIA SABINA.jpgFile:Ramon novarro 2.jpg File:Jorge Negrete.gifMarco Rito-Palomares Pictured: Dolores Del Rio · Emiliano Zapata · Octavio Paz · Benito Juárez · Porfirio Diaz · Frida Kahlo Rodolfo Neri Vela · Maria Sabina · Ramón Novarro  · Moctezuma II · Lila Downs · Carlos Fuentes · Jorge Negrete · Juana Ines de la Cruz · Marco Rito-Palomares ·
Total population
World ±120,000,000
Regions with significant populations
Mexico 111,211,789
United States	9,900,000 a
Canada	~36,225 - 50,000 b
Spain	~14,399 - 16,000 c
Guatemala	~11,481 - 14,000
Bolivia	~9,377 - 10,000
Germany	~8,848 - 12,000
Argentina	~6,750 - 8,000
United Kingdom	~5,125 - 6,000
France	~4,601 - 6,000
Israel	4.252
Italy	3.485
Venezuela	~3.075 - 4,000
Belize	2.349
Languages
Spanish, English and 62 indigenous linguistic groups of Amerindian languages.
a Chicano, Mexican American b Mexican Canadian, c Mexicans in Spain

Mexican people (Spanish: Mexicanos) refers to all persons who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity.

Mexico became a nation in 1821 when Mexico achieved independence from the Spanish Empire, this began the process of forging a Mexican national identity that fused the cultural traits of indigenous pre-columbian origin with those of the dominant group of European, particularly Iberian, ancestry. This led to what has been termed "a peculiar form of multi-ethnic nationalism"

The most spoken language by Mexicans is Mexican Spanish, but many also speak languages from 62 different indigenous linguistic groups and other languages brought to Mexico by recent immigration or learned by Mexican immigrants residing in other nations. The majority of Mexicans live in Mexico but there is a sizable diaspora, especially in the United States and Canada.

History

The Mexican people have varied origins and an identity that has evolved with the succession of conquests among Amerindian groups and by Europeans. The area that is now modern-day Mexico has cradled many predecessor civilizations, going back as far as the Olmec which influenced the latter civilizations of Teotihuacan (200 B.C. to 700 A.D.) and the much debated Toltec people who flourished around the 10th and 12th centuries A.D., and ending with the last great indigenous civilization before the Spanish Conquest, the Aztecs (March 13, 1325 to August 13, 1521). The Nahuatl language was a common tongue in the region of modern Central Mexico during the Aztec Empire, but after the arrival of Europeans the common language of the region became Spanish.

After the conquest of the Aztec empire, the Spanish re-administered the land and expanded their own empire beyond the former boundaries of the Aztec, adding more territory to the Mexican sphere of influence which remained under the Spanish Crown for 300 years. Cultural diffusion and intermixing among the Amerindian populations with the European created the modern Mexican identity which is a mixture of regional indigenous and European cultures that evolved into a national culture during the Spanish Colonial period. This new identity was defined as "Mexican" shortly after the Mexican War of Independence and was more invigorated and developed after the Mexican Revolution when the Constitution of 1917 officially established Mexico as an indivisible pluricultural nation founded on its indigenous roots.

Definitions

See also: Toponymy of Mexico

Mexicano (Mexican) is derived from the word Mexico itself. In the principal model to create demonyms in Spanish, the suffix -ano its added to the name of the place of origin. The term Mexicano as a word to describe the different peoples of the region of Mexico as a single group emerged in the 16th century. In that time the term did not apply to a nationality nor to the geographical limits of the modern Mexican Republic. The term was used for the first time in the first document printed in Barcelona in 1566 which documented the expedition which launched from the port in Acapulco to find the best route which would favor a return journey from the Spanish East Indies to New Spain. The document stated: "el venturoso descubrimiento que los Mexicanos han hecho" (the venturous discovery that the Mexicans have made). That discovery led to the Manila galleon trade route and those "Mexicans" referred to Criollos, Mestizos and Amerindians alluding to a plurality of persons who participated for a common end: the conquest of the Philippines in 1565. (Gómez M., et al. 56)

Mexican Racial Groups

Judging Mexicans based on racial classification is never precise or accurate due to the various standards of measurement employed in classification which are often based on ambiguous standards and definitions. The percentages will inevitably overlap when comparing different sources because through some standards of classification certain individuals can classify in one group while in another study with different criteria they would be classified under another group.

Certain things are known for certain when one employs interdisciplinary standards ranging from historical accounts to genetic studies. The Mexican National Institute of Genomic Medicine recently conducted research into mapping certain genetic markers that are found in the Mexican population. Their studies, along with other sources, have revealed that Mexicans are indeed racially diverse with about 80% being Mestizos and having approximately even admixture of Native American and European heritage. Some Mexicans of mixed descent also have a very small amount of black African blood, with the most significant amount being found in southern central Mexico. East Asian descent among mixed Mexicans is also very low, but can be found in signicant levels in Baja California, especially Mexicali, as well as a select few other parts of Mexico. Some researchers, however, also believe that there are no "pure races" among the ethnically Mexican population, that is to say, among Mexicans who are Mexican by heredity excluding recent immigrants who have been naturalized as Mexican citizens.

Mestizos

Human races in New Spain and Mestizo baby into Diego Rivera's picture.

Main article: Mestizos

Mestizos are those who have a mixed ancestry between Europeans and Amerindians within the Mexican context discarding the other definitions that this term may be used for under other settings. Mestizos make up the largest racial identity among Mexicans comprising 60-80% of the population, as stated above.

Indigenous

Totonac face with a smile and closed eyes.

Mayan mask.

A drawing of a cavalryman in New Spain (Mexico)

Main article: Indigenous peoples in Mexico

Various estimates claim between 18%-30% of Mexicans are indigenous peoples (indígenas). To be classified as indigenous under the Mexican government's standards they use a political, linguistic and cultural criteria to judge whether or not the indigenous people still retain their traditional cultures and languages as well as their political autonomy within the Mexican national territory.

The 2nd Article of the Mexican constitution gives the criterion for the classification of indigenous people:

"The Mexican nation is one and indivisible. The nation has a multicultural composition originally based on its indigenous peoples who are those who descend from the populations that inhabited the territory of the present nation at the beginning of the colonization and who still retain their own social, economic, cultural and political identity or part thereof. The awareness of their indigenous identity should be the fundamental criterion for determining to whom the provision of indigenous peoples applies. Those communities that are members of an indigenous people are those who form a social, economic and cultural unit of development and is established in a certain territory and who recognize their own authorities in accordance with their own customs."

When this strictly cultural/political method of classification is used the number of people classified as indigenous drops, but when racial/genetic factors are included and cultural affiliation is disregarded, as it's often done by foreign observers and researchers, the number increases. Despite the high esteem in which the indigenous people are held in the mainstream consensus, and their importance to the foundation of Mexico's identity as a pluricultural nation, the indigenous peoples are still the most marginalized group which has resulted in various revolts such as the Zapatista Rebellion and the Caste War of Yucatán.

Europeans

Main article: White Mexicans

It is estimated that 9-17% of Mexicans identify themselves or are classified as Criollos, or "White Mexicans". Some Criollos still retain and/or identify more with European cultures and customs while others practice more local customs and traditions. The northern regions of Mexico, such as the states of Chihuahua and Nuevo León particularly the city of Monterrey, hold the greatest European genetic admixture with roughly 50-61% European admixture among the regional mestizo population. However with successive generations the population is becoming more homogenized with the indigenous population as more people from south and central Mexico move north and vice versa.

Other

Main articles: Arab Mexican, Afro-Mexican, and Asian Mexican

People groups other than Mestizos, Amerindians, and Europeans are less numerous in Mexico. About 1% or 1.8% of the Mexican population is of some black African descent, the great majority are mixed (mulattoes and zambos). These are mostly the descendants of slaves brought by the Spanish. Significant communities of Afro-Mexicans can be found in regions within the states of Guerrero and Veracruz. Those of East Asian decent make up less than approximately 1.5% of the populaion of Mexico. Many Asian Mexicans are of Korean and Japanese descent. Others are of Filipino and Chinese descent due to the Acapulco-Manila trade wherein the Spaniards brought over people from Asia into Mexico. Large numbers of Chinese immigrated to Mexico but were forcibly deported out of the country during the presidency of Mexican president Plutarco Elías Calles. There are also large Chinatowns in Mexicali, Baja California. Arab Mexicans make up about 1% of the population. Most Arab Mexicans come from Lebanon.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Mexico

See also: Mexican Spanish

Mexico is home to some of the worlds oldest writing systems such as Mayan Script. Maya writing uses logograms complemented by a set of alphabetical or syllabic glyphs and characters, similar in function to modern Japanese writing.

Mexicans are linguistically diverse, with many speaking European languages as well as various Indigenous Mexican Languages. Spanish is spoken by approximately 92.17% of Mexicans as their first language making them the largest Spanish speaking group in the world followed by Colombia (45,273,925), Spain (41,063,259) and Argentina (40,134,425). Although the great majority speak Spanish de facto the second most populous language among Mexicans is English due to the regional proximity of the United States which calls for a bilingual relationship in order to conduct business and trade as well as the migration of Mexicans into that country who adopt it as a second language.

Mexican Spanish is distinct in dialect, tone and syntax to the Peninsular Spanish spoken in Spain. It contains a large amount of loan words from indigenous languages, mostly from the Nahuatl language such as: "chocolate," "tomate," "mezquite," "chile," and "coyote".

Mexico has no official de jure language, but as of 2003 it recognizes 62 indigenous Amerindian languages as "national languages" along with Spanish which are protected under Mexican National law giving indigenous peoples the entitlement to request public services and documents in their native languages. The law also includes other Amerindian languages regardless of origin, that is, it includes the Amerindian languages of other ethnic groups that are non-native to the Mexican national territory. As such, Mexico's National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples recognizes the language of the Kickapoo who immigrated from the United States, and recognizes the languages of Guatemalan Amerindian refugees. The most numerous indigenous language spoken by Mexicans is Nahuatl which is spoken by 1.7% of the population in Mexico over the age of 5. Approximately 6,044,547 Mexicans (5.4%) speak an indigenous language according to the 2000 Census in Mexico. There are also Mexicans living abroad which speak indigenous languages mostly in the United States but their number is unknown.

The non-indigenous languages spoken in Mexico include English (by English-speaking immigrants, as well as by the residents of border states). One example of this group is the American Mormon colony of Nueva Casas Grandes in Chihuahua, which settled in the late 1800s. German (spoken mainly in Mexico City and Puebla), Arabic, Russian, Veneto (in Chipilo), French, Occitan, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Asturian, Chinese, Hebrew, Korean, Ladino, Plautdietsch, Armenian and other languages are spoken by smaller numbers. Some of these languages (such as Veneto, French and Plautdietsch) are spoken in isolated communities or villages. The rest are spoken by immigrants or their descendants who tend to live in the larger cities and towns. Many of these languages have significantly more speakers than those of indigenous language speakers in Mexico, such as German dialects, Italian dialects and French dialects, but they are not protected by law.

Gallery

• 
  Racial diversity in Mexican school children.
• Indigenous Mexican girls.
  Indigenous Mexican girls.
• Mexicans of Spanish descent.
  Mexicans of Spanish descent.
• 
  Mennonites from northern Mexico.
• 
  Nordic Mexican girls.
• 
  Afro-Mexican of Costa Chica.
• 
  Women of Yucatec Mayan descent (Amerindian).
• 
  Mexican mestizos.
• 
  Mexicans of Chinese descent.
• 
  Caucasian Mexican.
• 
  Carlos Slim, Mexican of Arab (Lebanese) descent.
• José Carlos Ruiz, Indigenous Mexican.
  José Carlos Ruiz, Indigenous Mexican.

See also

• List of Mexicans
• Culture of Mexico
• History of Mexico
• Mexican literature
• Mexican nobility
• Indigenous Mexican
• Mestizo
• Afro-Mexican
• White Mexican
• Criollo
• Arab Mexican
• Asian Mexican
• Mexican American
• Anti-Mexican sentiment
• Latin Americans

Works cited

Gómez M., et al. Historia de México: Texto de Consulta Para Educación Media Superior. Mexico: Limusa, 2006.