59 varieties of corn, the largest bullfighting arena and other little-known facts about Mexico

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

There are hundreds of examples of what makes Mexico not only an interesting and multifaceted country, but also important in the history of mankind. Here are fifteen things that few people know about this amazing Latin American country and its impressive contribution to world culture.

1. Without Mexico, there would be no pizza

Believe it or not, the Spanish colonization of the New World brought many different products to the rest of the world. Among these many contributions to world gastronomy were tomatoes, peanuts, avocados, corn, vanilla and hot peppers. Just imagine that without these products, most of our favorite dishes, including pizza, would not exist.

2. The world's first contraceptive drug

Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cardenas, a twenty-five-year-old Mexican chemist, invented a chemical compound that became the first contraceptive in 1951. Together with other scientists, he carried out the first synthesis of norethisterone, which later became the main component of the first contraceptive pills.

3. There are 59 varieties of corn in Mexico

Mexico is not only home to one of the world's major crops - corn, but also has a rich variety of this product, numbering more than fifty-nine varieties. Mexicans have grown this important crop for centuries, and despite threats from international trade agreements and genetically modified imports, farmers continue the tradition of growing corn, collecting seeds and preserving varieties for generations to come.

4. Mexico has 68 indigenous languages

Mexican law recognizes sixty-eight official indigenous languages in the country, although Spanish is used for most commercial and all government enterprises. Within these sixty-eight languages, which are also dozens of variations, there is also a number of local dialects (about two hundred) that are spoken in Mexico. But, unfortunately, most of these languages are subject to "extinction", they survived only among small communities and they are most often spoken by the older generation.

5. One of the most unique agricultural systems in the world

The Valley of Mexico has long been a fertile and livable region thanks to an elaborate agricultural system developed by early indigenous groups and reinforced by the Aztecs when they took power. A system of canals and floating gardens, now found only in the south of the city, was developed as a way to feed its masses, control floods, and transport goods throughout the area. Chinampas, as they are called, have been compared to the Nile Valley and rice paddies of China in terms of their uniqueness and importance in the history of world agriculture.

6. Mexican Spanish has more Arabic words than Spanish Spanish

After the colonization of Mexico by the Spaniards, the Spanish language in the Old Country underwent an evolution that led to the elimination of the language of Arabic influence, which the Spaniards looked down on at the time. But the Spanish spoken in Mexico retained this influence and can be seen today in their various uses of worlds such as almohada (pillow) and Ojalá (which roughly translates as “I hope so” or “if God wills it.

7. Mexico is home to the third highest peak in North America

Pico de Orizaba lies on the border of the Mexican states of Veracruz and Puebla and is the third highest peak in North America after Mount McKinley in the United States and Mount Logan in Canada. This now dormant but not extinct volcano rises 5,636 meters (18,491 ft) above sea level and is a popular destination for hikers and climbers in Mexico and beyond.

8. Mexico is the second largest country in the world where obesity is off the charts

Unfortunately, nearly one in six adults in Mexico suffers from diabetes, heart disease, and other problems associated with being overweight. According to some experts, Mexico has a leading position in terms of obesity among other countries. Many blame the industrialization of Mexico's food system for making processed, fatty foods and sugary drinks more affordable than healthier options.

9. Color TV was invented in Mexico

Without Mexico, the world would be much more black and white. Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena was the inventor of the chronoscopic adapter for television equipment, which was an early color television transmission system. It was 1942 and the guy at that time was only seventeen years old when he received a patent for the creation and development of his invention. And his first color transmission took place in 1946, when he sent a signal from his laboratory in the offices of the Mexican League of Radio Experiments, in Lucerna Street.

10. Mexico is located in one of the most seismically active regions in the world

The Pacific Ring of Fire, on which Mexico lies, is an area of fault lines that run along the Pacific tectonic plate and some of the smaller plates in the Philippine Sea and Pacific Ocean. It is one of the worst areas in the world for earthquakes and volcanoes. Mexico also has a “shaking bottom” due to the lake bottom. This means that when a tremor hits the Mexican valley, it shakes like a bowl of jelly.

11. The first printing press in North America was used in Mexico City

The Mexican Juan Pablo used the first printing press in North America and created thirty-five books with it from 1539 until his death in 1560. His original workshop was converted into a museum and can still be visited today in the historic center of Mexico City. It is also worth noting that the press was founded by the Spaniard Juan de Zumarraga in 1539 and originally printed materials for the colonial church and the viceroy family.

12. The capital of Mexico is sinking every year

Mexico City was built on top of the lake bed system by its original tribes and expanded by the Aztecs when they took over the Valley of Mexico. Unlike the Aztecs, who created elaborate systems of dams and canals to deal with floods, the Spaniards insisted on draining the lake bed as soon as they got a taste of the work required to maintain their aquatic existence. Today, most of the city's water is pumped out. from the aquifer below the surface, and due to the sandy state of the soil, the city and buildings continue to sink deeper into the mud.

13. Mexico has the world's largest bullfighting arena

Despite the fact that bullfighting came to Mexico through the Spanish colonialists, the popularity of the controversial sport in Mexico is off the charts. So it comes as no surprise that Mexico is home to the world's largest bullring, the Plaza de Toro in Mexico City. Located next to the Azul stadium, it seats nearly forty-two thousand spectators, and its construction was completed in just one hundred and eighty days with the help of special equipment and ten thousand workers, alternating in three shifts a day.

14. Mexico has 34 UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Mexico today is responsible for protecting a huge number of World Heritage Sites, including thirty-four UNESCO sites within its borders. The list includes the historic centers of cities such as Guanajuato, Mexico City and Puebla, as well as dozens of ancient ruins, fields of agave (the plant that tequila is made from), Jalisco, and the Baja California El Vizcaino Whale Sanctuary.

15. Mexico is home to one of the seven wonders of the world

Although there are various lists of the "seven wonders", the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza are often considered among them. The ruins are what remains of the ancient Mayan ceremonial city on the Yucatan Peninsula. The place is known for the fact that on the day of the winter solstice, the shadow of a snake appears on the steps of its great pyramid El Castillo.

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