I spent months preparing for this trip, learning about Mexican history, researching information on the cities, and planning the places I wanted to visit. I was going to discover my Mexican roots while learning about a culture I had little experience with.

My trip took me from Mexico City down throughout the countryside to Aculpulco, then up the coast (figure 1), to Zihuantanejo (figure 2), east to Guadalajara, and back to Mexico City. Travel time between each city took from eight to eleven hours driving over roads in disrepair through small villages perched high in the mountains (figures 3 and 4), through roadside towns in lowland agricultural areas, and finally through scattered settlements in the high desert plateau. I spent many days in each town, visiting historical places, ancient ruins, colonial buildings, m

Mexican embassy (2000). Mexico. The Mexican embassy [Online]. Available:

Toor, F. (1934). Mexican Folkways. New York: Harbinger Press.

The growth that I experienced because of my exposure to the Mexican culture was enormous. Before I traveled to Mexico, I had no connection whatsoever to my Mexican roots. Despite the fact that I am Mexican, I must admit that I had preconceived ideas about what the people of Mexico were like. I thought they were naïve, non-educated, and did not know of their love for happiness and pleasure. I did not realize how much of an advanced, diverse, and rich culture Mexicans have.

While in Mexico City, I was able to visit the Anthropology Museum (figure 11), which held an extensive collection of pre-Columbian art. I saw baskets and pottery, religious deities, and astrological pieces, all demonstrating aspects of the lives of the pre-Columbian peoples. Common in this art were religious themes, such as in an Aztec stone carving called Xochipilli, the God of dance and springtime. Pieces like these hold clues about the culture in which pre-Columbian people lived, and in particular, how their lives tied closely to nature.

Before I left for Mexico, I wanted to learn about Mexican history. One book in particular, A Treasury of Mexican folkways, by Francis Toor gave me a good background to Mexican history. In addition, as I traveled through Mexico, the importance of its history became more apparent. Toor describes how people have been living in Mexico for the past 20,000 years. Ruins of pyramids, palaces, and temples bear witness to the Olmec, Toltec, Maya, and Aztec cultures. Through archaeological evidence, experts believe that around the time nomads turned into settlers, and advances in art and science were made. Urban centers developed and advanced in architecture, art, and learning accelerated. Aspects of these ancient cultures such as art, architecture, beliefs, and value systems can still be seen in modern day Mexican society.

Some topics in this essay:
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