1.AGUASCALIENTES 2.BAJA CALIFORNIABAJA CALIFORNIA 3.BAJA CALIFORNIA SURBAJA CALIFORNIA SUR 4.CAMPECHECAMPECHE 5.CHIAPASCHIAPAS 6.CHIHUAHUACHIHUAHUA 7.COAHUILA 8.COLIMACOLIMA 9.DURANGO 10.GUANAJUATOGUANAJUATO 11.GUERRERO 12.HIDALGO 13.JALISCOJALISCO 14.MÉXICO (State of) 15.MÉXICO CITY, D.F. 16.MICHOACÁNMICHOACÁN 17.MORELOS 18.NAYARITNAYARIT 19.NUEVO LEÓN 20.OAXACAOAXACA 21.PUEBLA 22.QUERETARO 23.QUINTANA ROOQUINTANA ROO 24.SAN LUIS POTOSÍ 25.SINALOA 26.SONORA 27.TABASCOTABASCO 28.TAMAULIPAS 29.TLAXCALA 30.VERACRUZVERACRUZ 31.YUCATANYUCATAN 32.ZACATECASZACATECAS ********** PLEASE NOTE: YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO KNOW THE STATES of MEXICO

JUST KIDDING!! BUT I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT MEXICO, LIKE THE UNITED STATES, HAS MANY STATES AND A NATIONAL CAPITAL: MEXICO CITY.

moving on to a bit of history and culture… adelante con un poco de historia y cultura… Yes! You do have to know this information for the CULTURE QUIZ that you will have next class. !Sí! TIENEN QUE Saber esta información para la PRUEBA de CULTURA que tendrán la próxima clase

México is situated to the south of the USA. The dividing line between México and Texas is the Rio Grande. Rio Grande

The Aztecs built their capital city, Tenochtitlán, in the middle of Lake Texcoco in 1325 A.D... Over time they developed a complex city with floating farms and causeways connecting the city to the main land. When Spanish invaders arrived in the 1500’s, they conquered the Aztecs and built Mexico City on the ruins of the Aztec capital. Today parts of Mexico City are sinking by about a foot each year so here we go…

the Aztec also built pyramids as astronomical observatories and to give honor to their gods… they sacrificed…

they made fascinating art such as this máscara de Teotihuacán…

they built stone structures such as this huge rock calendar “la Piedra del Sol”…

They also built other massive stone structures and pottery, often in honor of their gods. One was named Tláloc. He was the god of rain and demanded child sacrifices.

Moctezuma II, the most famous Aztec ruler, came to power in It’s not very clear how powerful he was, but during his reign as EMPEROR, the Aztec Empire reached its maximal size; through warfare Moctezuma II expanded the territory far south.

But in all of their greatness, the Aztecs sometimes did not treat very well the other native tribes of Mexico they conquered. Those people became allies with the Spanish explorers who arrived in 1519 and helped them to overthrow the Aztec empire.

Hernán Cortés, a spaniard, conquered the city of Tenochtitlán in 1519.

Moctezuma II came to power in He was the emperor of the Aztecs during the time that Hernán Cortés conquered Tenochtitlán in major points of review…

quick summary of the spanish conquest…. The Spaniards conquered the Aztec empire and built their own city, MEXICO CITY, over the ruins of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán. They used the stone to build their own homes and buildings. Mexico City became the CAPITAL of the Spanish colony and grew to cover the dry lake bed.

Mexico City today Population of 23,000,000 and growing! 2 nd largest in the world

MAJOR POINTS of interest in the heart of historic Mexico City from map on page 1 : el Zócalo (1) el Museo del Templo Mayor (5) el Ángel(6) la Catedral Metropolitana (2) el Palacio Nacional (3) Paseo de la Reforma (major boulevard)

El Zócalo just means city center square or plaza. However, Mexico City’s is famous and notice: it’s capitalized! It’s the heart of the city. It’s a massive concrete area with a giant flag in the center, bounded on the north by the Metropolitan Cathedral (la Catedral Metropolitana) and on the east by the National Palace (Palacio Nacional).

El Zócalo- La Plaza de Constitución - Constitution Square Notice the giant flag on the flagpole.

The flag of Mexico features an eagle standing on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. The legend states that when the Aztecs saw this, they were to build their city at that location, which is now modern day Mexico City.

North-east of the Zócalo are the ruins of the Templo Mayor, the main temple of the ancient Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlán. It was destroyed in the 16th century by the Spanish, and was excavated only recently, after workmen uncovered a huge circular stone depicting the goddess Coyolxauhqui in Now there is a museum here to show artefacts found in the ruins.

El Ángel is an Independence Monument built in 1910 to commemorate 100 years of independence from Spain.

La Catedral Metropolitana

El Palacio Nacional former residence of Hernán Cortés

View of the courtyard of el Palacio Nacional. Hernán Cortés used to live here. Now it’s the seat of the Mexican government.

Murals painted by Diego Rivera grace the stairways and walls facing the courtyard of el Palacio Nacional.

Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City – inspired by the Champs Elysées in Paris

for comparison purposes, here is the Champs Elysées Paris, France

and finally, two famous and interesting artists, two artifacts, and a couple of celebrations….look and listen…this will also be on your quiz…

Diego Rivera is a famous painter/artist. He is NOT a conquistador. He is an artist- a PAINTER. His murals grace the walls of the Palacio Nacional courtyard as well as many other places in Mexico.

Frida Kahlo, surrealist Frida and Diego Salma Hayek as Frida Las Dos Fridas Self Portrait with Monkeys Dreams of Frida

Tláloc was an important GOD OF WATER, RAIN, and FERTILTY of the Aztecs. Tláloc was pictured as a man wearing a net of clouds, a crown of heron feathers, foam sandals and carrying rattles to make thunder. Tláloc brought on great wrath upon the Aztec people. He often used his lightning bolts to make the people sick. It is said that he had four different jugs of water in his possession. When he emptied the first one, it brought life to plants. The second would cause blight, the third brought on frost, and the fourth would bring total destruction.

La Piedra Del Sol : was discovered in 1790 near the ruins of the Templo Mayor. It measures about 3.6 meters (12 ft) in diameter, 1.22 meters (4 ft) in thickness and weighing 24 tons. It is exhibited at el Museo Nacional de Antropología

La Fiesta Guadalupana is celebrated on December 12. Many believe that the miracle of the Virgin of Guadalupe united the Mexican society.

The Festival of Flowers – La Feria de las Flores – is celebrated in the FLOATING GARDENS of Xochimilco. Xochimilco is better known for its extended series of canals — all that remains of the ancient Lake Xochimilco. The word Xochimilco in Nahuatl (Aztec language) means “place of the flowers” – “lugar de las flores”