Mexico

Mexico’s real name is the United States of Mexico (Estados Unidos Mexicanos). The country is divided into 31 states, plus the Federal District.

​

2. The Capital of Mexico Wasn’t Mexico City Until 2016

The majority of people have always thought that the capital of Mexico is Mexico City. The actual capital was Distrito Federal (DF) – the Federal District, In 2016, the city officially changed its name for CDMX (Ciudad de Mexico).

​

Mexican Burritos Are Only Eaten in the North

Everyone seems to love Mexican food, so much so that it was recently classified as an irreplaceable part of the cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO. Although, outside of Mexico what people refer to as “Mexican food” is more often than not actually Tex-Mex.

For example, in Mexico, nobody actually eats burritos Chipotle-style or filled with rice (I know that in northern Mexico burritos are popular, however, I meant burritos from US fast-food chains).

​

Mexican Spanish Isn’t Like Any Other Spanish

As mentioned in my previous article on Mexican slang, Mexican Spanish is unique. For example, in Mexico torta doesn’t mean cake, it means sandwich. Also, sope is not soup, but a so-called ‘Mexican pizza’ (of course it’s not an actual pizza, but it is similar to the concept of a pizza – dough, sauce, and toppings).

 

US citizens Are The Largest Immigration Group in Mexico

It’s no secret that Mexican citizens make up the largest proportion of the United States’ foreign-born population. But the US citizens, on the other hand, constitute the largest immigrant group in Mexico. According to the 2010 Census, over 750,000 US citizens live in Mexico.

Yes, it means there are more Americans immigrating to Mexico than Mexicans immigrating to the US. Kind of ironic…

 

Mexico has 34 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Mexico’s got 34 UNESCO sites within its borders. The list includes the historic centers of towns like Guanajuato, Mexico City and Puebla, as well as with dozens of ancient ruins, the agave fields of Tequila, and much more.

 

Mexicans Don’t Celebrate 5 de Mayo. Independence Day is on the 16th of September

Mexico declared independence on September 27th, 1821, but the beginning of the independence war was Sept 16th, 1810 – the day that’s celebrated as independence day.

Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican Independence Day, it only commemorates the Battle of Puebla in 1862 when Mexico won against the French army. It’s pretty much only celebrated in Puebla and by Mexican immigrants in the United States.

 

Mexico Has the Oldest University in North America

People usually think that since Mexico is a part of Latin America it’s located in either South or Central America. But Mexico is actually a part of North America, along with the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean islands.

Therefore, Mexico has the oldest university in North America. The National University of Mexico (UNAM) was founded in 1551 by Charles V of Spain, 85 years before Harvard.