Its ancient ruins, modern day monuments, bustling cities and sun-drenched beaches all make up the Mexico of today, a country bursting with life, with its people and culture feeding progress in an ever rising land.

Mexico celebrates its 214th Independence day today, marking the moment in 1810 when Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest known as father Hidalgo, made the first cry for independence with a moving speech in the Mexican town of Dolores. Hidalgo took up the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a Roman Catholic image of the Virgin Mary as she appears to Juan Diego, an indigenous Mexican believer later sainted by the Catholic church.

Thus the struggle began, and ended three centuries of Spanish rule.

At least seven major civilizations developed in Mexico, with the Mayas and Aztecs being the most credited with their advanced culture–the Mayans for advance writing, astronomy and city states and the Aztecs for their empire building acumen. The rich cultures and achievements of these civilizations coupled with modern-day social and economic victories have made Mexico one of the great nations of the world.

Like any great nation and people, Mexico has had to suffer prolonged struggles through time and space before gaining the stature it has today. With a rich culture and faith in the power of a strong people, the country now stands with the rest of the community of nations which are ever poised to face and conquer the challenges of the modern times.

Mexico has a developing mixed-market economy. According to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2024 report, it is the 12th largest in nominal GDP terms and by purchasing power parity.

Mexico’s export oriented economy has earned trade partnerships with more that 40 countries including the European Union, Japan, Israel and much of Central and South America. It is part of the most influential free trade agreement (FTA) in the world composed of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Mexico’s trade with the two countries accounted for almost 90% of its exports and 55% of its imports in 2006.

Mexicans at home and abroad celebrate Independence day with huge parties, parades, fireworks, rodeos, mariachi performances and traditional folk dancing, with tables of amazing food.

One such event that marks the historical occasion is the El Grito, a special tradition to celebrate Mexican Independence Day when political leaders lead the people through a special cheer to celebrate the heroes of the independence movement. El Grito takes place every year on the night of September 15 reliving the historical event that initiated Mexican independence from Spain.

The Art Cathedral of Mexico

Built between 1904 and 1934, the Palacio de Bellas Artes was erected where the National Theater of Mexico once stood until the late 1800s. The Bellas Artes, as it is commonly called, is an art and cultural center in Mexico City. Also termed as the Art Cathedral of Mexico, the Palacio de Bellas Artes was built as a more lavish structure originally to celebrate the Centennial of the Mexican War of Independence in 1910. Due to weak subsoil in Mexico City and the political issues surrounding the time, construction was stopped in 1913 and went unfinished for 20 years. In 1932, this time under Mexican architect Federico Mariscal, construction resumed to finish in 1934 and inaugurated in November that year with a presentation in the theater of “La Verdad Sospechosa by Juan Ruiz de Alarcon.

Mexico’s first museum, the Bellas Artes, has since been the repository of the country’s art treasures by its greatest artists, and a fitting venue for the performing arts, literature events and plastic arts exhibits. The Palace includes a main theater, a concert hall, the National Museum of Architecture (Museo Nacional de Arquitectura), and the Museum of the Palace of Fine Arts (Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes). The works of Mexico’s great muralists– Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Sequeiros, and other Mexican artists are housed in the Bellas Artes. The Palacio now houses the National Institute of the Fine Arts (Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes), established by the government in 1946 to promote the arts, and was previously hosted by the Museo Nacional de Artes Plasticas and the Museo del Libro, among others. INSET, left, detail of the Palacio facade; right, the inner canopy.

THE national flag of Mexico consists of a vertical tricolor of green, white and red, with the national coat of arms– based on the Aztec symbol of Tenochtitlan as the center of the Aztec Empire– charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meaning of the colors has changed over time, these three colors were adopted by Mexico following independence from Spain during the country’s War of Independence, and the subsequent First Mexican Empire.

The Mexican coat of arms recalls the legend of a golden eagle sitting on a cactus while devouring a serpent that signaled to the Aztecs where to found their city, Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City).

Mexico City

Modern buildings light up Mexico City’s skyline at dusk. INSET, Greater Mexico City is home to over 22.5 million and some of the oldest and grandest cathedrals in the world.

MEXICO City, the most populous city in North America, is the country’s capital and biggest city. Greater Mexico City with a population of 22,505, 315 (2024) is the sixth-largest metropolitan area and the largest Spanish- speaking city in the world. It is the economic, political, and cultural hub of Mexico. The area is also one of the powerhouse regions of Latin America.

Chichen Itza

CHICHEN Itza is one of Mexico’s most visited monuments and the largest of the Maya cities in the Yucatan Peninsula. The temple-pyramid of El Castillo is the most famous landmark in Mexico. The design of the temple has unique astronomical significance.

Beaches and cenotes

From its famed pristine beaches to the amazing cenotes, Mexico prides itself with gifts from nature that have been drawing visitors from all over the world.