10 Unconventional and Interesting Facts About Mexican Culture That May Surprise You

### **10 Unconventional and Interesting Facts About Mexican Culture That May Surprise You**

Mexico is a nation that is too often boiled down to a few colorful stereotypes: sombreros, tacos, mariachi music, and beach weather. While these elements of the cultural landscape approach a society that is rich in syncretism, extremely complex, and crowded with unique customs that might seem lovable, confusing, or otherwise enigmatic to non-members, to get to know Mexico is through its unwritten rules, its old-fashioned customs alongside the modern, and the unique manner by which its people perceive the world. Here are ten facts that reveal the strange and captivating essence of everyday Mexican life.

**1. The "Mandón" and the Unwritten Rules of the Street**

Traffic regulations, road signs, and traffic signals impose discipline in most countries. In Mexico, they are in existence but coexist with a parallel, more forceful system, symbolized by the ubiquity of the "mandón." The *mandón* is not a traffic police officer; he is an unofficial, self-appointed traffic director, most commonly found at chaotic intersections, markets, or entry points to events.

The oddity is his control. He wears no official badge or uniform, but motorists and pedestrians obey his strident whistles and melodramatic gestures with alacrity. In exchange for his service, he expects a few coins, which motorists willingly bestow. The *mandón* is classic Mexican pragmatism: when official mechanisms fail or are lacking, society creates its own remedies automatically. He is proof of man's faith in his own creative ability against cold bureaucracy, a symbol of chaos and order born of chaos.

**2. The "Lucha Libre" as a Modern Morality Play**

Mexican *Lucha Libre*, or free wrestling, is more than a sport: it is living, breathing theater. The masked wrestlers, or "*luchadores*," are more than athletes: they are archetypes battling in an eternal conflict between good (*técnicos*) and evil (*rudos*). The mask (*máscara*) is no disguise; rather, it is a holy symbol of identity that contains within it a legacy, an honor, and sometimes a lifetime history.

The otherworldly and deep aspect is the engagement of the audience. The audience is not just watching; they are the chorus, yelling abuses at the *rudos* and cheering for their *técnicos* heroes. They become emotionally invested in the narrative. The mythological character of "Santo," the Silver Masked Saint, who was a favorite hero and never even revealed his face in public life, is one. To lose a *lucha de apuestas* (apuestas) in which a hair or mask is being risked is a moment of ultimate humiliation and drama. *Lucha Libre* is a shared ritual of catharsis in which tensions are played out within society in the ring, and good, even though not always victorious, always stages an unbelievable spectacle.

**3. The "Veladora" as a Spiritual Hotline**

Go into any Mexican bodega, and you will find an entire aisle dedicated to a dizzying array of candles, or *veladoras*. They're not for parties or power outages. They are specific spiritual tools, each color and image containing an explicit appeal to a particular Catholic saint or folkloric figure.

The peculiarity is the specificity. There. There is a job-finding *veladora* (most often devoted to Saint Jude Thaddeus, the patron of hopeless causes), one for protection during travel (to the Holy Child of Atocha), one to bring love, or one to protect against envy and evil magic. The most powerful of these is the candle paying tribute to the image of "*La Santa Muerte*" (Holy Death), a symbol of death who, though never acknowledged by the Church, has millions of devotees praying for protection and blessings. This custom shows a highly pragmatic and intimate relationship with the divine, in which spirituality is an on-going, dynamic conversation and in which divine intervention is appealed for the smallest and most serious concerns of everyday life.

**4. The Culture of "Ahí se Va" and the Embrace of Impermanence**

The use of "*ahí se va*" (roughly, "it goes away" or "that's how things are") is a built-in philosophy that is a form of fatalism to a stranger. When a thing is broken, a plan fails, or some small calamity occurs, the Mexican response is to shrug and say "*ahí se va*."

It is not indifference, but profound acceptance of the uncertainties and imperfections of life. It's the antidote for frustration. This philosophy allows people to endure the constant wars of life with courage and a dash of humor, unbowed by disappointment. It's a mindset that values flexibility and the understanding that not everything can, or ought to, be controlled. It's a cultural key for remaining at ease of mind in otherwise mad world.

**5. The "Quinceañera" as a Theatrical Passage to Adulthood**

The *Quinceañera* is well-known, but the richness of its social meaning and theatricality are underrated. It is not just a fancy birthday party for a 15-year-old girl; it is a symbolic ritual on the scale of a wedding, since she is moving from girlhood to womanhood.

The unusualness lies in its large-scale, almost-Baroque symbolism. The ritual consists of a complete Catholic mass, a court of damas and chambelanes, a month-long waltz choreographed with precise movements, changing from flat to high heel shoes, and the giving of a last doll (*última muñeca*). Each aspect is filled with symbolism. For those families, usually of modest means, to spend a small fortune on this celebration is an unavoidable obligation, a public declaration of love and status. It is a social pressure cooker that reinforces the importance of family, community, and the specific milestones that highlight a woman's life in traditional Mexican culture.

**6. The "Guelaguetza" and the Ancient Economy of Reciprocity

In the state of Oaxaca, there is a socio-economic institution called "*Guelaguetza*" that is a Zapotec word which takes in the idea of exchange. It is a loose solidarity system that is found completely outside of the formal banking and economic framework.

If there is an important life event—a wedding, a funeral, constructing a house—the group gives back in terms of money, goods, or services. This is not a gift; it is a debt. A scrupulous, if often unspoken, tally is kept. When the donor themselves have occasion, the recipient is in their debt, normally with allowance for inflation. The uniqueness and beauty of this mechanism is that it creates an indissoluble circle of social and financial interdependence, whereby no one in the community shall ever be hard-pressed alone. It is a living testimony to pre-capitalist economy based on trust and mutual responsibility.

**7. The "Mal de Ojo" (Evil Eye) as a Medical Diagnosis**

In Mexico today, the "mal de ojo" is no superstition; to Mexicans, it is a genuine cause of illness, especially in children. The person with a "strong eye"—unknowingly, perhaps, out of envy or admiration—allegedly sends negative energy that produces symptoms like unexplained irritability, fever, vomiting, and generalized malaise in a child.

The cure is as specific as the diagnosis. A relative or traditional practitioner will perform a *barrida* (sweeping) by passing a raw egg intact over the patient's body in prayer. The egg is then cracked into a glass of water. If the yolk is cooked or has stringy, eye-like markings on it, then the diagnosis is made: the patient suffered from the evil eye and has been absorbed by the egg. This practice reveals the age-old belief in a universe where unseen forces become tangible, and where traditional and modern medicine often coexist.

**8. The "Día de Muertos" Altar: A Portal to the Other Side**

While the Day of the Dead is famous for its color, the family altar (*ofrenda*) is a highly spiritual and complex work of art that may seem strange in its literalness. It is not a memorial; it is an inviting place for the spirits of the dead to return for an annual visit.

Each aspect is a conscious provision for the journey. *The marigold* flower petals bring radiance to the spirits with its color and scent. A glass of water quenches them after the long trip. A shot of tequila or a cigarette as their diet of choice, and *bread of the dead* are served to them. Photos and belongings help them find their way. The strangeness, and the beauty, is the profundity of the intimacy in this ritual. It is not a somber day of remembrance, but a raucous, party-like family reunion in which the living and the dead are all together for a momentary instant, blurring the line between here and hereafter.

**9. The "Albúr" and the High Art of the Double Entendre**

Mexican Spanish, particularly central Mexican, is a domain of *albures*—expensive, witty, frequently astoundingly complex double meanings and puns, typically sexual. This is not blasphemous cursing but rather a highly formalized game of verbal sparring, a test of wit and brains.

An *albure* is a verbal trap. One begins with a seemingly innocent expression that has a second, typically sexual, meaning covertly underneath. The opponent not only has to decipher the veiled meaning but strike back with an even keener *albure* if he is going to turn the tables. To fail to respond, or respond in hot anger, is to lose the duel and be classed as a "*/buchón*" (barbarian or dolt). The exercise is a refinement of wordplay into a game, showing a cultural reverence for verbal quickness, cleverness, and mental sparring.

**10. The "Fría" and "Caliente" Theory of Health**

The Mexican classification of food, disease, and even emotional states according to the "hot" (*caliente*) and "cold" (*fría*) opposition is a direct legacy of pre-Hispanic medicine. It has nothing to do with temperature. A disease like fever is "hot," so it must be treated with "cold" foods like citrus fruits or chicken. Conversely, a "cold" disease like a stomach cramp requires "hot" foods like cinnamon or pork.

The oddity is its omnipresent logic. A new mother is in a period of extreme "cold" and must avoid "cold" foods and activities (like washing her hair) to reach equilibrium. Such a cosmology sees the body as an equilibrium of contrasting forces, and health is maintained by keeping them in balance. It is a totalistic conception of health that clings resolutely and at ease with high-tech medical science.

Briefly, Mexican culture is a rich patchwork of indigenous wisdom, colonial heritage, and modern grittiness. These ten facts—from the spiritual practicality of the *veladora* to the linguistic wars of the *albure*—are not novelties. They are the door keys to a culture that revels in the bizarre, puts the cosmos in its place, and maintains a deep, spiritual connection to its past and its people. To know them is to move beyond the tacos and sombreros and into the very soul of Mexico.