Today, 16 September, is Independence Day in Mexico. We asked our International Business Development Manager for Latin America, Vito Castellana, to share some interesting facts about this wonderful country.
Here’s Vito’s ‘Top 7 things you might not know about Mexico’
1. Its HUGE!
Modern Mexico is the 13th biggest nation on earth, with a population of over 130 million people. Go back to 1821 and it was even bigger, with parts of America – Texas, Arizona, California, New Mexico and Utah being part of Mexico. The territory also extended south too – with what is now Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala all being part of 19th century Mexico.
2. Whilst Spanish is the most widely-spoken language, Mexico has 68 official languages. Of these 68 languages, Nahuatl is spoken by around 1.3 million Mexicans whilst less than 30 speak Awakatek.
3. The world’s smallest volcano, Cuexcomate is in Mexico and is only 43 feet high!
4. The largest pyramid in is Mexico and not Egypt! The Great Pyramid of Cholula can be found in Puebla.
5. In 1968, Mexico City was the first Latin American city to host the Olympics. It caused quite a stir amongst participants, particularly those athletes taking part in endurance events. The high altitude and thin air (at 2,240 metres about sea level, it’s one of the highest capital cities on earth) meant many of the endurance athletes suffered due to a lack of oxygen.
6. The Mexican capital, Mexico City is sinking! Experts believe it is sinking by about 3 feet a year – the reason being the huge demand for water from the aquifer below the city. As a result, you’ll spot many leaning buildings in the Capital!
7. And we of course have to finish with a paper-related fact – the first printing press in the Americas, was used in Mexico City in 1539 at the Casa de la Primera Imprenta de América!
