Mexicans exchange greetings in just about every situation even strangers passing on the street are greeted with a nod, smile and toss a genial Buenos Dias (Good morning), Buenas Tardes (Good afternoon), or Buenas Noches (Good evening/night). * A firm handshake with eye contact and a smile is the appropriate greeting in most situations. In more casual settings, people may simply give one another a nod of the head. Once people become acquainted, greetings become a lot warmer and Mexicans often prefer to embrace (abrazo). This involves a loose embrace accompanied with a kiss on the right cheek. Although in in many towns in the state of Oaxaca, the expected greeting is a loose handshake, never a kiss or embrace. A casual greeting is “Hola” (Hello), “¿Qué tal?” (What’s up?) or “¿Cómo estás?” (How are you?).
It is not considered rude for people to briefly interrupt a conversation in order to greet somebody who has just arrived or who is passing by. It is generally polite to show personal interest in the person you are greeting, such as enquiring about their family and health.
A formal greetings are considered signs of respect and goodwill. Mexicans show elders and community leaders an abundance of respect, and extend courtesies to both women and children. The formal title used to greet people is ‘Señor’ (Mr) for men and ‘Señora’ (Ms) for women. This is followed by one’s surname. Elders may be addressed as ‘Don’ (Sir) or Doña (Ma’am) followed by their first name to show more respect.
Among friends and family, Mexicans often use nicknames to refer to one another. Commonly, Mexicans will create nicknames based on an easily noticeable personal characteristic or as a shorter form of one’s first name. For example, one’s nickname might be ‘el gordito’ (‘the fat one’) or ‘Pato’ (a shorter form of Patricio).
* Pronunciation: SpanishDict.com
Most of the population practices Catholicism with some incorporating pre-Hispanic Mayan traditions. Other Christian denominations include Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Jehovah’s Witness, Baptist, Mormons, and Anglican. There also are small numbers of Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews.
In general, the family and the Roman Catholic Church are the cornerstones of all major life events
Mexicans traditionally hold parties on their children’s birthdays and give them many gifts. The celebrations include visiting the church, getting blessings from the priest, and partying with family, friends of the children, and close relatives. The main attraction of Mexican birthday parties for 300 years has been the piñata, a large, colorfully decorated papier mache container usually shaped like an animal and filled with candies, toys, and/or coins. The hosts typically hang the piñata on a rope from the ceiling, while the blindfolded children take turns trying to smash it open with a stick so the goodies can spill out.
1 U.S. Department of State, 2016
2 Pew Research Centre, 2015
3 OECD (The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), 2018
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Knowing History in Mexico: An Ethnography of Citizenship by 
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Cooking Technology: Transformations in Culinary Practice in Mexico and Latin America by “Hispanic” refers to any of the peoples in the Americas and Spain who speak Spanish or are descended from Spanish-speaking communities. The term Hispanic was officially created by the U.S. government in the1970s to offer a pan-ethnic name for people such as Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, and others. The term was added to Census questionnaires in 1980.
"Latino" or the feminine “Latina,” is used to describe people with ancestry from Latin American countries. The term does not imply the country of origin is Spanish speaking, so it is thought to include people from Portuguese-speaking Brazil and French-speaking Haiti, but excludes Spain. Latino was officially added to the U.S. Census in 1997.
"Latinx" is a non-binary form of Latino or Latina. The suffix “-x” replaces the “-o” or “-a” corresponding to masculine or feminine, allowing the word to resist the gender binary. In Spanish-speaking countries, the term Latine with the suffix “-e” is circulating as an alternative to the masculine Latino or the feminine Latina. “Latinx” is thought to have been coined in 2004.
Mexican folk songs are very popular. There are many genres of traditional music, such as banda, norteño and ranchera, which each have their own styles. For example, ‘corridos’ are poetic songs that recount stories of poverty, politics and crime (e.g. narcocorridos tell tales of drug cartel kingpins).
Food and Etiquette
It is still common for adult males to go back to their mother’s house at mealtime so she can feed him lunch or dinner.
Information from Cultural Atlas.
- To bring good luck into the home, dissolve salt into a bucket of water and mop the floors from the doorway to the back of the house.
- To rid a home of bad luck or evil spirits, pour salt on the floor by the back door, then proceed to sweep the salt throughout the home and then out the front door.
- Businesses: Salt sprinkled at the door will increase income and the success of the business.
Expectant mothers do not attend funerals, visit cemeteries, or associate with any death-related events. In case of pregnancy during a lunar eclipse, Mexican women wear clothes ornamented with safety pins around their stomach or tie a red ribbon with keys around their waist, in the belief that this will prevent any physical deformation of the fetus.
Mexicans strongly believe in the effects of the mal de ojo (evil eye). They believe that the mal de ojo can inflict illness, calamity, misfortune, and even death. To ensure that strangers (with supposedly with “strong evil vision”) who admire the baby, must touch the head to indicate that they do not harbor envy or cast mal de ojo. Mexican families also give babies an amulet bracelet or a “sweeping” with a raw chicken egg or a bunch of basil on the body to avert evil influences and provide protection. They may also tie medidas, or blessed ribbons, on a child to prevent disease.
