MESTIZAJE IN MEXICO: CHARACTERISTICS, CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC EXCHANGE - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The miscegenation in Mexico was the result of the mixture between the different ethnic groups that populated its territory. Although there were cases previously, historians use this concept to refer to what happened after the Spanish conquest and its subsequent colonial rule.

Until that moment, the future Mexican territory was inhabited by various indigenous peoples. When the Spaniards arrived, they very soon began to associate, by force most of the time, with indigenous women. From these relationships were born the so-called mestizos, descendants of Europeans and natives.

Representation of the mestizos at the end of the 18th century or the beginning of the 19th century - Source: Unknown author -Collection of Malu and Alejandra Escandón, public domain

Apart from these two groups, also the black African slaves transferred to the Viceroyalty of New Spain had their role in miscegenation. In addition, the mestizos themselves began to have offspring among them, appearing numerous mixtures that the Spanish called castes.

The castes have long suffered legal, social and economic discrimination imposed by the authorities. On the positive side, however, the mixture of cultures was fundamental for the creation of current Mexican society.

Origin

The miscegenation in Mexico was carried out mainly by two ethnic groups: the Spanish and the indigenous. The offspring of the unions of members of both groups was called mestizo. Normally, they were the children of Spanish men and indigenous women, the opposite being very rare.

The concept of mestizo has undergone an important variation in modern Mexico. Thus, in 1930, the government adopted a definition based on culture. In this way, all those who did not speak indigenous languages ​​came to be considered mestizos, regardless of their ethnic origin.

The first half-breed

The process of miscegenation began just at the same moment in which the Spanish began the conquest.

According to historians, miscegenation began in the Yucatán Peninsula, when, after a shipwreck, Gonzalo Guerrero and Jerónimo de Aguilar decided to stay with the Mayan community that resided there. The first of these Spaniards was integrated into indigenous society, having several children.

Later, the son that Hernán Cortés and La Malinche had became known, who has been put as an example of the racial mixture that would characterize the territory.

Hernan Cortes

Social acceptance

During the post-conquest period, mestizos were well accepted socially. This, however, began to change as colonization progressed. The society of New Spain was becoming more closed and was based on a very strict stratification depending on the biological origins.

Among other aspects, the Spanish crown promoted different tax laws for peninsular and indigenous people and tried to avoid mixed marriages.

The descendants of the mestizos

As previously mentioned, the term mestizo began to be used to refer to the descendants of Spaniards and indigenous people. However, the rest of the castes that were appearing must also be considered this way.

Those castes were the result of the mongrels' pairings with each other. In New Spain there were many denominations, such as Castizos, for children of Spanish with mestizo; cholo, for those of Spanish and Indian; crowded, for Spanish descendants with mulatto; or harnizo, for those of Spanish with Castizo.

Mothers of the mestizos

The Spaniards who arrived in America at the beginning of the conquest were, for the most part, men. The abductions and rapes of indigenous women were very common and many mestizos had this origin.

Black population

The need for labor, given the decline in the indigenous population, led the Spanish to start using black slaves brought from Africa. Many of these slaves settled in the south, mixing with the natives and giving rise to the so-called Afromixtecos.

On the other hand, at legal levels, the authorities created a special caste to prevent the descendants of indigenous and African people from having no rights. This new breed received the name of zambos.

End of the viceroyalty

The population of New Spain just before independence reached 6 million. Of them, the majority were indigenous, although 40% were already Creole and mestizo.

After independence the data did not vary much. Thus, it was calculated that between 50% and 60% of the population was indigenous, around 20% of the inhabitants, Creoles and only 1% black. The rest were considered mestizos.

Characteristics of the mestizos

The genetic and cultural mix between Europeans, indigenous people and Africans is the origin of current Mexican society.

Social and legal situation

The caste system established in New Spain was dominated by the peninsular Spaniards. These considered the mestizos as inferior and hardly possessors of rights. This caused them to be exploited by white landowners.

Socially, the mestizos could never marry a Spaniard or a Creole. They could only do it with Indian women, mulattos or members of other castes.

Similarly, they were forbidden to carry arms, hold important positions in the administration, be soldiers or study at universities.

Mestizo identity

As previously mentioned, the Mexican government decided, at the beginning of the 20th century, to change the definition of mestizaje itself. Since then, those who do not identify with any indigenous culture, but rather those who identify with combined elements of Spanish and indigenous traditions, have been classified as mestizos.

The post-revolutionary governments were the ones that set out to use that mestizo identity as the basis of modern Mexican national identity. In this way, modern miscegenation would be based on cultural rather than biological traits.

Mestizo population

Experts point out that there are currently more than 110 ethnic groups in the country. This makes Mexico the third largest Paris in number of this type.

The mestizos, unlike the indigenous, do not constitute their own ethnic group, since their ancestors could belong to different groups. Therefore, they may not have any unique phenotypic traits. In general terms, Mexican mestizos have an intermediate phenotypic appearance, between indigenous and European.

Afro-descendants

According to data from the Mexican government itself, African descendants constitute 1.2% of the country's total population. Most are considered Afro-Brazilian, with different levels of African traits. Of this percentage, 64.9% also identify themselves as indigenous.

Cultural and artistic exchange

Statue of a Chichimeca Indian dancing in Querétaro, Qro., Mexico. Source: es.wikipedia.org.

Beyond the biological aspect, miscegenation in Mexico affected all areas of society. The union of Spanish customs, indigenous plus African contributions, had an impact on language, food, clothing or music.

Language

The conquerors established Spanish as a language of teaching. The indigenous caciques and noble families learned it early, but it created a barrier with those of the lower classes who could not learn to speak it. The mestizos also adopted Spanish as their mother tongue.

However, this de facto official status of Spanish did not mean that indigenous languages ​​did not influence the day-to-day life of the country. Thus, the Castilian Spanish spoken in Mexico has many words with this origin, especially from Nahuatl. Other native languages, such as Purépecha or Mayan, also contributed some words.

Food

Food in Mexico, one of the most important gastronomies in the world, has clear influences from all the cultures that inhabited the country. To begin with, wheat flour did not exist in Mesoamerica, where only corn was used. Today, however, wheat has been incorporated into many traditional recipes.

In the other sense, the Spanish incorporated corn into their diet, along with American vegetables they did not know. The natives, for their part, began to use some meats from Europe, without abandoning typical ingredients such as beans or chili.

Clothing

The use of cotton and wool almost completely replaced maguey fibers in Mexican clothing.

The European influence was much more noticeable in men, who adopted the use of trousers, shirts and hats. Women, on the other hand, kept their traditional clothes for much longer.

Religion

One of the Spanish tactics to dominate the newly discovered lands was to convert indigenous people to the Catholic religion, eliminating traditional beliefs in the process. It was the so-called spiritual conquest, carried out by monks and priests.

Many indigenous groups tried to maintain their beliefs, but, over time, Christianity took root among natives and mestizos. However, the indigenous people contributed some forms of celebration typical of their ancient traditions, giving Mexican Catholicism its own personality.

The best example, without a doubt, is that of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Her image, raised by Hidalgo in her call to rebellion in 1810, incorporates indigenous symbols alongside the Christians.

Music

As in the previous aspects, the music was also influenced by the indigenous peoples who inhabited the area. To this day, there is a great variety of dances and musical styles considered mestizo, with features contributed by Spanish and native people.

The best known case is that of the mariachi, the best-known figure in Mexican ranchera song and who is a national symbol. This character is originally from western Mexico, specifically from Nayarit, Colima and Jalisco. At first, the mariachi was a popular and indigenous orchestra, with a dress that had nothing to do with that of the charro.

It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the mariachi was transformed. He adopts the charro costume and expands his repertoire with pieces from various regions of the Republic.

References

1. Serrano Sánchez, Carlos. Mestizaje and physical characteristics of the Mexican population. Obtained from arqueologiamexicana.mx
2. Martínez Cortes, Gabriela. The impact of miscegenation in Mexico. Obtained from investigacionyciencia.es
3. Mexico history. The Mestizaje in Mexico. Obtained from historiademexico.info
4. Manchester University Department of Social Anthropology and the ERA Consortium. Mestizaje and Indigenous Identities. Recovered from jg.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk
5. Benz, Stephen. Mestizo: Definition, History & Culture. Retrieved from study.com
6. Angel Palerm, Ernst C. Griffi. Mexico. Retrieved from britannica.com
7. Levitin, Chuck. The Mexican Caste System. Retrieved from sandiegoreader.com