1.
Mescaline
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Mescaline, or 3,4, 5-trimethoxyphenethylamine, is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class, known for its hallucinogenic effects comparable to those of LSD and psilocybin. It occurs naturally in the cactus, the San Pedro cactus, the Peruvian torch. It is also found in small amounts in certain members of the Fabaceae family, peyote has been used for at least 5,700 years by Native Americans in Mexico. Europeans noted use of peyote in Native American religious ceremonies upon early contact, other mescaline-containing cacti such as the San Pedro have a long history of use in South America, from Peru to Ecuador. In traditional peyote preparations, the top of the cactus is cut off and these heads are then dried to make disc-shaped buttons. Buttons are chewed to produce the effects or soaked in water to drink, however, the taste of the cactus is bitter, so contemporary users will often grind it into a powder and pour it in capsules to avoid having to taste it. The usual human dosage is 200–400 milligrams of mescaline sulfate or 178–356 milligrams of mescaline hydrochloride, the average 76 mm button contains about 25 mg mescaline. Mescaline was first isolated and identified in 1897 by the German chemist Arthur Heffter, in 1955, English politician Christopher Mayhew took part in an experiment for BBCs Panorama, in which he ingested 400 mg of mescaline under the supervision of psychiatrist Humphry Osmond. Though the recording was deemed too controversial and ultimately omitted from the show, Mayhew praised the experience, mescaline has a wide array of suggested medical usage, including treatment of alcoholism and depression. However, its status as a Schedule I controlled substance in the Convention on Psychotropic Substances limits availability of the drug to researchers, because of this, very few studies concerning mescalines activity and potential therapeutic effects in humans have been conducted since the early 1970s. Aldous Huxley described his experience with mescaline in the essay The Doors of Perception, jim Carroll described using peyote in The Basketball Diaries that a friend of his smuggled from Mexico. The sex psychologist Havelock Ellis also tried mescaline, hunter S. Psychedelic research pioneer Alexander Shulgin said he was first inspired to explore psychedelic compounds by a mescaline experience. Bryan Wynter produced Mars Ascends after trying the substance his first time, philosopher Terence McKenna, as mentioned by multiple interviews and discussions done by him on YouTube. George Carlin mentions mescaline use during his youth while being interviewed, carlos Santana told in 1989 about his mescaline use in a Rolling Stone interview. Disney animator Ward Kimball described participating in a study of mescaline, michael Cera used real mescaline for the movie Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus, as expressed in an interview. Melissa Joan Hart, I experimented with weed, Ecstasy, mushrooms and mescaline for about a year, jean-Paul Sartre tried mescaline in 1929, when he was attending École Normale Supérieure. During his trip Sartre saw many crabs, which resulted in a fear of them. Mescaline is biosynthesized from tyrosine or a hydroxylated phenylalanine, in Lophophora williamsii, dopamine converts into mescaline in a biosynthetic pathway involving m-O-methylation and aromatic hydroxylation
2.
Agave
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Agave is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Some agave species are native to tropical areas of South America. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies, some species are known by the name century plant. Agave tequilana, agave azul or blue agave, is used in the production of tequila. Agave nectar, also called agave syrup, a derived from Agave sap, is used as an alternative to sugar in cooking. Agaves are succulents with a rosette of thick, fleshy leaves. The stout stem is short, the leaves apparently springing from the root. Along with plants from the related genus Yucca, various Agave species are popular plants in hot, dry climates. Each rosette is monocarpic and grows slowly to flower only once, during flowering, a tall stem or mast grows from the center of the leaf rosette and bears a large number of short, tubular flowers. After development of fruit, the plant dies, but suckers are frequently produced from the base of the stem. It is a misconception that agaves are cacti. They are not related to cacti, nor are they related to Aloe whose leaves are similar in appearance. Agave species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Batrachedra striolata, the agave root system, consisting of a network of shallow rhizomes, is designed to help the agave efficiently capture moisture from rain, condensation and dew. In addition to growing from seeds, most agaves produce pups – young plants from runners, Agave vilmoriniana produces hundreds of pups on its bloom stalk. Agave leaves store the water and are crucial to its continued existence. The coated leaf surface prevents evaporation, the leaves also have sharp, spiked edges. The spikes discourage predators from eating the plant or using it as a source of water and are so tough that ancient peoples used them for sewing needles. Agaves bloom at a height up to 30 ft so that they are far out of reach to animals that might attack them, smaller species, such as Agave lechuguilla, have smaller bloom stalks
3.
Mexico
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States, to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers, Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area, Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city. Other metropolises include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, pre-Columbian Mexico was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Three centuries later, this territory became Mexico following recognition in 1821 after the colonys Mexican War of Independence. The tumultuous post-independence period was characterized by instability and many political changes. The Mexican–American War led to the cession of the extensive northern borderlands, one-third of its territory. The Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, the dictatorship was overthrown in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the countrys current political system. Mexico has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest by purchasing power parity, the Mexican economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, especially the United States. Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and it is classified as an upper-middle income country by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country by several analysts. By 2050, Mexico could become the fifth or seventh largest economy. The country is considered both a power and middle power, and is often identified as an emerging global power. Due to its culture and history, Mexico ranks first in the Americas. Mexico is a country, ranking fourth in the world by biodiversity. In 2015 it was the 9th most visited country in the world, Mexico is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G8+5, the G20, the Uniting for Consensus and the Pacific Alliance. Mēxihco is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely, the Valley of Mexico, and its people, the Mexica and this became the future State of Mexico as a division of New Spain prior to independence. It is generally considered to be a toponym for the valley became the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance as a result. After New Spain won independence from Spain, representatives decided to name the new country after its capital and this was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Mexica capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan
4.
Nahuatl
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Nahuatl, known historically as Aztec, is a language or group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by an estimated 1.5 million Nahua peoples, all Nahuan languages are indigenous to Mesoamerica. Nahuatl has been spoken in central Mexico since at least the seventh century CE and it was the language of the Aztecs who dominated what is now central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican history. This early literary language based on the Tenochtitlan variety has been labeled Classical Nahuatl, today, Nahuan languages are spoken in scattered communities, mostly in rural areas throughout central Mexico and along the coastline. There are considerable differences among varieties, and some are mutually unintelligible, Huasteca Nahuatl, with over one million speakers, is the most-spoken variety. They have all been subject to varying degrees of influence from Spanish, No modern Nahuan languages are identical to Classical Nahuatl, but those spoken in and around the Valley of Mexico are generally more closely related to it than those on the periphery. Nahuan languages exhibit a complex morphology characterized by polysynthesis and agglutination, through a very long period of coexistence with the other indigenous Mesoamerican languages, they have absorbed many influences, coming to form part of the Mesoamerican language area. Many words from Nahuatl have been borrowed into Spanish, and since diffused into hundreds of other languages, most of these loanwords denote things indigenous to central Mexico which the Spanish heard mentioned for the first time by their Nahuatl names. English words of Nahuatl origin include avocado, chayote, chili, chocolate, atlatl, coyote, peyote, axolotl, as a language label, the term Nahuatl encompasses a group of closely related languages or divergent dialects within the Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. The Mexican Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas recognize 30 different individual varieties within the language group labeled Nahuatl, the Ethnologue recognizes 28 varieties with separate ISO codes. Sometimes the label also is used to include the Pipil language of El Salvador, within Mexico the question of whether to consider individual varieties to be languages or dialects of a single language is highly political. This article focuses on describing the history of the group. For details on individual varieties or subgroups, see the individual articles, in the past, the branch of Uto-Aztecan to which Nahuatl belongs has been called Aztecan. From the 1990s onward, the alternative designation Nahuan has been used as a replacement especially in Spanish-language publications. The Nahuan branch of Uto-Aztecan is widely accepted as having two divisions, General Aztec and Pochutec, General Aztec encompasses the Nahuatl and Pipil languages. Pochutec is a scantily attested language, which became extinct in the 20th century, other researchers have argued that Pochutec should be considered a divergent variant of the western periphery. Nahuatl denotes at least Classical Nahuatl together with related languages spoken in Mexico. The inclusion of Pipil into the group is debated, current subclassification of Nahuatl rests on research by Canger, Canger and Lastra de Suárez
5.
Oaxaca
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Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, make up the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 570 municipalities, of which 418 are governed by the system of Usos y costumbres with recognized forms of self governance. Its capital city is Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca is located in Southwestern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Guerrero to the west, Puebla to the northwest, Veracruz to the north, to the south, Oaxaca has a significant coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The state is best known for its indigenous peoples and cultures, the most numerous and best known are the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs, but there are sixteen that are officially recognized. These cultures have survived better than most others in Mexico due to the states rugged, most live in the Central Valleys region, which is also an important area for tourism, attracting people for its archeological sites such as Monte Albán, native culture and crafts. Another important tourist area is the coast, which has the major resort of Huatulco, Oaxaca is also one of the most biologically diverse states in Mexico, ranking in the top three, along with Chiapas and Veracruz, for numbers of reptiles, amphibians, mammals and plants. The name of the state comes from the name of its capital city and this name comes from the Nahuatl word Huaxyacac, which refers to a tree called a guaje found around the capital city. The name was applied to the Valley of Oaxaca by Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs. The modern state was created in 1824, and the seal was designed by Alfredo Canseco Feraud. Nahuatl word Huaxyacac was transliterated as Oaxaca using Medieval Spanish orthography, in which the x represented the voiceless postalveolar fricative, however, during the sixteenth century the voiceless fricative sound evolved into a voiceless velar fricative, and Oaxaca began to be pronounced. Most of what is known about pre-historic Oaxaca comes from work in the Central Valleys region, evidence of human habitation dating back to about 11,000 years BC has been found in the Guilá Naquitz cave near the town of Mitla. More finds of nomadic peoples date back to about 5000 BC, by 2000 BC, agriculture had been established in the Central Valleys region of the state, with sedentary villages. The diet developed around this time would remain until the Spanish Conquest, consisting primarily of harvested corn, beans, chocolate, tomatoes, chili peppers, squash, meat was generally hunted and included tepescuintle, turkey, deer, peccary, armadillo and iguana. The oldest known settlements, such as Yanhuitlán and Laguna Zope are located in this area as well. The latter settlement is known for its small figures called pretty women or baby face, between 1200 and 900 BC, pottery was being produced in the area as well. This pottery has been linked with work done in La Victoria. Other important settlements from the time period include Tierras Largas, San José Mogote and Guadalupe
6.
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
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The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most significant events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Many of those on the Cortés expedition of 1519 had never seen combat before, in fact, Cortés had never commanded men in battle before. However, there was a generation of Spaniards who participated in expeditions in the Caribbean and Tierra Firme, learning strategy. The Spanish conquest of Mexico had antecedents with established practices, in their advance, the allies were tricked and ambushed several times by the people they encountered. When Cortés left Tenochtitlan to return to the coast and deal with the expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez, Alvarado allowed a significant Aztec feast to be celebrated in Tenochtitlan and on the pattern of the earlier massacre in Cholula, closed off the square and massacred the celebrating Aztec noblemen. The biography of Cortés by Francisco López de Gómara contains a description of the massacre, the Alvarado massacre at the Main Temple of Tenochtitlan precipitated rebellion by the population of the city. When the captured emperor Motecuhzoma II, now seen as a puppet of the invading Spaniards, attempted to calm the outraged populace. Cortés had returned to Tenochtitlan and his men fled the city during the Noche Triste in June,1520. The Spanish, Tlaxcalans and reinforcements returned a year later on August 13,1521 to a civilization that had wiped out by famine. This made it easier to conquer the remaining Aztecs, the fall of the Aztec Empire was the key event in the formation of the Spanish overseas empire, with New Spain, which later became Mexico, a major component. The Spanish conquerors could and did write accounts that narrated the conquest from the first landfalls in Mexico to the victory over the Mexica in Tenochtitlan on August 13,1521. Indigenous accounts are from particular native viewpoints and as the events had a impact on their polity. All accounts of the conquest, Spanish and indigenous alike, have biases, in general, Spanish accounts do not credit their indigenous allies support. Individual conquerors accounts exaggerate that individuals contribution to the conquest, downplaying other conquerors, indigenous allies accounts stress their loyalty to the Spanish and their particular aid as being key to the Spanish victory. Their accounts are similar to Spanish conquerors accounts contained in petitions for rewards and these were almost immediately published in Spain and later in other parts of Europe. Interestingly, Cortéss right-hand man, Pedro de Alvarado did not write at any length about his actions in the New World, two letters to Cortés about Alvarados campaigns in Guatemala are published in The Conquistadors. Rather than it being a petition for rewards for services, as many Spanish accounts were, the account was used by eighteenth-century Jesuit Francisco Javier Clavijero in his descriptions of the history of Mexico. On the indigenous side, the allies of Cortés, particularly the Tlaxcalans, wrote extensively about their services to the Spanish Crown in the conquest, the most important of these are the pictorial Lienzo de Tlaxcala and the Historia de Tlaxcala by Diego Muñoz Camargo
7.
Pulque
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Pulque is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant. It is traditional to central Mexico, where it has produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, somewhat viscous consistency and a sour yeast-like taste, the drink’s history extends far back into the Mesoamerican period, when it was considered sacred, and its use was limited to certain classes of people. After the Spanish Conquest of Mexico, the drink became secular, the consumption of pulque reached its peak in the late 19th century. In the 20th century, the fell into decline, mostly because of competition from beer. There are some efforts to revive the drink’s popularity through tourism, Pulque is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous liquid that produces a light foam. It is made by fermenting the sap of certain types of maguey plants, in contrast, mezcal is made from the cooked heart of certain agave plants, and tequila, a variety of mezcal, is made all or mostly from the blue agave. About six varieties of maguey are best used for the production of pulque, the name pulque is derived from Nahuatl. The original name of the drink was iztāc octli, the term pulque was probably derived by the Spanish from the octli poliuhqui. The maguey plant, also called a “century plant” in English, is native to Mexico and it grows best in the cold, dry climates of the rocky central highlands to the north and east of Mexico City, especially in Hidalgo and Tlaxcala states. Maguey has been cultivated at least since 200 CE in Tula, Tulancingo and Teotihuacan, the plant historically has had a number of uses. Fibers can be extracted from the leaves to make rope or fabric, its thorns can be used as needles or punches. The name maguey was given by the Spanish, who picked it up from the Taíno and this is still its common name in Spanish, with Agave being its scientific generic or technical name. The Nahuatl name of the plant is metl, the manufacturing process of pulque was complex and required the death of the maguey plant. As the plant nears maturity, the center begins to swell and elongate as the plant gathers stored sugar to send up a flower stalk. However, plants destined for production have this flower stalk cut off. In this center, the sap, known as aguamiel. It takes a maguey plant 12 years to mature enough to produce the sap for pulque, Pulque has been drunk for least 1,000 years, and its origins are the subject of various stories and myths
8.
Mashing
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In brewing and distilling, mashing is the process of combining a mix of milled grain, known as the grain bill, and water, known as liquor, and heating this mixture. Mashing allows the enzymes in the malt to break down the starch in the grain into sugars, mashing involves pauses at certain temperatures, and takes place in a mash tun—an insulated brewing vessel with a false bottom. The end product of mashing is called a mash, the term mashing probably originates from the Old English noun masc, which means soft mixture, and the Old English verb mæscan which means to mix with hot water. The terms use to refer to anything reduced to a pulpy consistency is recorded as early as the late 16th century. Most breweries use infusion mashing, in which the mash is heated directly to go from rest temperature to rest temperature, some infusion mashes achieve temperature changes by adding hot water, and there are also breweries that do single-step infusion, performing only one rest before lautering. Decoction mashing is where a proportion of the grains are boiled and then returned to the mash, the boiling extracts more starch from the grain by breaking down the cell walls of the grain. It can be classified into one-, two-, and three-step decoctions and it is a traditional method, and is common in German and Central European breweries. It was used out of necessity before the invention of thermometers allowed simpler step mashing, in large breweries, in which optimal utilization of the brewery equipment is economically necessary, there is at least one dedicated vessel for mashing. In decoction processes, there must be at least two, a spray ball for clean-in-place operation should also be included for periodic deep cleaning. Sanitation is not a major concern before wort boiling, so a rinse-down should be all that is necessary between batches, smaller breweries will often use a boil kettle or a lauter tun for mashing. The latter case either limits the brewer to single-step infusion mashing or leaves the brewer with a lauter tun that is not completely appropriate for the lautering process. Mixing of the water, water used for mashing in. This was traditionally done by first adding water to the mash vessel and this has led to a lot of oxygen absorption, and loss of flour dust to the surrounding air. A premasher, which mixes the grist with mash-in temperature water while it is still in the tube, reduces oxygen uptake. Mashing in is typically done between 35 and 45 °C, but, for single-step infusion mashes, mashing in must be done between 62–67 °C for amylases to break down the starch into sugars. In step-infusion and decoction mashing, the mash is heated to different temperatures at which specific enzymes work optimally, the table at right shows the optimal temperature ranges for the enzymes brewers pay the most attention to and what material those enzymes break down. There is some contention in the industry as to just what the optimal temperature is for these enzymes, as it is often very dependent on the pH of the mash. A thicker mash acts as a buffer for the enzymes, once a step is passed, the enzymes active in that step are denatured by the increasing heat and become permanently inactive
9.
Tequila
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Although tequila is similar to mezcal, modern tequila differs somewhat in the method of its production, in the use of only blue agave plants, as well as in its regional specificity. Tequila is commonly served neat in Mexico and as a shot with salt, the red volcanic soil in the surrounding region is particularly well suited to the growing of the blue agave, and more than 300 million of the plants are harvested there each year. Agave tequila grows differently depending on the region, Blue agaves grown in the highlands Los Altos region are larger in size and sweeter in aroma and taste. Agaves harvested in the lowlands, on the hand, have a more herbaceous fragrance. Mexican laws state that tequila can only be produced in the state of Jalisco and limited municipalities in the states of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, Tequila is recognized as a Mexican designation of origin product in more than 40 countries. Tequila is most often made at a 38% alcohol content for domestic consumption, per U. S law, tequila must contain at least 40% alcohol to be sold in the United States. Tequila was first produced in the 16th century near the location of the city of Tequila, the native Chichimeca and otomí had previously made a fermented beverage from the agave plant, long before the Spanish arrived in 1521. When the Spanish conquistadors ran out of their own brandy, they began to distill agave to produce one of North Americas first indigenous distilled spirits. Some 80 years later, around 1600, Don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle, by 1608, the colonial governor of Nueva Galicia had begun to tax his products. Spains King Carlos IV granted the Cuervo family the first license to make tequila. Don Cenobios grandson Don Francisco Javier gained international attention for insisting that there cannot be tequila where there are no agaves and his efforts led to the practice that real tequila can come only from the State of Jalisco. Although some tequilas have remained as family-owned brands, most well-known tequila brands are owned by multinational corporations. However, over 100 distilleries make over 900 brands of tequila in Mexico, due to this, each bottle of tequila contains a serial number depicting in which distillery the tequila was produced. Because only so many distilleries are used, multiple brands of tequila come from the same location, in 2003, Mexico issued a proposal that would require all Mexican-made tequila be bottled in Mexico before being exported to other countries. The Mexican government said that bottling tequila in Mexico would guarantee its quality, on January 17,2006, the United States and Mexico signed an agreement allowing the continued bulk import of tequila into the United States. The agreement also created a tequila bottlers registry to identify approved bottlers of tequila, the Tequila Regulatory Council of Mexico originally did not permit flavored tequila to carry the tequila name. In 2004, the Council decided to allow flavored tequila to be called tequila, with the exception of 100% agave tequila, which still cannot be flavored. A new Norma Oficial Mexicana for tequila was issued in 2006, a one-liter bottle of limited-edition premium tequila was sold for $225,000 in July 2006 in Tequila, Jalisco, by the company Tequila Ley.925
10.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
11.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
12.
Psychedelic drug
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A psychedelic drug is a drug whose primary action is to alter cognition and perception, typically by agonising serotonin receptors. The psychedelic experience is often compared to forms of consciousness such as trance, meditation, yoga, religious ecstasy, dreaming. With a few exceptions, most psychedelic drugs fall into one of the three following families of compounds, tryptamines, phenethylamines, and lysergamides. Many psychedelic drugs are illegal worldwide under the UN conventions unless used in a medical or religious context, despite these regulations, recreational use of psychedelics is common. The word was coined in 1956 by British psychiatrist, Humphry Osmond, the spelling loathed by American ethnobotanist, Richard Schultes, aldous Huxley had suggested to Humphry Osmond in 1956 his own coinage phanerothyme. Recently, the term entheogenic has come into use to denote the use of drugs in a religious/spiritual/mystical context. Psychedelics have a history of traditional use in medicine and religion. In this context, they are known as entheogens. Native American practitioners using mescaline-containing cacti have reported success against alcoholism, ayahuasca, which contains the powerful psychedelic DMT, is used in Peru and other parts of South America for spiritual and physical healing as well as in religious festivals. Classical or serotonergic psychedelics include LSD, psilocin, mescaline, and this class of psychedelics includes the classical hallucinogens, including the lysergamides like LSD and LSA, tryptamines like psilocybin and DMT, and phenethylamines like mescaline and 2C-B. Many of these psychedelics cause remarkably similar effects, despite their different chemical structure, however, many users report that the three families have subjectively different qualities in the feel of the experience, which are difficult to describe. At lower doses, these include sensory alterations, such as the warping of surfaces, shape suggestibility, users often report intense colors that they have not previously experienced, and repetitive geometric shapes are common. Higher doses often cause intense and fundamental alterations of sensory perception, some compounds, such as 2C-B, have extremely tight dose curves, meaning the difference between a non-event and an overwhelming disconnection from reality can be very slight. There can be substantial differences between the drugs, however. The empathogen-entactogens are phenethylamines of the MDxx class such as MDMA, MDEA and their effects are characterized by feelings of openness, euphoria, empathy, love, heightened self-awareness, and by mild audio and visual distortions. Their adoption by the subculture is probably due to the enhancement of the overall social and musical experience. Certain dissociative drugs acting via NMDA antagonism are known to produce what some might consider psychedelic effects, the main differences between dissociative psychedelics and serotonergic hallucinogens are that the dissociatives cause more intense derealization and depersonalization. For example, ketamine produces sensations of being disconnected from ones body, salvia divinorum is a dissociative that is sometimes classified as an atypical psychedelic
13.
Barro negro pottery
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Barro negro pottery is a style of pottery from Oaxaca, Mexico, distinguished by its color, sheen and unique designs. Oaxaca is one of few Mexican states which is characterized by the continuance of its ancestral crafts and it is also one of the most popular and appreciated styles of pottery in Mexico. The origins of this pottery style extends as far back as the Monte Alban period, in the 1950s, a potter named Doña Rosa devised a way to put a black metallic like sheen onto the pottery by polishing it before firing. This look has made the far more popular. From the 1980s to the present, an artisan named Carlomagno Pedro Martínez has promoted items made this way with barro negro sculptures which have exhibited in a number of countries. The origins of barro negro pottery extend over centuries, with examples of it found at sites, fashioned mostly into jars. It has remained a traditional crafts of the Zapotecs and Mixtecs of the Central Valleys area to the present day, originally barro negro pottery was matte and grayish. In this form, the pottery is very sturdy, allowing it to be hit without breaking, in the 1950s, Doña Rosa Real discovered that she could change the color and shine of the pieces by polishing the clay pieces and firing them at a slightly lower temperature. Just before the clay piece is completely dry, it is polished with a quartz stone to compress the surface. After firing, the piece emerges a shiny black instead of a dull gray and this innovation makes the pieces more breakable, but it has made the pottery far more popular with Mexican folk art collectors, including Nelson Rockefeller, who promoted it in the United States. The popularity stems from the look, rather than wearability, so many pieces are produced now for decorative rather than utility. Doña Rosa died in 1980, but the tradition of making the pottery is being carried on by her daughter, the workshop is still in the family home, where shelves and shelves of shiny black pieces for sale line the inner courtyard. Despite being the origin of black polished clay, pieces at this workshop are much cheaper than in parts of Mexico. Another important person in the development and promotion of barro negro is Carlomagno Pedro Martinez and he was born in San Bartolo Coyotepec into a pottery-making family. He was named after Charlemagne by his grandmother, who was an admirer of the king, from a young age, he showed talent in fashioning figures in clay. When he was grown, he attended the Fine Arts Workshop of Rufino Tamayo in Oaxaca city and he has become the first potter/sculptor in the medium, winning his first recognition in 1985 for his work. His fame increased with his development of human made of barro negro in the years that followed. Each piece Carlomagno makes is unique, but themes such as oral histories, indigenous legends, Christianity and death, called our grandmother, in Mexico, he has exhibited his work in dozens of expositions and has won three national-level awards
14.
Aguardiente
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Aguardiente is a generic term for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume. The word is a compound of the Romance languages words for water and fiery, both aguardiente and brandy—from the Dutch expression for burnt wine—originated as terms for distilled spirits using whatever ingredients were available locally. Aguardientes are strong alcoholic beverages, obtained by fermentation and later distillation of sugared or sweet musts, vegetable macerations and this is the most generic level, by this definition, aguardientes may be made from a number of different sources. Fruit-based aguardientes include those made from oranges, grapes, bananas, under this definition, many other distinct liquors could be called aguardientes, including vodka, shochu, pisco, and certain forms of hard chicha. However, aguardiente and aguardente are not legal denominations on their own, instead, different categories of aguardientes are established according to raw materials. In the Spanish version, wine spirit is aguardiente de vino, fruit spirit is aguardiente de fruta, grain spirit is aguardiente de cereales, on 14 November 1996, an analysis concluded that cane aguardiente and cachaça are similar, but distinct, products. Cachaça, on the hand, is an alcoholic beverage of between 38% and 48% alcohol by volume, obtained by fermenting and distilling sugarcane juice. Some drinks named aguardiente or similar are of different origin, other drinks with the origin may have different names. In Brazil, a known as cachaça or pinga, considered distinct from traditional aguardiente, is made from sugar cane. Cachaça, like rum, has two varieties, unaged and aged, white cachaça is usually bottled immediately after distillation and tends to be cheaper. It is often used to prepare caipirinha and other beverages in which cachaça is an ingredient, dark cachaça, usually seen as the premium variety, is aged in wood barrels, and is meant to be drunk neat. Traditionally, no herbs are used to flavour the cachaça, and its flavour is influenced by the agent, time spent in the cask. In Colombia, aguardiente is an anise-flavoured liqueur derived from sugar cane, each department of Colombia holds the rights to produce it, but aguardiente produced in one region can be sold in another. By adding different amounts of aniseed, different flavours are obtained, leading to extensive marketing, other anise-flavoured liqueurs similar to aguardiente, but with a lower alcohol content, are also sold. In general, aguardiente is rarely drunk in cocktails, and usually drunk neat, in Costa Rica, aguardiente is known as guaro. In this form it has 30% alcohol and has a neutral flavour, guaro is tightly controlled by the Costa Rican government to help prevent clandestine production. In Chile, aguardiente is a beverage of 45% and higher alcohol content by volume. It is made, like Italian grappa, by distilling the grape residue, primarily the skins and pulp plus the stems and seeds and it is used to make several other flavored liquors, such as the murtado or enmurtillado, the enguindado and licor de oro
15.
Alcohol by volume
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Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the number of millilitres of pure ethanol present in 100 millilitres of solution at 20 °C, the number of millilitres of pure ethanol is the mass of the ethanol divided by its density at 20 °C, which is 0.78924 g/ml. The ABV standard is used worldwide, the International Organization of Legal Metrology has tables of density of water–ethanol mixtures at different concentrations and temperatures. In some countries, such as the U. K and France, alcohol by volume is referred to as degrees Gay-Lussac and this results in the slight difference in marked % noted later in this article. Mixing two solutions of alcohol of different strengths usually causes a change in volume, mixing pure water with a solution less than 24% by mass causes a slight increase in total volume, whereas the mixing of two solutions above 24% causes a decrease in volume. The phenomenon of volume due to mixing dissimilar solutions is called partial molar volume. Details about typical amounts of alcohol contained in various beverages can be found in the articles about them. Another way of specifying the amount of alcohol is alcohol proof, for example, 40% abv is 80 proof in the US and 70 proof in the UK. However, since 1980, alcohol proof in the UK has been replaced by abv as a measure of alcohol content, in the United States, a few states regulate and tax alcoholic beverages according to alcohol by weight, expressed as a percentage of total mass. Some brewers print the ABW on beer containers, particularly on low-point versions of domestic beer brands. However, because of the miscibility of alcohol and water, the factor is not constant. 100% ABW, of course, is equivalent to 100% ABV, during the production of wine and beer, yeast is added to a sugary solution. During fermentation, the yeasts consume the sugars and produce alcohol, the density of sugar in water is greater than the density of alcohol in water. A hydrometer is used to measure the change in gravity of the solution before. The volume of alcohol in the solution can then be estimated, there are a number of empirical formulae which brewers and winemakers use to estimate the alcohol content of the liquor made. The simplest method for wine has been described by English author C. J. J, the number 0.7936 is the specific gravity of a 100% ethanol solution. The difference between the starting SG and the final SG measures the specific gravity lost to CO2 release
16.
Alexander von Humboldt
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Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt was a Prussian geographer, naturalist, explorer, and influential proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher. Humboldts quantitative work on botanical geography laid the foundation for the field of biogeography, Humboldts advocacy of long-term systematic geophysical measurement laid the foundation for modern geomagnetic and meteorological monitoring. Between 1799 and 1804, Humboldt travelled extensively in Latin America and his description of the journey was written up and published in an enormous set of volumes over 21 years. Humboldt was one of the first people to propose that the lands bordering the Atlantic Ocean were once joined and this important work also motivated a holistic perception of the universe as one interacting entity. Alexander von Humboldt was born in Berlin in Prussia on 14 September 1769 and he was baptized as a baby in the Lutheran faith, with the Duke of Brunswick serving as godfather. At age 42, Alexander Georg was rewarded for his services in the Seven Years War with the post of Royal Chamberlain and he profited from the contract to lease state lotteries and tobacco sales. He first married the daughter of Prussian General Adjutant Schweder, in 1766, Alexander Georg married Maria Elisabeth Colomb, a well-educated woman and widow of Baron Hollwede, with whom she had a son. Alexander Georg and Maria Elisabeth had three children, a daughter, who died young, and then two sons, Wilhelm and Alexander and her first-born son, Wilhelms and Alexanders half-brother, was something of a neer do well, not often mentioned in the family history. Alexander Georg died in 1779, leaving the brothers Humboldt in the care of their emotionally distant mother, Humboldts mother expected them to become civil servants of the Prussian state. The money Baron Holwede left to Alexanders mother became, after her death, instrumental in funding Alexanders explorations, due to his youthful penchant for collecting and labeling plants, shells and insects, Alexander received the playful title of the little apothecary. On April 25,1789, he matriculated at Göttingen, then known for the lectures of C. G. Heyne and his brother Wilhelm was already a student at Göttingen, but they did not interact much since their intellectual interests were quite different. His vast and varied interests were by this time fully developed, at Göttingen he met Georg Forster, a naturalist who had been with Captain James Cook on his second voyage. Humboldt traveled with Forster in Europe, the two traveled to England, Humboldts first sea voyage, The Netherlands, and France. In England, he met Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society, the scientific friendship between Banks and Humboldt lasted until Bankss death in 1820, and the two shared botanical specimens for study. Banks also mobilized his scientific contacts in later years to aid Humboldts work, Humboldts scientific excursion up the Rhine resulted in his 1790 treatise Mineralogische Beobachtungen über einige Basalte am Rhein. Humboldts passion for travel was of long standing, Humboldts talents were devoted to the purpose of preparing himself as a scientific explorer. During this period, his brother Wilhelm married, but Alexander did not attend the nuptials, Humboldt graduated from the Freiberg School of Mines in 1792 and was appointed to a Prussian government position in the Department of Mines as an inspector in Bayreuth and the Fichtel mountains
17.
Morelia
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Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital, the main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the Purépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the valley during this time. The Spanish took control of the area in the 1520s, the Spanish under Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza founded a settlement here in 1541 with the name of Valladolid, which became rival to the nearby city of Pátzcuaro for dominance in Michoacán. In 1580, this ended in Valladolid’s favor and it became the capital of the colonial province. After the Mexican War of Independence, the city was renamed Morelia in honor of José María Morelos, in 1991, the city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well-preserved colonial buildings and layout of the historic center. Human settlements in the Guayangareo Valley in which Morelia is located have been dated back as far as the 7th century, artifacts found here have shown Teotihuacán culture influence on early cultures in this area. In the 12th century, the Purépecha arrived in the valley and they dominated it politically for the rest of the pre-Hispanic period but did not build any major settlements here. Between the 12th and the 15th century, Matlatzincas moved into the area with permission of the Purépechas, the main Matlatzinca settlement was where Júarez Plaza in the city is today. The Spanish pushed into the Guayangareo Valley between 1525 and 1526, headed by Gonzalo Gómez, in the 1530s, the area was evangelized by Franciscans such as Juan de San Miguel and Antonio de Lisboa. What would become the city of Morelia was founded by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and a number of encomenderos in 1541, the action also required that the new settlement change its name to Guayangareo. In 1545, Guayangareo gained city status from Charles V in 1545 with the name of Valladolid and this was part of a power struggle between Antonio de Mendoza and Vasco de Quiroga over the province of Michoacán. During Quiroga’s lifetime, he managed to keep political and ecclesiastical power in Pátzcuaro despite the viceroy’s, the 17th century saw growth for Valladolid, with the construction of the cathedral and aqueduct. The cathedral was begun in 1640 and the aqueduct in 1657, churches include La Compañía, San Juan and La Cruz, but the most important structure built during this time period was the Cathedral. The location of this cathedral defined the composition and development of the city from then on, at the end of the colonial period, Valladolid was a small city with about 20,000 inhabitants. It was also a center with four important schools such as the College of San Nicolás. Demonstrations against Spanish rule had been occurring in the town in 1809 and this plot was discovered, with the main conspirators were arrested and sent to other parts of New Spain, which helped to spread republican ideas. One year later, after forming his army in Guanajuato state, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla arrived and took over the city, the city was taken back by royalist forces soon after. Morelos came here to try and dislodge the royalists but was defeated by Agustín de Iturbide, another prominent figure in the war, Mariano Matamoros was shot by firing squad on the city’s main square in 1814
18.
State of Mexico
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The State of Mexico is one of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is the most populous, as well as the most densely populated state and it is divided into 125 municipalities and its capital city is Toluca de Lerdo. The State of Mexico is often abbreviated to Edomex from Estado de México in Spanish and it is located in South-Central Mexico. The state’s origins are in the territory of the Aztec Empire, after Independence, Mexico City was chosen as the capital of the new nation, its territory was separated out of the state. Years later, parts of the state were broken off to form the states of Hidalgo, Guerrero and Morelos. The state name is simply México according to the 1917 Constitution of the United Mexican States, the demonym used to refer to people and things from the state is mexiquense, distinct from mexicano, that describes the people or things from the country as a whole. Mēxihco was originally the Nahuatl name for the Valley of Mexico where in the cities of the Mexica were located, as such, the district that became Mexico City was properly known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan in the years shortly before and after Spanish conquest. There are two origins for the name “Mexico. ”The first is that it derives from metztli. This comes from the old Aztec idea that the craters on the form a rabbit figure with one crater imitating a navel. The other possible origin is that it is derived from “Mextictli” an alternate name for the god Huitzilopochtli, Anáhuac was the proper term for all territories dominated by the Aztec Empire, from Cem Anáhuac, the entire earth or surrounded by waters e. g. The earliest evidence of habitation in current territory of the state is a quartz scraper and obsidian blade found in the Tlapacoya area. They are dated to the Pleistocene era which dates human habitation back to 20,000 years, stone age implements have been found all over the territory from mammoth bones, to stone tools to human remains. Most have been found in the areas of Los Reyes Acozac, Tizayuca, Tepexpan, San Francisco Mazapa, El Risco, between 20,000 and 5000 BCE, the people here eventually went from hunting and gathering to sedentary villages with farming and domesticated animals. The main crop was corn, and stone tools for the grinding of this grain become common, later crops include beans, chili peppers and squash grown near established villages. Evidence of ceramics appears around 2500 BCE with the earliest artifacts of these appearing in Tlapacoya, Atoto, Malinalco, Acatzingo, currently some scholars attribute an age of 11 thousand years, others 8 thousand, and some have suggested 5 thousand years old. This individual was identified as a male, but recent research confirms a female identity. Sacrum bone found in Tequixquiac is considered a work of prehistoric art, the town was inhabited in 35,000 BCE by primitive men who had crossed the Bering Strait from Asia. These people were nomadic, hunting large animals such as mammoths, the first native settlers of Tequixquiac were the Aztecs and Otomi, who decided to settle here permanently for the abundance of rivers and springs
19.
Durango
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Durango, officially Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, compose the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico, with a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexicos second-lowest population density, after Baja California Sur. The city of Victoria de Durango is the capital, named after the first president of Mexico. Sedentary life began in Durango around 500 B. C. in response to population growth, the exceptions were the Acaxee, Humas, and Xiximes who were constantly at war but always on the look-out for final settlements in the region of the Quebradas. On the east bank of the state a longitudinal zone can be found, the Indios Laguneros traveled interchangeably between this area, they were characterized by their rebellious attitude, instability, religious customs and for being hunters and gatherers. These Natives of which so little was recorded were the first inhabitants of the region long before they were exterminated by the Spanish colonists, today, only a few remain of the Tepehuanos, Huicholes, Coras and Tarahumara tribes. By around 200–300 A. D. Durango along with the central zone of present-day Mexico was inhabited by sedentary groups that were link to the cultures located further south. The state was connected by a commercial network that linked it to areas as north as New Mexico. Spanish explorer Francisco de Ibarra, the first to colonize Durango, on July 8,1563, he founded the capital city and named it Durango for the town Durango, Biscay, Spain. Additionally many of the soldiers who came on the expedition of Captain Francisco de Ibarra, in 1552 Spanish Captain Ginés Vázquez del Mercado discovered one of the worlds richest iron-ore deposits which was named after him, present-day Cerro de Mercado. Gradually, in the decades, the Franciscans followed by the Jesuits began the evangelization of Nueva Vizcaya. The establishment of garrisons in Northern Mexico provided security to the people immersed in isolation, the new routes enjoined the military camps and thus emerged the Courier of the Provinces, a government scheme adopted by the Spanish monarchs in 1767. The new territory began to split in the colonial period, the first to emerge was the Sinaloa Province, which then included the areas known today as Sonora and Arizona. At the time that Porfirio Díaz was at the head of the Republic, Durango also experienced local dictatorships such as that of Governor Juan Manuel Flores, esteban Fernandez, who also became governor, was reelected in 1908 after his four-year term only to leave in 1911. Durango played an important role in the Mexican Revolution. On November 21,1910, Duranguense military personnel Jesús Agustín Castro and Oreste Pereyra, the splitting of the territories continued with the government of Enrique R. At the half century, the educational crusade began which bestowed upon Durango colleges of education such as Instituto Tecnológico de Durango. The latter was based on the historical Instituto Juarez, which dates back to the eighteenth century and this was a late colonization for the Spanish, due mostly to heavy resistance by the indigenous population
20.
Edward S. Curtis
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Edward Sheriff Curtis was an American photographer and ethnologist whose work focused on the American West and on Native American peoples. Curtis was born on February 16,1868, on a farm near Whitewater and his father, the Reverend Asahel Johnson Curtis, was a minister, farmer, and American Civil War veteran born in Ohio. His mother, Ellen Sheriff, was born in Pennsylvania, Curtiss siblings were Raphael, also called Ray, Edward, called Eddy, Eva, and Asahel Curtis. Weakened by his experiences in the Civil War, Johnson Curtis had difficulty in managing his farm, resulting in hardship and poverty for his family. Around 1874, the family moved from Wisconsin to Minnesota to join Johnson Curtiss father, Asahel Curtis, Curtis left school in the sixth grade and soon built his own camera. In 1885, at the age of 17, Curtis became a photographer in St. Paul. In 1887 the family moved to Seattle, Washington, where he purchased a new camera, Curtis paid $150 for his 50% share in the studio. After about six months, he left Rothi and formed a new partnership with Thomas Guptill and they established a new studio, Curtis and Guptill, Photographers and Photoengravers. In 1895, Curtis met and photographed Princess Angeline, also known as Kickisomlo and this was his first portrait of a Native American. In 1898, three of Curtiss images were chosen for an exhibition sponsored by the National Photographic Society, two were images of Princess Angeline, The Mussel Gatherer and The Clam Digger. The other was of Puget Sound, entitled Homeward, which was awarded the grand prize. In that same year, while photographing Mt. Rainier, Curtis came upon a group of scientists. One of them was George Bird Grinnell, considered an expert on Native Americans by his peers, Curtis was appointed the official photographer of the Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899, probably as a result of his friendship with Grinnell. Having very little formal education Curtis learned much during the lectures that were aboard the ship each evening of the voyage. Grinnell became interested in Curtiss photography and invited him to join an expedition to photograph people of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Montana in 1900, in 1906, J. P. Morgan provided Curtis with $75,000 to produce a series on Native Americans. This work was to be in 20 volumes with 1,500 photographs, morgans funds were to be disbursed over five years and were earmarked to support only fieldwork for the books, not for writing, editing, or production of the volumes. Curtis received no salary for the project, which was to last more than 20 years, under the terms of the arrangement, Morgan was to receive 25 sets and 500 original prints as repayment. Once Curtis had secured funding for the project, he was able to hire employees to help him
21.
Mescalero
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Mescalero or Mescalero Apache is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan Native Americans. The tribe is recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation. In the nineteenth century, the Mescalero opened their reservation to other Apache bands, such as the Mimbreno, the Lipan Apache also joined the reservation. Their descendants are enrolled in the Mescalero Apache Tribe, originally established on May 27,1873, by Executive Order of President Ulysses S. Grant, the reservation was first located near Fort Stanton. The present reservation was established in 1883 and it has a land area of 1,862.463 km², almost entirely in Otero County. The 463, 000-acre reservation lies on the flank of the Sacramento Mountains. A small unpopulated section is in Lincoln County just southwest of the city of Ruidoso, U. S. Route 70 is the major highway through the reservation. The tribe has an economy based largely on ranching and tourism, the mountains and foothills are forested with pines, resource and commercial development is managed carefully by the Mescalero Apache Tribal Council. The Mescalero Apache developed a cultural center near the headquarters on U. S. Route 70 in the reservations largest community of Mescalero. On display are artifacts and important historical information. The tribe also operates another, larger museum on the flank of the Sacramento Mountains in Dog Canyon. The tribe developed and owns the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort, as part of the IMG operation, the tribe also owns and manages Ski Apache under contract as a concession with the US Forest Service. It is the southernmost major ski area in North America, in January 2012, Ski Apache celebrated its 50th anniversary. The ski area is situated adjacent to the peak of Sierra Blanca a 12. It is the southernmost alpine peak in the Continental United States and is part of the Sacramento Mountains. Using the EPAs Level III Ecoregion System, derived from Omernik, this mountain is included in the Arizona/New Mexico Mountains, Sierra Blanca peak, located on the reservation, is sacred ground for the Mescalero Apache Tribe. They do not allow access without a permit, the Mescalero Apache Tribe holds elections for the office of president every two years. The eight Tribal Council members also are elected for two years, election for the Council is held every year, when one half of the members are up for reelection
22.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
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Guadalupe Mountains National Park is in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas and contains Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet in elevation. Located east of El Paso, it also contains El Capitan, visitors can see the ruins of an old stagecoach station near the Pine Springs Visitor Center. Camping is available at the Pine Springs Campground and Dog Canyon, the restored Frijole Ranch House is now a small museum of local ranching history and is the trailhead for Smith Spring. The park covers 86,367 acres and is in the mountain range as Carlsbad Caverns National Park which is located about 25 miles to the north in New Mexico. Numerous well-established trails exist in the park for hiking and horse-riding, the Guadalupe Peak Trail offers perhaps the most outstanding views in the park. Climbing over 3,000 feet to the summit of Guadalupe Peak, the winds through pinyon pine and Douglas-fir forests and offers spectacular views of El Capitan. The park also contains McKittrick Canyon, a trail in the canyon leads to a stone cabin built in the early 1930s, formerly the vacation home of Wallace Pratt, a petroleum geologist who donated the land in order to establish the park. Dog Canyon, on the park boundary at the Texas-New Mexico State line is reached by driving through Carlsbad, New Mexico or Dell City. There is a campground which accommodates tent campers, recreational vehicles, there is a public corral for livestock available by reservation. On the west side of the park near Dell City lie the impressive, another attraction is the Williams Ranch. For thousands of years, the Guadalupe Mountains have had a tumultuous history, archaeological evidence has shown that people lived over 10,000 years ago in and among the many caves and alcoves. Hunter-gathers followed large game and collected edible vegetation and this conclusion is supported by the discovery of projectile points, baskets, pottery, and rock art. The first Europeans to arrive in the area were the Spanish in the 16th century, the Spanish introduced horses, nomadic indigenous tribes like the Apaches soon found them an asset for hunting and migrating. Mescalero Apaches followed game and harvested the agave for food and fiber, agave roasting pits and other artifacts of Mescalero culture can be found in the park. The Mescalero Apaches remained in the mountains through the mid-19th century, during the 1840s and 1850s many people immigrating west crossed the area. In 1858, Pinery Station was constructed near Pine Springs for the Butterfield Overland Mail, the Butterfield Overland Mail traveled over Guadalupe Pass located at 5,534 ft above sea level. The 9th Cavalry Regiment was ordered to the area to stop Indian raids on settlements, during the winter of 1869, Lt. H. B. Cushing led his troops into the Guadalupe Mountains and destroyed two Mescalero Apache camps and they were eventually driven out of the area and into US reservations
23.
Norma Oficial Mexicana
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The Norma Oficial Mexicana, abbreviated NOM, is the name of each of a series of official, compulsory standards and regulations for diverse activities in Mexico. They are more commonly referred to as NOMs or normas, the standards are prepared by the Dirección General de Normas, which is the body representing Mexico in the International Organization for Standardization. In the case of tequila, Mexicos Tequila Regulatory Council regulates production NOMs, the NOM identifier means the tequila meets government standards - but this is not any guarantee of tequilas quality. However, without the NOM stamp of legitimacy, it is not guaranteed that the bottle contains tequila, all 100% agave tequilas must have a NOM identifier on the bottle. The important laws since 1990 were NOM-006-SCFI-1993 and the later update NOM-006-SCFI-1994 revised in late 2005 NOM-006-SCFI-2005, the number after NOM is the distillery number, assigned by the government. NOM does not indicate the location of the distillery, merely the parent company or - in the case where a company leases space in a plant - the physical plant where the tequila was manufactured, nom 1465 Explains the difference between law, regulation and NOM. Web page of Asociación de Normalización y Certificación, A. C. a Mexican entity, where the difference between NOM and NMX is explained
24.
Agave americana
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Today, it is cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant. It has become naturalized in regions, including the West Indies, parts of South America, the southern Mediterranean Basin, and parts of Africa, India, China, Thailand. Despite the common name American aloe, it is not closely related to plants in the genus Aloe, although it is called the century plant, it typically lives only 10 to 30 years. It has a spread around 6–10 ft with gray-green leaves of 3–5 ft long, each with a prickly margin and a heavy spike at the tip that can pierce deeply. Near the end of its life, the plant sends up a tall, branched stalk, laden with yellow blossoms and its common name derives from its semelparous nature of flowering only once at the end of its long life. The plant dies after flowering, but produces suckers or adventitious shoots from the base, a. americana was one of the many species described by Carl Linnaeus in the 1753 edition of Species Plantarum, with the binomial name that is still used today. A. americana is cultivated as a plant for the large dramatic form of mature plants - for modernist, drought tolerant. It is often used in hot climates and where drought conditions occur, the plants can be evocative of 18th-19th-century Spanish colonial and Mexican provincial eras in the Southwestern United States, California, and xeric Mexico. It is also a landscape plant in beach gardens in Florida. Two subspecies and two varieties of A. americana are recognized by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, protamericana Gentry A. a. var. expansa Gentry A. a. var. If the flower stem is cut without flowering, a liquid called aguamiel gathers in the heart of the plant. This may be fermented to produce the drink called pulque, the leaves also yield fibers, known as pita, which are suitable for making rope, matting, or coarse cloth, and are used for embroidery of leather in a technique known as piteado. Both pulque and maguey fiber were important to the economy of pre-Columbian Mexico, in the tequila-producing regions of Mexico, agaves are called mezcales. The high-alcohol product of agave distillation is called mezcal, A. americana is one of several agaves used for distillation, a mezcal called tequila is produced from Agave tequilana, commonly called blue agave. The many different types of mezcal include some which may be flavored with the very pungent mezcal worm, in mezcal and tequila production, the sugars are extracted from the piñas by heating them in ovens, rather than by collecting aguamiel from the plants cut stalk. Thus, if one were to distill pulque, it would not be a form of mezcal, Agave nectar is marketed as a natural form of sugar with a low glycemic index that is due to its high fructose content. The plant figures in the coat of arms of Don Diego de Mendoza, el maguey y el pulque en los códices mexicanos. Mexico City, Fondo de Cultura Económica 1956, memoria sobre el maguey mexicano y sus diversos productos
25.
Agavaceae
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Agavoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a family, Agavaceae. The group includes many desert and dry zone types such as the agave, yucca. There are about 640 species in around 23 genera, widespread in the tropical, subtropical, species may be succulent or not. In general, Agavoideae leaves occur as rosettes at the end of a woody stem, the leaves are parallel-veined, and usually appear long and pointed, often with a hardened spine on the end, and sometimes with additional spines along the margins. Agave species are used to make tequila, pulque and mezcal and they are quite popular for xeriscaping as many have showy flowers. The taxonomy of the group has varied widely and this is based on data from molecular systematics. Stevens comments that The broad concept of Agavoideae may not seem very satisfactory, sources prior to 2009 will still have Agavaceae as a separate family and may contain varying numbers of other families included in Agavoideae in the APG III system. Some genera formerly placed in group have been separated off, e. g. Dracaena. A partial list of the genera included in the Agavoideae is given below, the reference is to the source which places the genus in this subfamily. List of foliage plant diseases David J. Bogler, J. Chris Pires, phylogeny of Agavaceae based on ndhF, rbcL, and ITS sequences, implications of molecular data for classification. David J. Bogler and Beryl B, a Chloroplast DNA Study of the Agavaceae. David J. Bogler and Beryl B, phylogeny of Agavaceae Based on ITS rDNA Sequence Variation. Agavaceae in Flora of North America, Agavaceae in L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz. The families of flowering plants, descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval
26.
Agave tequilana
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The high production of sugars, mostly fructose, in the core of the plant is the main characteristic that makes it suitable for the preparation of alcoholic beverages. The tequila agave is native to the states of Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit, the plant favors altitudes of more than 1,500 metres and grows in rich and sandy soils. Blue agave plants grow into large succulents, with fleshy leaves. Blue agaves sprout a stalk when about five years old that can grow an additional 5 metres, the stalk is cut off from commercial plants so the plant will put more energy into the heart. The flowers are pollinated by a bat and produce several thousand seeds per plant. The shoots on plants are removed when about a year old to allow the heart to grow larger. The plants are then reproduced by planting these shoots, this has led to a loss of genetic diversity in cultivated blue agave. Tequila is made only from a cultivar of Agave tequilana called Weber Azul. This cultivar is larger and blue-gray in color compared to the smaller, tequila is produced by removing the heart of the plant in its eighth to fourteenth year. Harvested piñas normally weigh 80–200 pounds and this heart is stripped of its leaves and heated to convert the starches to sugars, which is fermented and distilled. As agave production has moved to a scale since the end of the 1980s, diseases and pests. Through the 1990s, diseases spread, particularly Fusarium fungi and Erwinia bacteria, other problems include the agave weevil, Scyphophorus acupunctatus, and a fungus, Thielaviopsis paradoxa. According to a 2004 study, additional pathogens, Erwinia carotovora, Enterobacter agglomerans, Pseudomonas mendocina, the homoisoflavanones 5, 7-dihydroxy-3--chroman-4-one, 7-hydroxy-3--chroman-4-one and 4’-demethyl-3, 9-dihydro-punctatin can be isolated from A. tequilana. It is rarely kept as a houseplant, but a 50-year-old blue agave in Boston grew a 30-foot stalk requiring a hole in the greenhouse roof and flowered in the summer of 2006
27.
Small sword
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The small sword or smallsword is a light one-handed sword designed for thrusting which evolved out of the longer and heavier rapier of the late Renaissance. The height of the small swords popularity was between mid 17th and late 18th century and it is thought to have appeared in France and spread quickly across the rest of Europe. Militarily, small swords continued to be used as a sidearm for infantry officers. In some branches with strong traditions, this continues to the modern day. The carrying of swords by officers in combat conditions was frequent in World War I, the 1913 U. S. Army Manual of Bayonet Drill includes instructions for how to defend with a smallsword. As a rule, the blade of a sword is comparatively short at around 0.6 to 0.85 metres. It usually tapers to a point but may lack a cutting edge. It is typically triangular in cross-section, although some of the examples still have the rhombic and spindle-shaped cross-sections inherited from older weapons. This triangular cross-section may be ground for additional lightness. Many small swords of the period between the 17th and 18th centuries were found with colichemarde blades, the small sword guard is typically of the shell type, sometimes with two lobes that were decorated as clam shells. The shells were replaced with a simple curved oval disk. In later foils, the type evolved into the lunette or figure-8 guard, and the disk became the modern foil bell guard. However, they were maintained in a state on some weapons, including the Italian foil. In the 19th century, simple cross-hilt small swords were also produced, an example is the Model 1840 Army Noncommissioned Officers Sword, which is still used by the United States Army on ceremonial occasions. As the wearing of swords fell out of fashion and the small sword evolved into the duelling sword, small swords were used both by the military and as a dueling weapon. The use of the sword for infantry is covered in the US manual of 1861 titled The Militiamans Manual. In modern times, the sword is used as part of court uniform. A German version of the sword called Trauerdegen is still in use by the Reitendiener of the city of Hamburg in Germany
28.
Agave angustifolia
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Agave angustifolia is a plant which is native to Mexico and Central America. It is used to make mezcal and also as an ornamental plant, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families regards Agave angustifolia as an illegitimate synonym for Agave vivipara L. Other sources maintain them as species with non-overlapping native distributions. A. vivipara is likely similar to A. karatto. The A. vivipara of Miller and Smith et al. seem different, of a much smaller habit and narrower leaves, from the A. vivipara of Trelease and García-Mendoza and Fernando Chiang, of a much larger habit
29.
Adrian Hardy Haworth
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Adrian Hardy Haworth was an English entomologist, botanist and carcinologist. He was the son of Benjamin Haworth of Haworth Hall and he was educated by tutors and steered towards a career in law, but had little interest in the profession and after inheriting the estate of his parents, devoted all his time to natural history. In 1792 he settled in Little Chelsea, London, where he met William Jones who was to have an influence on him. He became a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1798 and his research work was aided by his use of the library and herbarium of his friend Sir Joseph Banks and regular visits to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He was the author of Lepidoptera Britannica, the most authoritative work on British butterflies and he was also a carcinologist, specialising in shrimp. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Haw. when citing a botanical name, the British entomologist John Curtis named a moth of the Noctuidae family 1829 in honour of Adrian Hardy Haworth Celaena haworthii. In 1812 he wrote the first paper in Volume 1 of the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, in 1833, he lent support to the founding of what became the Royal Entomological Society of London having been President of its predecessor. He was a Fellow of the Horticultural Society and a Fellow of the Linnean Society
30.
Agave macroacantha
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Agave macroacantha, the Black-spined Agave is a species of succulent in the Asparagaceae family naturally occurring in Oaxaca and also near the town of Tehuacan in the State of Puebla, Mexico. Agave macroacantha produces a medium-sized leaf rosette that can be basal or can grow on a short stem. Leaves are succulent, greyish green and up to 1.8 feet long at a maximum, flowers are small, grey and red, growing in bunches on sturdy stems of up to 3 m in height. The plant prefers a dry, sunny and hot location for summer and from early autumn onwards a cooler and it likes regular watering in summer and only minimum watering in winter, and will fare well in a large pot with sparse, gravelly soil. The Complete Encyclopedia of Succulents by Zdenek Jezek and Libor Kunte
31.
Jantetelco
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Jantetelco is a city in the Mexican state of Morelos. The city serves as the seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The municipality reported 13,745 inhabitants in the year 2000 census
32.
Morelos
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Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 33 municipalities and its capital city is Cuernavaca and it is located in South-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of México to the north-east and north-west, Puebla to the east, Mexico City is situated north of Morelos. Morelos is the second-smallest state in the nation, just after Tlaxcala, most of the state enjoys a warm climate year-round, which is good for the raising of sugar cane and other crops. Morelos has attracted visitors from the Valley of Mexico since Aztec times, today, many people from Mexico City spend weekends in the state or own second homes there, especially in the Cuernavaca area. The state is known for the Chinelos, a type of costumed dancer that appears at festivals, especially Carnival. It is also home to the Monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl, evidence of the first human inhabitants in what is now Morelos dates back to 6000 BCE and shows these people as nomadic hunters and gatherers in the areas of Yautepec and Chimalacatlan. The first agriculturally based settlements appeared around 1500 BCE in Tamoachán, other early finds include clay jars and figures in the Gaulupita neighborhood of Cuernavaca and three mounds in Santa María Ahuacatitlán, which are probably the remains of houses. The earliest identified culture is the Olmec, which was dominant from 200 BCE to about 500 CE, evidence of this culture is found in reliefs such as those found in the Cantera Mountain in Chalcatzingo and clay figures. After the Olmec period, the area was invaded by several waves of migration from the Valley of Mexico in the north, the settlement of Mazatepec is founded in 603 by the Toltecs. A second wave of Toltecs established the city-state of Xochicalco and their influence is evident in Teotihuacan at the temple of Quetzalcoatl, but there are also signs of Mayan, Mixtec and Zapotec influences. The last wave of Toltecs arrived in the 12th century, there are two groups from this wave. The first to arrive were the Xochimilcas, who settled in such as Tetela, Hueyapan, Tepoztlán. Shortly afterwards the Tlahuicas arrived and has settled in an around Cuauhnáhuac or Cuernavaca by 1250, the Tlahuicas are believed to be an offshoot of the Toltec-Chichimec group of Nahuatl-speaking peoples who have occupied the area since the seventh century. The Tlahuica eventually became the dominant ethnic group in Morelos and they were organized into about fifty small city-states each with a hereditary ruler. Each Tlahuica city-state consisted of a town, with its temple, plaza, palace. The largest of these were Cuernavaca and Huaxtepec and these people had advanced knowledge of astronomy and a highly developed agricultural system. They were especially known for growing cotton, which was planted wherever the land could be irrigated, Tlahuica women spun and wove cloth, which became an important item for exchange and for paying tribute
33.
Mezcal worm
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A mezcal worm is an insect larva found in some types of mezcal produced in Oaxaca, Mexico. The larva is either a gusano rojo or a chinicuil. The red worm is considered tastier. Contrary to the belief of many, a true Tequila does not contain a worm. It is only in Tequilas brother Mezcal, although the custom is relatively recent, larvae are used frequently by several brands of mezcal to give flavor to the drink. A whole larva is deposited in the bottle, normally after having previously been cured in pure alcohol, nacional Vinicola was the first company to add a worm to its Gusano Rojo mezcal. Andres Paniagua and Jacobo Lozano, creators of Gusano Rojo and Dos Gusanos, today, several brands are doing this. The other variety of worm in mezcal is the larva of a known as picudo del agave, Scyphophorus acupunctatus, the agave snout weevil. They are not related to edible maguey worms of central Mexico, the weevil is a pest that can severely damage agave plants, by eating the plant to death from the inside. If only a few infest the plant, they can still carry, in some cases, up to 40% of a maguey harvest has been lost to weevil infestations. Infection-resistant varieties of the plant are being developed, picudo larvae may be roasted and eaten, they are a seasonal specialty of markets in southeastern Mexico
34.
Comadia redtenbacheri
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Comadia redtenbacheri is a moth in the Cossidae family. It is found in North America, where it has recorded from Mexico. The length of the forewings is 12–14 mm for males and 13–16 mm for females, the forewings are brown with a white strip from the wing base to near the apex. Adults have been recorded on wing from April to May and in September, the larvae feed on the succulent leaves of the maguey and Agave salmiana. Young larvae are reddish, becoming carmine in later instars. The larvae are one of the used to put into mezcal. In Spanish, they are known as chilocuil, chinicuil, or tecol and have traditionally used as food in Mexican cuisine. The other, less appreciated ones, are the larvae of the agave snout weevil, acentrocneme hesperiaris Natural History Museum Lepidoptera generic names catalog
35.
Guanajuato
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Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, are the 32 Federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato, the largest city in the state is León. It is located in North-Central Mexico and it is bordered by the states of Jalisco to the west, Zacatecas to the northwest, San Luis Potosí to the north, Querétaro to the east and Michoacán to the south. It covers an area of 30,608 km2, Guanajuato is located between the arid north of the country and the lusher south, and it is geographically part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, the Mexican Plateau and the Sierra Madre Oriental. This route begins at Dolores Hidalgo, and passes though the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, San Miguel de Allende, Celaya, other important cities in the state include León, the most populous, and Irapuato. Guanajuato is located in the center of Mexico, north-west of Mexico City, bordering the states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Michoacán, Querétaro and it covers an area of 30,589 km² and is ranked 20th out of 31 states. The Sierra Madre Oriental in Guanajuato consists of the Sierra Gorda, the Mexican Plateau extends through the center of the state. Within, it subdivides into various regions parted by low-lying mountain chains such as the Sierra de la Cuatralba, the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt crosses the state in the south and includes the Bajío area, the Altos de Jalisco and the valleys area in the far south. The state is crossed by several ranges which have mountains between 2,300 and 3,000 meters high. Mountain ranges average 2,305 meters and flat areas lie at around 1,725 meters above sea level. The other important mountain ranges include the Sierra Gorda to the north, the Sierra de Guanjuato in the southeast, the Comanja in the northwest, the state is divided into five regions, taking into consideration geography and climate. These are called Altos de Guanajuato, La Sierra Central, Bajío, La Sierra Gorda, the Altos de Guanajuato, located in the north of the state, are a chain of forested mountains interspersed with pastures, small fields and areas with cacti and other desert plants. They begin near the border with San Luis Potosí, and extend south to Dolores Hidalgo and then to San Miguel de Allende, then to the Querétaro border. The altitude of this varies from 1,800 to peaks over 2,900 meters such as the La Giganta. The climate is semiarid with a rainy season in the summer. However, lows in the winter frequently reach 0 °C or lower with frosts, wildlife is found mostly in the most rugged and inaccessible areas and includes deer, coyotes, eagles and rattlesnakes. La Sierra Gorda is shared between Guanajuato and Querétaro and is considered to be an important biosphere and this area is the most rugged in the state where most of the natural areas and small villages are remain intact due to their inaccessibility. The Sierra Gorda is part of the Sierra Madre Occidental, with variations in its geography
36.
Guerrero
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Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and it is located in Southwestern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Michoacán to the north and west, México and Morelos to the north, Puebla to the northeast and Oaxaca to the east. The state was named after Vicente Guerrero, one of the most prominent leaders in the Mexican War of Independence and it is the only Mexican state named after a president. The modern entity did not exist until 1849, when it was carved out of territories from the states of Mexico, Puebla and Michoacán. In addition to the city, the states largest cities include Acapulco, Petatlan, Ciudad Altamirano, Taxco, Iguala, Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo. Today, it is home to a number of communities, including the Nahuas, Mixtecs. It is also home to communities of Afro-Mexicans in the Costa Chica region, geographically, the state is mountainous and rugged with flat areas limited to small mesas and the coast line. Tourism is the single most important economic factor of the state, however, other sources of employment are scarce in the state, which has caused its ranking as number one in the emigration of workers to the United States. The first humans in the territory were nomadic hunter-gatherers who left evidence of their existence in various caves starting about 20,000 years ago. After that, settlements appeared near the coast because of fishing, at these sites, evidence of weaving, ceramics, basketry and other crafts have been found. Around this time, a grain called teocintle, or the forerunner to corn, Olmec influences can be seen in cave paintings such as those found in Juxtlahuaca and well as stone tools and jade jewelry from the time period. Recent evidence indicates that ancient Guerrero cultures may have influenced the development of the Olmecs. Eventually, the peoples of the Mexcala River area developed their own distinctive culture and it is characterized by its own sculpture and ceramics, distinguished by its simplicity. Olmec influence remained with this culture, especially evident in the grouping of villages, construction of ceremonial centers, later, the culture assimilated aspects of the Teotihuacan model, which included the Mesoamerican ball game. In the 8th century, Toltec influence was felt as they traveled the many routes through here in search of tropical bird plumage. From the 12th century to the 15th, the peoples of the state were influence by the Chichimecas. In the 11th century, new migrations entered the area from the north, which included the Nahuas, who occupied what is now the center of the state, the Nahuas established themselves in Zacatula, Atoyac and Tlacotepec, later conquering the areas occupied by the Chontals and Matlatzincas
37.
Tamaulipas
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Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria, the capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the first President of Mexico. It is located in Northeastern Mexico and it is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the southeast, San Luis Potosí to the southwest and Nuevo León to the west. To the north, it has a 370 km stretch of the U. S. –Mexico border along the state of Texas and this state is known to be both a territorial struggle for the Gulf Cartel and the Los Zetas. The name Tamaulipas is derived from Tamaholipa, a Huastec term in which the tam- prefix signifies place, there is no scholarly agreement on the meaning of holipa, but high hills is a common interpretation. Another explanation of the name is that it is derived from Ta ma holipam. In addition to the city, Ciudad Victoria, the states largest cities include Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo. The area known as Tamaulipas has been inhabited for at least 8,000 years, several different cultures have come and gone during that period. Tamaulipas was originally populated by the Olmec people and later by Chichimec and Huastec tribes, between 1445 and 1466, Mexica armies commanded by Moctezuma I Ilhuicamina conquered much of the territory and transformed it into a tributary region for the Mexica empire. However, the Aztecs never fully conquered certain mostly nomadic indigenous groups in the area, although Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs rather quickly, it took a gradual process for Spain to subjugate the inhabitants of Tamaulipas in the 16th and 17th centuries. The first permanent Spanish settlement in the area was Tampico in 1554, further settlement was done by Franciscan missionaries, widespread cattle and sheep ranching by the Spanish bolstered the area’s economy while forcing native populations from their original lands. Repeated indigenous rebellions kept the area unstable and weakened colonial interest in the region, what is now Tamaulipas was first incorporated as a separate province of New Spain in 1746 with the name Nuevo Santander. The local government capital during this time moved from Santander to San Carlos, the territory of this time spanned from the San Antonio river to the north east to the Gulf of Mexico, then south to the Panuco River near Tampico and west to the Sierra Madre Mountains. The area became a haven for rebellious Indians who fled there after increased Spanish settlements in Nuevo León, one of these groups was known as Lipan. By 1790 Europeans turned their attention from the groups and focused on containing the Apache invaders. In northeastern Coahuila and adjacent Texas, Spanish and Apache displacements created an ethnic mix. Here the local Indians mixed with displaced groups from Coahuila and Chihuahua, some groups, to escape the pressure, combined and migrated north into the Central Texas highlands. In 1824, after the Mexican War of Independence from Spain, during the fights between centralists and federalists that soon followed, the successful Texas Revolution led to the creation of the Republic of Texas in 1836
38.
Zacatecas
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Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatecas is located in North-Central Mexico. The state is best known for its deposits of silver and other minerals, its colonial architecture. Its main economic activities are mining, agriculture and tourism, Zacatecas is located in the center-north of Mexico, and covers an area of 75, 284km2, the tenth largest state in the country. It borders the states of Jalisco, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Coahuila and Durango and is divided into fifty eight municipalities and 4,882, towns, cities and other communities. The state has an altitude of 2230 meters above sea level. The state has three geographical regions, the Sierra Madre Occidental in the west, the Mexican Plateau. Most of it is in the Sierra Madre Occidental with highly rugged with peaks of over 2,500 meters above sea level, the mountains of the southeast and northeast are lower but there large valleys such as the Juchipila and Tlaltenango. Most of the territory has only small mesas and other areas of flat land, in the center of the state, there is a small mountain chain called the Sierra de Fresnillo, from which much of the state’s mineral wealth comes from. In the extreme northwest, there is another important mountain chain called the Sierra de Sombrerete, marked by a mountain called Sombreretillo, near this chain is another called the Sierra de Órganos. No major rivers run through the state and most of the run only during the rainy season. The state belongs to two basins, the south east of the state belongs to the Lerma River basin, which eventually empties in the Pacific Ocean. Rivers belonging to this include the San Pedro, Juchipila, Jerez. The other basin is smaller and endorheic, and does not empty into any ocean, the state has eighty dams with a total capacity of 595,337 million cubic meters. The largest of these are the Leobardo Reynoso in Fresnillo, Miguel Aleman in Tlaltenango, much of the state’s water is underground divided into twenty hydraulic zones. These are accesses with over 5,800 wells mostly for agricultural use, most of the territory has a cool, dry climate, although areas in the south have more moisture, with most rain falling between June and September. The driest and coldest areas are in the northeast, known as the Salado because of its saltwater lakes, 75% of the state is arid or semi arid. 14% is arable and 79% is apt for the grazing of livestock, the average annual temperature is 16C with most of the state being temperate
39.
Oaxaca City
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The city and municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez, or simply Oaxaca, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name. It is located in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state and this city relies heavily on tourism, which is based on its large number of colonial-era structures as well as the native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures and archeological sites. It, along with the site of Monte Albán, were named a World Heritage Site in 1987. It is also the home of the cultural festival called the Guelaguetza, which features Oaxacan dance from the seven regions, music. It is nicknamed la Verde Antequera due to its prior name, the coat of arms for the municipality bears the image of the decapitated Donaji, who was an indigenous princess in the years immediately after the Conquest. The Aztecs entered the valley in 1440 and named it Huaxyacac, when the Spanish arrived in 1521, the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs were involved in one of their many wars. Spanish conquest would end this fighting, the first Spanish expedition here arrived late in 1521, headed by Captain Francisco de Orozco, and accompanied by 400 Aztecs. Hernán Cortés sent Francisco de Orozco to Oaxaca because Moctezuma II said that the Aztecs gold came from there, the Spanish expedition under Orozco set about building a Spanish city where the Aztec military post was at the base of the Cerro de Fortín. The first mass was said here by Chaplain Juan Díaz on the bank of the Atoyac River under a large huaje tree and this group of Spaniards chose their first mayor, Gutierres de Badajoc, their first town council and began construction of the cathedral of Oaxaca in 1522. Their name for the settlement was Guajaca, a Hispanization of the Nahuatl name, the establishment of the relatively independent village did not suit Hernán Cortes, who wanted power over the entire region for himself. Cortés sent Pedro de Alvarado, who proceeded to drive out most of the villages population, the original Spanish settlers appealed to the Spanish crown to recognize the village they founded, which it did in 1526, with land divided among the Spaniards of Orozcos expedition. However, this did not stop Cortés from driving out the population of the once again. Once again, the founders appealed to Spanish royal authority. This viceroy also sided with the founders, and the town was refounded in 1529 as Antequera. Francisco de Herrera convened the new, Crown-approved town council, in the meantime, Cortés was able to obtain from the crown the title of the Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, which contains the disputed village. This permitted him to tax the area heavily, and to have control of the territory that surrounded the village, the village was then in a position of having to survive surrounded by villages which answered to Cortés. These villages not only did not take orders from Antequera, they were hostile to it, to counter this, the village petitioned the Crown to be elevated to the status of a city, which would give it certain rights, privileges and exceptions. It would also ensure that the settlement would remain under the control of the king
40.
Guelaguetza
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The Guelaguetza, or Los lunes del cerro is an annual indigenous cultural event in Mexico that takes place in the city of Oaxaca, capital of the state of Oaxaca, as well as in nearby villages. Each costume and dance usually has a local historical and cultural meaning. Although the celebration is now an important tourist attraction, it also retains deep cultural importance for the peoples of the state and is important for the survival of these cultures. Oaxaca has a native indigenous population, well over 50 percent of the population. The Guelaguetza celebration dates back long before the arrival of the Spanish and its origins and traditions come from prehispanic earth-based religious celebrations related to the worship of corn and the corn god. In contemporary Oaxaca, indigenous communities from within the state gather at the Guelaguetza to present their culture, mainly in the form of music, costumes, dances. It is the most famous indigenous gathering of its kind in Mexico, like many indigenous traditions in Mexico, this festival was adapted to and mixed with Christian traditions after the Spanish conquest of the area. It began to take on a modern form as a display of each peoples/regions unique dance. In the 1970s a stadium dedicated to the Guelaguetza was built on a prominent place on Fortin Hill in the center of the city, out of respect for Oaxacas most revered native son, the celebrations are postponed for one week, falling on July 25 and August 1. However, side events associated with the festival, such as concerts, as the festival became a bigger tourist attraction, there was a backlash from purists that saw the ancient traditions being used for vulgar commercial purposes. There is a subgroup in Oaxaca that vocally pushes for a Populist Guelaguetza, or a return to the more spontaneous celebrations of the era before colonialism. Oaxaca festival in Mexico highlights indigenous pride by Ruth Maclean, /Oficial Site 2011 Video About Guelaguetza Guelaguetza, from Planeta. com
41.
Beer in Mexico
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Beer in Mexico has a long history. Production of this beer here was limited during the period due to the lack of materials and severe restrictions. After the Mexican War of Independence, these restrictions disappeared, by 1918, there were 36 brewing companies, but over the 20th century, the industry consolidated until today, only two corporations, Grupo Modelo and FEMSA control 90% of the Mexican beer market. This industry is one of the most prevalent in the country, Beer is also a major export for the country, with most going to the United States, but is available in over 150 countries in the world. Since before the Spanish conquest, there had been fermented alcoholic beverages, the best known of these is pulque, which is the fermented sap of the maguey or agave plant. More similar to beer is a beverage, called tesgüino or izquiate. This is made from fermented corn, and creates light, amber-colored liquid which is whisked before drinking, tesgüino can still be found in Mexico today, mostly homemade, in the north and west of Mexico in states such as Chihuahua, Sonora and Colima. Among the Tarahumaras, the drink is used for rituals, a similar beverage, called pozol, is made in Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco with corn and cocoa beans. Beer brewed with grain such as barley was produced in quantities by Hernán Cortés’ soldiers. The first official concession to brew European-style beer was granted to Alfonso de Herrero in 1543 or 1544 and its exact location is unknown, but it is thought to have been located in the south of Mexico City or in Amecameca, Mexico State. Herreras brewery struggled during its first years, as alcohol consumption was regulated by authorities. It was also more expensive due to the lack of ingredients, however, the beverage caught on, as it was drunk by colonial authorities, leading others to want it as well. Herrera worked to expand his brewery and the land on which wheat, in the long run, Herreros brewery did not survive, and the production of European-style beverages such as beer and wine were heavily taxed and heavily regulated by Spain to protect home markets. The purpose of this was to make colonials import these products from Europe, while the policy mostly worked, beer brewing never entirely ceased. In the years just before independence, beer consumption was becoming established in Mexico, englishmen Gillons and Mairet, Miguel Ramos Arizpe and Justino Tuallion all claimed exclusive rights to produce beer in Mexico. After the end of the war, the produced by the Tuallion brewery was the most popular. After the war, colonial restrictions were gone and the industry was allowed to develop, in 1845, a barley beer flavored with piloncillo was introduced with the names of Pila Seca and La Candelaria by Swiss Bernhard Boldgard and Bavarian Federico Herzog. The emperor had his own brewer, who produced Vienna-style dark beers and this influence can be seen in two popular brands of Negra Modelo and Dos Equis Ambar
42.
Mexican cuisine
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Mexican cuisine is primarily a fusion of indigenous Mesoamerican cooking with European, especially Spanish, elements added after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the 16th century. The staples are native foods, such as corn, beans, avocados, tomatoes, and chili peppers, along with rice, which was brought by the Spanish. Europeans introduced a number of other foods, the most important of which were meats from domesticated animals, dairy products. African and Asian influences were introduced into the mixture during this era as a result of African slavery in New Spain. Over the centuries, this resulted in regional cuisines based on conditions, such as those in Oaxaca, Veracruz. Mexican cuisine is an important aspect of the culture, social structure, the most important example of this connection is the use of mole for special occasions and holidays, particularly in the South and Center regions of the country. For this reason and others, traditional Mexican cuisine was inscribed in 2010 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, Mexican cuisine is as complex as any other world cuisine, such as those of China, France, Italy and Japan. It is created mostly with ingredients native to Mexico, as well as those brought over by the Spanish conquistadors, vegetables play an important role in Mexican cuisine. Common vegetables include zucchini, cauliflower, corn, potatoes, spinach, swiss chard, mushrooms, jitomate, green tomato, other traditional vegetable dishes include chile rellenos, huitlacoche, huauzontle, and nopalitos to name a few. European contributions include pork, chicken, beef, cheese, herbs and spices, tropical fruits such as guava, prickly pear, sapote, mangoes, bananas, pineapple and cherimoya are popular, especially in the center and south of the country. It has been debated how much Mexican food is still indigenous, however, the basis of the diet is still corn and beans, with chile pepper as a seasoning, as they are complementary foods. Despite the introduction of wheat and rice to Mexico, the basic starch remains corn in almost all areas of the country, while it is eaten fresh, most corn is dried, treated with lime and ground into a dough called masa. This dough is used fresh and fermented to make a wide variety of dishes from drinks to tamales, sopes. However, the most common way to eat corn in Mexico is in the form of a tortilla, tortillas are made of corn in most of the country, but other versions exist, such as wheat in the north or plantain, yuca and wild greens in Oaxaca. The other basic ingredient in all parts of Mexico is the chile pepper, Mexican food has a reputation for being very spicy, but its seasoning can be better described as strong. Many dishes also have subtle flavors, chiles are used for their flavors and not just their heat, with Mexico using the widest variety. If a savory dish or snack does not contain chile pepper, hot sauce is usually added, the importance of the chile goes back to the Mesoamerican period, where it was considered to be as much of a staple as corn and beans. In the 16th century, Bartolomé de las Casas wrote that without chiles, even today, most Mexicans believe that their national identity would be at a loss without chiles
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Mexican wine
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Mexican wine and wine making began with the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, when they brought vines from Europe to modern day Mexico, the oldest wine-growing region in the Americas. In 1699, Charles II of Spain prohibited wine making in Mexico, from then until Mexico’s Independence, wine was produced in Mexico only on a small scale. After Independence, wine making for personal purposes was no longer prohibited and production rose, especially in the late 19th, many other European immigrant groups helped with the comeback of wine in Mexico. However, the Mexican Revolution set back wine production, especially in the north of the country, Wine production in Mexico has been rising in both quantity and quality since the 1980s, although competition from foreign wines and 40% tax on the product makes competing difficult within Mexico. Mexico is not traditionally a country, but rather prefers beer, tequila. Interest in Mexican wine, especially in the cities and tourists areas, has grown along with Mexican wines’ reputation throughout the world. Many Mexican companies have received numerous awards, various wine producers from Mexico have won international awards for their products. There are three major wine producing areas in Mexico, with the Baja California area producing 90% of Mexico’s wine. This area is promoted heavily for enotourism with the “Ruta del Vino”, which connects over fifty wineries with the port of Ensenada and the border and the annual Vendimia harvest festival. According to legend, Hernán Cortés and his soldiers quickly depleted the wine they brought them from Spain celebrating the conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521. Because of this, one of Cortés’ first acts as governor was to order the planting of grapevines throughout New Spain, in the early colonial era, ships arriving to Mexico and Spain’s other colonies carried grapevines. In certain areas, Spaniards found a type of grapevine. However, vines from Europe grew very well here, and they were planted in monasteries and haciendas in the states of Puebla, Coahuila, Zacatecas and others. In 1597, Casa Madero was founded by Lorenzo García in the town of Santa María de las Parras as the oldest winery in the Americas and this area of Coahuila soon became a major wine producer due to its climate and good supplies of water. The vines that were established here were exported to the Napa Valley in California. Vineyards in the Americas, especially New Spain were successful enough that wine exports from Spain to America plummeted, because of this, Charles II decided to prohibit the production of wine in Spain’s colonies, especially Mexico, except for the making of wine for the Church in 1699. That prohibition stayed in force until Mexico’s Independence, however, many missionaries refused to abide by the edict and continued to produce wine for normal consumption on a small scale. One of these was Jesuit priest Juan Ugarte, who planted the first vines in Baja California when he arrived at the Loreto mission in 1701, from the end of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th, most wine production was done by clergy
listen)) is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave plant native to Mexico. The word mezcal comes from Nahuatl mexcalli [meʃˈkalːi] metl [met͡ɬ] and ixcalli [iʃˈkalːi] which means "oven-cooked agave".[1]
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