Religion in Mexico

En México, la religión es una mezcla del catolicismo y las religiones indígenas. La celebración del Día de los muertos es muy popular e importante en México. Durante este tiempo la gente pone comida en las ofrendas para los muertos a comer. Ellos ponen muchos flores, fotografías, y cosas en las ofrendas. Cada casa tiene un altar para los muertos de esta familia. Los mexicanos piensan que los muertos están aquí.


Mexico has no official religion, and the Constitution of 1917 imposed limitations on the church and sometimes codified state intrusion into church matters. The government does not provide any financial contributions to the church, and the church does not participate in public education. However, Christmas is a national holiday and every year during Easter and Christmas all schools in Mexico, public and private, send their students on vacation.
In 1992, Mexico lifted almost all restrictions on the religions, including granting all religious groups legal status, conceding them limited property rights, and lifting restrictions on the number of priests in the country.Until recently, priests did not have the right to vote, and even now they cannot be elected to public office.Roman Catholics are 89% of the total population, 47% percent of whom attend church services weekly, one of the lowest of the developing world. In absolute terms, Mexico has the world's second largest number of Catholics after Brazil. About 9% of the population (6,160,000 people over the age of 5, according to the 2000 census, including Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, and Mormons) are Protestant, of whom Pentecostals and Charismatics (called Neo-Pentecostals in the census), are the largest group.

Gender Roles

Las familias latinas son muy diferentes que las familias en los estados unidos.  Los hombres latinos trabajan afuera de la casa y cuando regresan ellos miran el tv o pasan tiempo con sus amigos.  Las mujeres normalmente no tienen trabaja afuera de la casa.  Ellas cocinan, crean a los hijos, y limpian.  Normalmente las mujeres no tiene trabaja afuera de la casa y es muy raro para una mujer a trabajar y tener hijos.  El hombre es el jefe de la casa y no hay muchos divorcios.

One of the most pervasive values in the Latino culture is the importance of the family, including the extended family. The family affiliation is so important that “parenthood” is often seen as important as “partnerhood.” The primary goal of marriage is to have children and the family life that ensues. Religion is central to marriage and family life in the Latino culture. Religious beliefs include an understanding of the Bible and other sources of religious teachings and provide guidance on how to live as an individual within the context of a family. There is a prevailing belief among Latinos that much happens in life that is outside of a person’s control. Traditional gender roles in the Latino culture greatly affect marriage and family dynamics. Machismo refers to maleness or manliness and it is expected that a man be physically strong, unafraid, and the authority figure in the family, with the obligation to protect and provide for his family. The complementary role for the woman is Marianismo, referring to a woman who is self-sacrificing, religious, and is responsible for running the household and raising the children. Motherhood is an important goal in the latino culture, and a mother is expected to sacrifice for her children and to take care of the elderly relatives.

WNC mountains vs Spain's mountains

Blue Ridge Mountains

vs

The Pyrenees Mountains, Spain

Yo amo colores. En el oeste de Carolina del Norte, los arboles cambian sus colores en el otoño.  Los colores son muy brillante y hacen las montañas muy bonita. Estas montañas son mi hogar.

The Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina are the oldest in the world, starting to form around 400 million years ago. They are the epicenter for salamander evolution - there are more types of salamander in these mountains than any other place in the world. The mountains run about 469 miles; the Pyrenees, 491. The Pyrenees started to form much later than the Blue Ridge 150 to 100 million years ago. Being as young as they are, they're sharper in appearance and terrain, not having been worn down by time and weather. The snowcaps here to me look cold and grinch like, and the snowcapped Blue Ridge Mountains, to me, look like Santa could be sitting on top of one. It's because it's where I've been raised, and I know that, so it'd be cool explore what the mountains in Spain are actually like, rather than just facts.

The culture that originates from the mountains is just about as unique as you could imagine. That culture is preserved in the Pisgah National Forest, where I grew up. That culture is integral to who I am today, and I actually know only a little about it compared to those that have devoted their lives to studying the culture, as some park and forest rangers do (as do historians, obviously). The start of American Forestry took place not a half hour from my house; forest conservation is a belief that is second nature to me; a 'duh'. It represents life to me, so naturally, it is also a very, very precious thing.

Immigration into Mexico

Inmigración es bueno. Inmigración es no mal  Estados Unidos y inmigrante y economía. 

http://www.frugal-cafe.com/public_html/frugal-blog/frugal-cafe-blogzone/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/immigration-usa-cartoon.jpg

The above image (the site wouldn't embed - sorry) tends to sum up the general American feelings about immigration as a whole (even legal immigration it seems at times). Funnily enough, though America is up in arms about the illegal immigration problems our country faces, Mexico has the same problem, primarily from Central American countries. The Mexican government, on average, deports 150,000 illegal immigrants from Central America alone every year. This obviously doesn't provide an accurate statement to understand how many illegal immigrants actually come into Mexico -just how many are found out and deported. If the US can be used as a comparative as to how, proportionally, many people are caught and deported, it is safe to say that many, many, many immigrants go undetected for the remainder of their stay in the country, however long that may be. Most from Central America that sneak into Mexico are escaping the drug trade and cartels that effect their day to day life - you know if someone wants in Mexico that their previous home was obvious a poor, poor place to live. Mexico isn't exactly safe or cartel free itself.

I write about this because immigration is truly good for our country. As Americans, we have grown lazy and self-aggrandized. Without immigrants, there would honestly be no one willing to do the work that needs to be done - the 'dirty work' that Americans seem to think themselves above. Besides, a mixing pot of cultures is what the United States is about; not only does it help the natives of our country, but the lives of those immigrants, whether they get here by legal or illegal means, improve drastically as well. There is no true rhyme or reason as to why people are opposed to immigration except for fear - fear that someone will take away the copious amounts of stuff that they own and, for some reason, hold dear. Until this greedy mentality can be let go of by the American people, sadly, I doubt that immigration will be an accepted thing by most people. It's stupid, and it should be changed.