page_title: Culture of Mexico
section_title: Literature
hierarchical_section_title: Culture of Mexico / Literature
context_page_description: The culture of Mexico reflects the country's complex history and is the result of the gradual blending of native culture with Spanish culture and other Mexican cultures.
  First inhabited more than 10,000 years ago, the cultures that developed in Mexico became one of the cradles of civilization. During the 300-year rule by the Spanish, Mexico was a crossroad for the people and cultures of Europe, Africa, and Asia. The government of independent Mexico actively promoted shared cultural traits in order to create a national identity.
  The culture of an individual Mexican is influenced by their familial ties, gender, religion, location, and social class, among other factors. In many ways, contemporary life in the cities of Mexico has become similar to that in neighboring United States and Europe, with provincial people conserving traditions more than city dwellers.
context_section_description: Mexican literature has its antecedents in the literature of the indigenous settlements of Mesoamerica. The most well known prehispanic poet is Netzahualcoyotl. Modern Mexican literature is influenced by the concepts of the Spanish colonialization of Mesoamerica. Outstanding colonial writers and poets include Juan Ruiz de Alarcón and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.
  Other notable writers include Alfonso Reyes, José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi, Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, Maruxa Vilalta, Carlos Fuentes, Octavio Paz (Nobel Laureate), Renato Leduc, Mariano Azuela ("Los de abajo"), Juan Rulfo ("Pedro Páramo") and Bruno Traven.
caption: A late 18th-century painting of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, poet and writer.
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