Culture
Who promoted philosophy and the arts in Mexico?
Mexico
[[File:Frida Kahlo Diego Rivera 1932.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Frida Kahlo with Diego Rivera in 1932, photography byCarl van Vechten. ]]Mexican culture reflects the complexity of the country's history through the blending of indigenous cultures and the culture of Spain, imparted during Spain's 300-year colonization of Mexico. Exogenous cultural elements have been incorporated into Mexican culture as time have passed. The Porfirian era ("el Porfiriato"), in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, was marked by economic progress and peace. After four decades of civil unrest and war, Mexico saw the development of philosophy and the arts, promoted by President Díaz himself. Since that time, as accentuated during the Mexican Revolution, cultural identity has had its foundation in the "mestizaje", of which the indigenous (i.e. Amerindian) element is the core. In light of the various ethnicities that formed the Mexican people, José Vasconcelos in his publication "La Raza Cósmica" (The Cosmic Race) (1925) defined Mexico to be the melting pot of all races (thus extending the definition of the "mestizo") not only biologically but culturally as well.