In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the region from its base in Mexico City, establishing the colony of New Spain. Pre-Columbian Mexico traces its origins to 8,000 BC and is identified as one of the six cradles of civilization it was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, most notably the Maya and the Aztecs. Other major urban areas include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and León. Mexico is organized as a federation comprising 31 states and Mexico City, its capital and largest metropolis.

Mexico covers 1,972,550 square kilometers (761,610 sq mi), making it the world's 13th-largest country by area with approximately 126,014,024 inhabitants, it is the 10th-most-populous country and has the most Spanish-speakers. 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. Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America.

^ Spanish is de facto the official language in the Mexican federal government.

^ Article 4 of the General Law of Linguistic Rights of the Indigenous Peoples.

Street photography 58mm hugo meyer