Mexico has a population of around 130 million, making it the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. The population is predominantly mestizo — of mixed indigenous and European ancestry — but Mexico is also home to over 60 recognized indigenous peoples, including the Maya, Nahua, Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomí, and many others. Indigenous communities are most visible in Oaxaca, Chiapas, the Yucatan Peninsula, and parts of Guerrero and Puebla.
Spanish is the national language, but Mexico legally recognizes 68 indigenous languages as national languages. In Oaxaca you will hear Zapotec and Mixtec. In Chiapas and the Yucatan, various Mayan languages remain in daily use.
The country is overwhelmingly Catholic — nominally around 80%, though that number has been falling as evangelical Protestantism grows, particularly in Chiapas and the south. Religious practice is woven deeply into daily life: saints' days, pilgrimages, and church festivals structure the local calendar in ways that can be invisible to visitors until they stumble on a procession or a flower-filled church courtyard.
Mexican culture is family-centered. Extended families gather for Sunday lunch, holidays, and every significant life event. In smaller cities and rural areas, social life still revolves largely around the town square (zócalo) and the local market.
Regional identity matters enormously. People from Guadalajara (tapatíos) are different from capitalinos (Mexico City residents) in ways they will happily explain to you. Norteños (northerners) have a distinct culture shaped by ranching and proximity to the US. Yucatecos identify as much with Maya heritage as with Mexico City's political center.
Music ranges from mariachi (Jalisco) to norteño and banda (Sinaloa and the north) to cumbia, son jarocho (Veracruz), and marimba (Chiapas and Oaxaca). Regional music is alive in local festivals and at weekend markets in a way it rarely is in more homogenized cultures.