Every year, millions of people travel to Mexico. Many head to the tourist resorts and beautiful beaches of Playa del Carmen or Puerto Vallarta. Others trek to the highlands of Oaxaca and Chiapas, where for centuries impassable forests have shielded indigenous cultures from total assimilation. 

   Mexican culture is as diverse as its landscape. Its roots stretch back thousands of years to the Aztec, Maya, Zapotec and other Native American empires. Echoes of these indigenous cultures still resound loudly in the modern setting, informing all cultural expressions including language, food, art, architecture and, of course, music. While the Spanish imposed their language, culture and religion on the local populations, the result of 500 years of cross-cultural fusion is a remarkable blend of European and indigenous cultures, with elements of African influence sprinkled along the Gulf and Pacific coasts.