Mexico

Age groups:

Guía Mayor or Ranger ages 15-18

Guía Intermedia or Intermediate ages 13-15

Guía or Guide ages 9-13

Hadita or Fairy ages 6-9

Girasol or Sunflower ages 4-6

Most rivers are short and unnavigable, due to the rough terrain that composes most of the Mexican territory; specially along the west coast where the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range is located. Notable exceptions include the Culiacan and Balsas rivers, which are the second and third longest in Mexico and flow from the Central Mexican Plateau into the Pacific.

The ten most important rivers, in terms of length would be:

• Rio Grande / Rio Bravo: 2,018 Km (1,255 mi), flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

• Rio Culiacan: 875 Km (544 mi), flowing into the Pacific Ocean.

• Rio Balsas: 770 Km (479 mi), flowing into the Pacific Ocean.

• Rio Lerma: 708 Km (440 mi), flowing into the Lake Chapala, in the western state of Jalisco.

• Rio El Fuerte: 670 Km (417 mi), flowing through the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sinaloa into the Gulf of California.

• Rio Grijalva-Usumacinta: 608 Km (378 mi), flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. Part of the Usumacinta river conforms the Mexico-Guatemala Border along 200 Km (124 miles) of the river's length.

• Rio Nazas: 600 Km (373 mi), flows into the Lagoon of Mayran, on the northern Mexican state of Coahuila.

• Rio Grande de Santiago: 562 Km (350 m), flowing from the Chapala Lake westward into the Pacific Ocean.

• Rio Panuco: 510 Km (317 mi), flowing through the states of San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas and Veracruz, into the Gulf of Mexico.

• Rio Soto La Marina: 416 Km (259 mi) born in the state of Tamaulipas and flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

As special mention, the Rio Colorado (Colorado River, in the US) is flowing only 179 Kilometers (112 miles) through Mexican territory, into the Gulf of California.

Jorongo or Sarape In major cities, modern Mexican clothing do not differ very much from the clothes we use everyday. Thanks to the globalization, young Mexican people living in big cities trend to wear clothes like loud-colored cotton t-shirts, snickers and jeans. But this changes a lot when we get out of the main cities and look into smaller towns, where we can see modern clothes with a "native" feeling, which is shown mainly by the colors chosen.

People who live within those towns in Mexico seem to have a preference for earth-like colors, like brown or dark red, although it is not uncommon to find vivid greens and strong yellows as part of the clothes' colors.

Traditional Mexican clothing combines native and European elements. The fibers of choice among the Mexicans are cotton, bark and agave (which were known and used by native Mexican pre-Hispanic civilizations to make their clothes), as well as wool and silk (introduced by the Spanish later).

In the past, Mexican clothing was dyed with natural components found in local plants, but as soon as aniline dyes were brought from Europe they became the first dying choice.

We can find traditional Mexican clothing in many varieties, and it can be distinguished by gender, by social status and by ethnic group. For instance, garments worn by women differ from those worn by men, and native clothing is different to "mestizo" clothing.

Typical women clothing includes a skirt, a "huipil" (a kind of sleeve-less tunic), a "quechquémitl" (a closed shoulder cape) and a "rebozo" (a kind of shawl).

Mexican clothing for men is mostly "European-like", which means that both the trousers and the shirt are European garments, and possibly the only native addition to the men's wardrobe is a large blanket cape, called "Sarape". Men often wear Mexican boots too.

As for Mexican clothing used on celebrations, we can find a different costume for almost every special day of the year. National festivities are celebrated with typical clothes and accessories (including the famous Mexican Sombrero). Some special days like the Day of the Death are closely related to religion, and that can be seen on the costumes too. During the Carnival, the Mexican clothing of choice is the "Charro" suit, popularized by the famous musical ensembles known as the Mariachis.