Culture is valued differently according to each country, and its people’s beliefs, although it is not always clear how one could measure this. According to Ernesto Piedras, in his book “¿What is the value of Culture? Economic Contribution of Copyright Protected Industries” the value of culture considers activities which are developed upon artistic and literary original creations, which are subject to copyright. Ernesto Piedras implies that cultural industries are by themselves, a sector of economic activity that shares similar characteristics to other economic activity sectors.
Although Mexico is known for its …

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded in 1945 with the aim of contributing peace and security to the world through education, science, culture and communications. The Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was founded in 1972 merging from two separate movements, the first focusing on the preservation of cultural sites, and the other dealing with the conservation of nature.
Every year the UNESCO publishes the World Heritage List, which lists objects (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, …

The 63rd edition of the International Film Festival Cannes was lived in a very Mexican way, demonstrating that Mexico is following close in the film industry. One of the first signs of this is that Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal was elected to preside the jury, which is made up of experts, actors, directors, etc.
The award of the Golden Camera for Best Opera Prima was for the Mexican film Leap Year, directed by the Mexican director, Michael Rowe. As he handed over the award, Gael García Bernal said, “It was …

Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion form Coldplay, a British alternative rock band that was formed in London in 1997. Being one of the world´s most popular bands, it is interesting to know that Coldplay’s lead vocalist, Chris Martin has very strong feelings for Mexico, which inspired the band in their last album’s name and led the group to close their Viva la Vida tour in Mexico.
Coldplay’s last album, Viva la Vida or Death and all his Friends, is named after one of Frida Kahlo’s most …

Mexican writer Chloe Aridjis has received the French Mercure Award for her first book titled “Book of Clouds.”
“Book of Clouds” is a portrait of Berlin in the early twenty-first century through the eyes of Tatiana, a young Mexican who comes to the German capital on a scholarship, Aridjis explained.
The writer, daughter of Mexican poet and diplomat Homero Aridjis said she is pleased because the award coincides with the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. She vividly recalls how she lived those days, watching from the other …

When president Obama visited Mexico earlier this year, he made reference to the parallelisms between two icons of Mexican and American history: Benito Juárez and Abraham Lincoln.
A few months later, the lives of these two extraordinary ex-presidents are celebrated with two exhibitions at Chicago’s History Museum as part of the commemoration of Abraham Lincoln’s bicentennial.
The life of Benito Juarez (1806-1872) is legendary. Born in a small village in the Mexican southern state of Oaxaca and from very humble origins, he embarked in his pursuit to reform Mexico in the …

Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler is an exhibition that opened only last week at the British Museum and it has already been reviewed by the British press as a blockbuster.
The exhibition, which runs until January 2010, explores the Aztec civilization through the role of its last elected ruler: Moctezuma II, who reigned from 1502 until the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1520AD.
Moctezuma was considered part-deity, chief army commander, commissioner of the arts, orator and had none less than 19 kids. While his life was indeed complex and semi-mythical, he …