Deeply rich and colourful, Mexico's vibrant culture is evident wherever you look. It has a spirit that soaks itself into the art, the architecture, the food and the literature. Mexico is covered with murals, littered with galleries, carries a deep folk-art tradition and has produced some of the world's most renowned painters. Its ancient civilizations have produced some of the most spectacular architecture ever built, while its modern proponents deliver some ground-breaking examples of contemporary design. And its writers, such as Carlos Fuentes and Octavio Paz, poetically evoke the Mexican psyche.

Mexicans have had a talent for art and color since pre-Hispanic times. Today, Mexico is covered with murals and littered with galleries of contemporary and historic art, which are a highlight of the country for many visitors. Mexican creativity is also expressed through the country's vibrant folk-art tradition. Notable examples of pre-Hispanic art include the Olmecs' monumental stone heads, the early Paradise of Tláloc murals at Teotihuacán and the Mayan murals at Bonampak in Chiapas.

The art of the colonial period was largely religious and Spanish in tone. The influence of indigenous artisans can be seen in the elaborate altarpieces and sculpted walls and ceilings that decorate the country's many churches. The arts were regarded as an important part of the national revival after the revolution. Mexico's top artists, such as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco, were commissioned to decorate important public buildings with large, vivid murals on social and historical themes. Frida Kahlo, who married Rivera, painted anguished self-portraits and surreal images that became hugely popular in the 1980s, decades after her death. These days Mexico City and Oaxaca have thriving contemporary arts scenes, with artists like Luis Zárate and Rodolfo Morales leading the charge.

Renowned Mexican writers include Carlos Fuentes, Jorge Ibargüengoitia and the 1990 Nobel Prize-winner Octavio Paz. Juan Rulfo is generally regarded as the country's supreme novelist. His novel Pedro Páramo has been described as ' Wuthering Heights set in Mexico and written by Kafka.' Laura Esquivel achieved huge success with Like Water for Chocolate (1989).

Mexico's ancient civilizations produced some of the most spectacular, eye-pleasing architecture ever built. Sites such as Teotihuacán, Monte Albán, Chichén Itzá and Uxmal are fairly intact examples of pre-Hispanic cities, with their ceremonial centers, pyramids, temples and ball courts. One of the first preoccupations of the Spanish was to replace these pagan structures with Christian churches. Plazas were now the focal point of each settlement, and the churches that replaced the temples reflected European styles such as Gothic, flamboyant Baroque, plateresque, Churrigueresque and neoclassical. Post-revolutionary Mexico saw a return to pre-Hispanic roots, known as Toltecism, exhibiting colorful murals and stocky Aztec architectural forms. Mexico is increasingly gaining a name for its ground-breaking modern architecture, for example the 1990s glass arrowhead of the Centro Bursátil.

Mexican cuisine is centered around three national staples: tortillas, beans and chili peppers. Tortillas are thin round patties of pressed corn or wheat-flour dough cooked on griddles. Beans (frijoles) are eaten boiled, fried or refried, in soups, on tortillas or with just about anything. Apart from an astonishing array of freshly squeezed fruit juices (jugos) , which are readily available from street stalls, Mexico is also famous for its alcoholic beverages - mezcal and tequila in particular. Pulque is a mildly alcoholic drink derived directly from the sap of the maguey.