The National Symbols

Transcript

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1. Cold open
2. Three symbols. Every Mexican schoolchild can name them, and the exam takes for granted that you can too. Ready? What are the national symbols of Mexico?
   1 exam question

   What are the national symbols of Mexico?

   Flag, coat of arms, and national anthem

   Study these in the flash cards

3. Your turn — say it out loud

4. The flag, the coat of arms and the national anthem. All three are protected by law. That is the whole of this episode, and by the end of it you will know where each one comes from.
   1 exam question

   What are the national symbols of Mexico?

   Flag, coat of arms, and national anthem

   Study these in the flash cards
5. The episode
6. Start with the coat of arms. What do the eagle and the serpent actually represent?
   1 exam question

   What do the eagle and the serpent on the Mexican national coat of arms represent?

   They evoke a pre-Hispanic legend

   Study these in the flash cards
7. They evoke a pre-Hispanic legend. The god Huitzilopochtli told the Mexica to settle where they found one exact sign: an eagle perched on a nopal cactus, devouring a serpent. They found it on an islet in Lake Texcoco and founded Tenochtitlan there, traditionally in 1325. Mexico City stands on that site today.
   1 exam question

   What do the eagle and the serpent on the Mexican national coat of arms represent?

   They evoke a pre-Hispanic legend

   Study these in the flash cards
8. And that eagle has a name?
   1 exam question

   What is Mexico's national animal?

   The golden eagle (águila real)

   Study these in the flash cards
9. It is the golden eagle, the águila real, and it is Mexico's national animal. The xoloitzcuintle and the jaguar matter culturally, but the official answer is the golden eagle.
   1 exam question

   What is Mexico's national animal?

   The golden eagle (águila real)

   Study these in the flash cards
10. The coat of arms sits at the centre of the flag. What about the three colours?
    2 exam questions

    What are the national symbols of Mexico?

    Flag, coat of arms, and national anthem

    What do the colors of the Mexican flag traditionally represent?

    Green represents hope, white unity, and red the blood of those who fought for the nation

    Study these in the flash cards
11. Green for hope, white for unity, red for the blood of those who fought for the nation. That is the reading taught in schools. The colours themselves are older: they come from the Army of the Three Guarantees of 1821, where green stood for independence, white for religion and red for the union of Mexicans and Spaniards. The secular reinterpretation came later, in the era of Benito Juárez.
    1 exam question

    What do the colors of the Mexican flag traditionally represent?

    Green represents hope, white unity, and red the blood of those who fought for the nation

    Study these in the flash cards
12. That leaves the anthem. Who wrote it?
    1 exam question

    Who composed the music and lyrics of the Mexican national anthem?

    Francisco González Bocanegra (Lyrics) and Jaime Nunó (Music)

    Study these in the flash cards
13. Two people, and the exam likes to swap them. Francisco González Bocanegra wrote the lyrics, after winning a contest in 1853 — the story goes that his fiancée locked him in a room until he finished it. Jaime Nunó, a Spanish-born band director, wrote the music. Bocanegra the poet, Nunó the musician.
    1 exam question

    Who composed the music and lyrics of the Mexican national anthem?

    Francisco González Bocanegra (Lyrics) and Jaime Nunó (Music)

    Study these in the flash cards
14. And when did it become official?
    1 exam question

    When was the national anthem officially declared?

    In 1943, during the presidency of Manuel Ávila Camacho. It was first sung on September 15, 1854

    Study these in the flash cards
15. It was sung for the first time on the fifteenth of September, 1854, but it was not made official until 1943, by decree of President Manuel Ávila Camacho. Almost a century apart, and the exam asks for both dates.
    1 exam question

    When was the national anthem officially declared?

    In 1943, during the presidency of Manuel Ávila Camacho. It was first sung on September 15, 1854

    Study these in the flash cards
16. What is it about?
    1 exam question

    What is the dominant theme of the Mexican national anthem?

    An exhortation to defensive war

    Study these in the flash cards
17. Defensive war. It is an exhortation to defend the homeland against a foreign invader: “Mexicanos, al grito de guerra, el acero aprestad y el bridón” — ready your steel and your war horse.
    2 exam questions

    What is the dominant theme of the Mexican national anthem?

    An exhortation to defensive war

    How does the Mexican national anthem continue after "Mexicanos, al grito de guerra"?

    El acero aprestad y el bridón

    Study these in the flash cards
18. Recap
19. Quickly, before the rapid fire. Three symbols: flag, coat of arms, anthem. The eagle is the golden eagle, on a nopal, over a serpent, from the founding of Tenochtitlan. Bocanegra wrote the words, Nunó the music, first sung in 1854, official in 1943.
    4 exam questions

    What are the national symbols of Mexico?

    Flag, coat of arms, and national anthem

    What is Mexico's national animal?

    The golden eagle (águila real)

    Who composed the music and lyrics of the Mexican national anthem?

    Francisco González Bocanegra (Lyrics) and Jaime Nunó (Music)

    When was the national anthem officially declared?

    In 1943, during the presidency of Manuel Ávila Camacho. It was first sung on September 15, 1854

    Study these in the flash cards
20. Rapid fire
21. Rapid fire. Answer out loud in the gap; the answer follows.
22. What are the national symbols of Mexico?
    1 exam question

    What are the national symbols of Mexico?

    Flag, coat of arms, and national anthem

    Study these in the flash cards

23. Your turn — say it out loud

24. Flag, coat of arms, and national anthem
    1 exam question

    What are the national symbols of Mexico?

    Flag, coat of arms, and national anthem

    Study these in the flash cards
25. What is Mexico's national animal?
    1 exam question

    What is Mexico's national animal?

    The golden eagle (águila real)

    Study these in the flash cards

26. Your turn — say it out loud

27. The golden eagle (águila real)
    1 exam question

    What is Mexico's national animal?

    The golden eagle (águila real)

    Study these in the flash cards
28. Who composed the music and lyrics of the Mexican national anthem?
    1 exam question

    Who composed the music and lyrics of the Mexican national anthem?

    Francisco González Bocanegra (Lyrics) and Jaime Nunó (Music)

    Study these in the flash cards

29. Your turn — say it out loud

30. Francisco González Bocanegra (Lyrics) and Jaime Nunó (Music)
    1 exam question

    Who composed the music and lyrics of the Mexican national anthem?

    Francisco González Bocanegra (Lyrics) and Jaime Nunó (Music)

    Study these in the flash cards
31. Which national symbol was officially recognized in 1943?
    1 exam question

    Which national symbol was officially recognized in 1943?

    The national anthem

    Study these in the flash cards

32. Your turn — say it out loud

33. The national anthem
    1 exam question

    Which national symbol was officially recognized in 1943?

    The national anthem

    Study these in the flash cards
34. Sign-off
35. That is the set. Flag, coat of arms, anthem — the three you can count on being asked about.