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Mexico Trivia Questions and Answers

40 questions with answers about Mexico: its states, volcanoes and wildlife, food, music, art, writers and sport.

40 questions · tap “Show answer” under each one · Answer key

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Round 1

  1. What is the main square of Mexico City usually called?

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    The Zócalo

    Its official name is the Plaza de la Constitución. Source

  2. Besides Mexico City, how many states make up Mexico?

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    31

    Mexico City is a separate federal entity, making 32 in all. Source

  3. What is Mexico's currency?

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    The peso

    Its sign is $, the same as the US dollar's. Source

  4. On the Mexican flag, what is the eagle eating?

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    A snake

    It stands on a cactus, from the Aztec story of the city's founding. Source

  5. Besides Spanish, how many Indigenous language groups does Mexico officially recognize?

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    68

    Nahuatl has the most speakers. Source

  6. Which ancient Zapotec city sits on a leveled mountaintop above the valley of Oaxaca?

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    Monte Albán

    It was founded around 500 BC. Source

  7. Which active volcano near Mexico City has a Nahuatl name meaning 'smoking mountain'?

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    Popocatépetl

    Its neighbor Iztaccíhuatl is 'the white woman'. Source

  8. Which volcano was born in a farmer's cornfield in Michoacán in 1943?

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    Parícutin

    It grew 336 m in its first year. Source

  9. Which body of water separates the Baja California peninsula from mainland Mexico?

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    The Gulf of California

    It's also called the Sea of Cortez. Source

  10. Cancún is in which Mexican state?

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    Quintana Roo

    It was built as a resort from the 1970s. Source

Round 2

  1. The Chicxulub crater, linked to the end of the dinosaurs, lies under which peninsula?

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    The Yucatán Peninsula

    The asteroid struck about 66 million years ago. Source

  2. What is a natural sinkhole filled with water, common in the Yucatán, called?

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    A cenote

    The Maya saw some cenotes as sacred. Source

  3. Which salamander, able to regrow its limbs, lives in the wild only around Mexico City?

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    The axolotl

    It keeps its gills all its life. Source

  4. Which butterflies spend the winter in the forests of Michoacán?

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    Monarch butterflies

    They fly thousands of kilometers from Canada and the US. Source

  5. Which tiny dog breed is named after a Mexican state?

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    The Chihuahua

    It's one of the smallest dog breeds. Source

  6. Which painter is famous for her self-portraits and her Blue House in Coyoacán?

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    Frida Kahlo

    The Blue House is now a museum. Source

  7. Which muralist was married to Frida Kahlo?

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    Diego Rivera

    They married twice, in 1929 and in 1940. Source

  8. The Day of the Dead is celebrated mainly on which days?

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    November 1 and 2

    Families build altars, called ofrendas, for their dead. Source

  9. Which orange flower decorates Day of the Dead altars?

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    The marigold

    In Mexico it's called cempasúchil. Source

  10. What is the poinsettia, a Christmas plant native to Mexico, called there?

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    Nochebuena

    Its English name honors a US diplomat, Joel Poinsett. Source

Round 3

  1. Mole poblano is named after which city?

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    Puebla

    Its dark sauce mixes chili peppers with chocolate. Source

  2. Tequila is made from which plant?

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    Blue agave

    The heart of the plant, the piña, is cooked and crushed. Source

  3. The town of Tequila is in which state?

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    Jalisco

    Its agave landscape is a World Heritage Site. Source

  4. Which drink did the Aztecs make from cacao beans?

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    Chocolate

    They drank it bitter, often with chili. Source

  5. Traditional Mexican tortillas are made from…?

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    Corn

    Wheat tortillas are more common in the north. Source

  6. Immigrants from which country brought Mexico the spit-roasting style behind tacos al pastor?

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    Lebanon

    The meat is cooked on a vertical spit, like shawarma. Source

  7. Which music from Jalisco was added to UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2011?

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    Mariachi

    A classic group has violins, trumpets and guitars. Source

  8. The song 'La Bamba' comes from which folk music of Veracruz?

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    Son jarocho

    Ritchie Valens made it a rock hit in 1958. Source

  9. What is Mexican professional wrestling, with its masked fighters, called?

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    Lucha libre

    A wrestler who loses a mask match must unmask. Source

  10. Which Mexico City stadium hosted the World Cup finals of 1970 and 1986?

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    Estadio Azteca

    It was the first stadium to host two men's World Cup finals. Source

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Round 4

  1. In which year did Mexico City host the Summer Olympics?

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    1968

    It was the first Olympics held in Latin America. Source

  2. Which Mexican writer won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990?

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    Octavio Paz

    His best-known essay is 'The Labyrinth of Solitude'. Source

  3. Who wrote the novel 'Pedro Páramo'?

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    Juan Rulfo

    It's set in Comala, a town of ghosts. Source

  4. Which comic actor starred as Passepartout in 'Around the World in 80 Days' (1956)?

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    Cantinflas

    His real name was Mario Moreno. Source

  5. Which character created by Roberto Gómez Bolaños is a boy who hides in a barrel?

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    El Chavo del Ocho

    The show was a hit across Latin America from the 1970s. Source

  6. Monterrey is the capital of which state?

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    Nuevo León

    It's one of Mexico's biggest industrial cities. Source

  7. Which is Mexico's largest state by area?

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    Chihuahua

    It borders the US states of Texas and New Mexico. Source

  8. Which Mexican city is nicknamed 'the Pearl of the West'?

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    Guadalajara

    It's the capital of Jalisco. Source

  9. Which equestrian sport is Mexico's official national sport?

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    Charrería

    Its riders, the charros, wear wide sombreros. Source

  10. Which hairless dog breed was kept by the Aztecs?

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    The Xoloitzcuintle

    Its name combines the god Xolotl and itzcuintli, 'dog'. Source

Answer key

Round 1

  1. The Zócalo
  2. 31
  3. The peso
  4. A snake
  5. 68
  6. Monte Albán
  7. Popocatépetl
  8. Parícutin
  9. The Gulf of California
  10. Quintana Roo

Round 2

  1. The Yucatán Peninsula
  2. A cenote
  3. The axolotl
  4. Monarch butterflies
  5. The Chihuahua
  6. Frida Kahlo
  7. Diego Rivera
  8. November 1 and 2
  9. The marigold
  10. Nochebuena

Round 3

  1. Puebla
  2. Blue agave
  3. Jalisco
  4. Chocolate
  5. Corn
  6. Lebanon
  7. Mariachi
  8. Son jarocho
  9. Lucha libre
  10. Estadio Azteca

Round 4

  1. 1968
  2. Octavio Paz
  3. Juan Rulfo
  4. Cantinflas
  5. El Chavo del Ocho
  6. Nuevo León
  7. Chihuahua
  8. Guadalajara
  9. Charrería
  10. The Xoloitzcuintle

Link to this page

Sources

  1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zócalo
  2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States of Mexico
  3. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican peso
  4. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag of Mexico
  5. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages of Mexico
  6. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte Albán
  7. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popocatépetl
  8. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parícutin
  9. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf of California
  10. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancún
  11. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub crater
  12. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenote
  13. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axolotl
  14. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch butterfly
  15. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chihuahua (dog)
  16. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida Kahlo
  17. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego Rivera
  18. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day of the Dead
  19. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagetes erecta
  20. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poinsettia
  21. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole poblano
  22. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tequila
  23. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tequila, Jalisco
  24. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History of chocolate
  25. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortilla
  26. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al pastor
  27. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariachi
  28. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La Bamba (song)
  29. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucha libre
  30. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio Azteca
  31. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968 Summer Olympics
  32. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavio Paz
  33. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro Páramo
  34. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantinflas
  35. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El Chavo del Ocho
  36. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterrey
  37. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chihuahua (state)
  38. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalajara
  39. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charreada
  40. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xoloitzcuintle

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