.png){kind=logo}
Mexico is a country located in North America, bordered by the United States to the north, Belize and Guatemala to the south, and the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico to the west and east, respectively. It is the third-largest country in Latin America after Brazil and Argentina, and has a population of over 130 million people. Mexico has a rich and diverse culture, with influences from the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, Spanish colonialism, and modern American culture.
Mexico is well-known for its vibrant food, music, and art. The country is famous for its traditional dishes such as tacos, enchiladas, and mole sauce, and its popular music styles include mariachi and banda. Mexico is also home to many ancient ruins, such as the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, the Mayan pyramids of Chichen Itza, and the ancient Olmec heads. The country's capital and largest city is Mexico City, the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world.
Mexico has a complex history, from the ancient civilizations that flourished before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, to the Mexican War of Independence in 1821 and the subsequent formation of the Mexican Republic. Mexico also played a vital role in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848, and the country's relationship with the United States continues to shape its politics and economy today. Mexico is a federal presidential representative democratic republic.
1. Although they each use their own version of the currency, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Philippines, and Uruguay all use a currency with what four-letter name?
Answer: Peso
2. The Nahuas are the largest indigenous group in Mexico. Their language, Nahuatl, has provided a whole party’s worth of words to English, including “chocolate,” “chili,” “guacamole,” and the word for what distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant?
Answer: Tequila
3. Mexico's Mario Molina picked up a 1995 Chemistry Nobel for his role in discovering that CFCs are a threat to what UV-absorbing portion of Earth's stratosphere?
Answer: Ozone
4. Euphorbia pulcherrima, a flower native to Mexico, originally made it to the U.S. in the early 1800s. But it was florist Paul Ecke Sr. in the early 1920s who popularized what plant as the consummate holiday flower?
Answer: Poinsettia
5. English loanwords from the indigenous Nahuatl language of Mexico include coyote, tomato, and what word that names a fast casual restaurant with over 3,000 locations?
Answer: Chipotle
6. Celebrated with tequila and sombreros by many Americans, Cinco De Mayo actually commemorates the not-so-boozy defeat of the French by what nation at the 1862 Battle of Puebla?
Answer: Mexico
7. Celebrated on December 12, Our Lady of Guadalupe Day draws Catholics from around the world to pay homage to an image of the Virgin Mary located in what country?
Answer: Mexico
8. The words "chocolate," "axolotl," and "ocelot" all originate from Nahuatl, a language spoken by roughly 1.7 million speakers in what country?
Answer: Mexico
9. Known as Fright Fest at all U.S. locations, but known as Festival de Terror in Mexico, the Halloween-oriented haunt event with attractions and themed "Scare Zones" is an annual staple at what chain of theme parks?
Answer: Six Flags
10. In 2012, Mexico added a clause to its national constitution guaranteeing a right to what vital resource? It also passed a new law to implement the constitutional provision.
Answer: Water
11. If you head directly south from San Diego, what border town resort will be the first city you hit in Mexico?
Answer: Tijuana
12. Which comedy set in Mexico stars Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short as a trio of friends?
Answer: Three Amigos
13. What major world capital sits on the site of an ancient body of water named Lake Texcoco, which was almost entirely drained by Spanish colonists the 17th century?
Answer: Mexico City
14. Home to a Great Pyramid of the non-Egyptian variety, which city in Puebla, Mexico gives its name to a wooden-capped brand of hot sauce?
Answer: Cholula
15. What crop, North America's most widely grown grain, was developed in southern Mexico from a wild grass called teosinte?
Answer: Corn
16. In certain countries, December 12 marks the celebratory feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the religious figure who is revered and regarded as the Patron Saint and Queen of what American nation?
Answer: Mexico
17. The Kentucky Club in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was a historical hotspot for Americans fleeing Prohibition, and claims to be the birthplace of what cocktail, invented and named for a female patron?
Answer: Margarita
18. The evidence of the earliest use of chocolate was found at an archaeological site of the pre-Olmec Mokaya people dating back to 1900 BC. In what country is this site located?
Answer: Mexico
19. Claudia Sheinbaum was the frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election in what country because presidents are limited to a single six-year term (called a sexenio) and the current officeholder’s time was up?
Answer: Mexico
20. From what present-day country, formerly ancient Mesoamerica, does chocolate originate?
Answer: Mexico
21. La Casa Azul, or Blue House, is a museum in Mexico City devoted to the works of what artist, who was born there?
Answer: Frida Kahlo
22. Gabrielle Solis, the character played by Eva Longoria in Desperate Housewives, was born in what large "G" city in Mexico?
Answer: Guadalajara
23. In 2019, Walmart opened 134 new locations in the country in which it has its second-most locations (after the United States of course). What is this country?
Answer: Mexico
24. In the 1990s, Walmart went global for the first time when partnering with Cifra, who was a retailer in what country?
Answer: Mexico
25. What “T” resort town on Mexico’s Caribbean coast is home to a 13th century walled Mayan archaeological site? Its Coba region contains pyramid shaped temples that overlook the jungle.
Answer: Tulum
26. If you’re in Mecca near the border of Mexico, what’s the name of the saline lake you can visit that’s saltier than the ocean and full of dead fish?
Answer: Salton Sea
27. Which fintech company in Mexico has a feminine name that starts with C and helps companies streamline their cash flow?
Answer: Clara
28. Popular in Northern Mexico and among Spanish-speaking Texans, “La Canícula” refers to the rainless, hot, stagnant days between July and August. It's equivalent to what 2-word alliterative idiom that's more common to English speakers?
Answer: Dog days
29. In this borough, you can take a ride on a boat called a trajinera on canals which are all that remains of an ancient lake. What name is shared by that lake, and this modern-day borough of Mexico City?
Answer: Xochimilco
30. Arabica coffee, combined with rum and sugar, is the main ingredient of what liqueur produced in Veracruz, Mexico?
Answer: Kahlua
31. When it was formed by the Mexica around 1325, what was the original name of what is now Mexico City? The meaning of the name, which starts with T, is not agreed on but it might mean something like: “rocks growing among prickly pears.”
Answer: Tenochtitlan
32. Jalisco, Guerrero, and Coahuila are just a few of the 32 Federal Entities of which Latin American country?
Answer: Mexico
33. Found on its national flag as well as many other national symbols, what species of eagle is the official animal emblem of the country of Mexico?
Answer: Golden Eagle
34. Ernesto Zillo, Vicente Fox, and Felipe Calderon have all served one six year term as president of which North American country?
Answer: Mexico
35. A common misconception is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s Independence Day. It isn’t, as Mexico’s Independence Day actually falls on which date?
Answer: September 16
36. What network, which has had better luck with its Real Housewives franchises, canceled its 2019 reality show about Mexico City families, "Mexican Dynasties," after one season?
Answer: Bravo
37. In 2016 a hacker named Andres Sepulveda claimed to have been paid to hack files and create thousands of enthusiasm-feigning bots to help Enrique Pena Nieto win a presidential election in what country?
Answer: Mexico
38. In which 1848 treaty that ended the Mexican-American War did Mexico cede the territory that would become the state of Colorado?
Answer: Guadalupe-Hidalgo
39. High floodwaters in 1864 caused the Rio Grande to shift, creating a "banco" of land that would be disputed for 100 years between Texas and Mexico. What was the name given to the disputed area, which is marked by a memorial and museum today?
Answer: El Chamizal
40. The second largest marine oil spill in history (after Deepwater Horizon) occurred in 1979 after the oil well Ixtoc 1 suffered a blowout. This disaster took place 60 miles off the coast of what country?
Answer: Mexico
41. Known to nest in saguaro cacti, the Elf Owl is only found in the wild in which two countries?
Answer: USA and Mexico
42. Pepsi subsidiary Frito-Lay sells chips in Mexico under what name, a portmanteau combining the Spanish words for "tasty" and "fried?"
Answer: Sabritas
43. "Huitlacoche," a kind of smut or fungal plant disease that's considered a delicacy in Mexican cuisine, grows on what other crop important in Mexico and Latin America?
Answer: Corn
44. If you need the biggest cup of coffee ever to start your day, you’re probably just being dramatic. But if you’re serious about a super-sized cup of joe, the world record for the largest cup of coffee was over 7,000 U.S. gallons. What country achieved the feat in 2022?
Answer: Mexico
45. What former “Desperate Housewives” star went “Searching for Mexico” on the six-episode namesake CNN travel series in 2023 to learn about the country's history and culture by roving around the North American nation?
Answer: Eva Longoria
46. Canals, colorful gondolas, and floating islands called chinampas are the landmarks of Xochimilco, a neighborhood in what city popular among tourists?
Answer: Mexico City
47. The Pumas, aka U.N.A.M., were kitted out in Nike and played home games at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario in what host city of the 1968 Olympics?
Answer: Mexico City
48. “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado and rapper Peso Pluma topped the global Billboard Charts in the first half of 2023. What country is Pluma from?
Answer: Mexico
49. What Tex-Mex dish is the primary legacy of Ignacio Anaya, a maître d' at the Victory Club restaurant in Piedras Negras, Mexico in the 1940s?
Answer: Nachos
50. What solar power plant found in Mexico, is the largest solar power farm in North America?
Answer: Villanueva
51. Founded in 2012, Buho Logistics has specialized in printed items supply chains, and was founded in which North American country?
Answer: Mexico
52. Following Costa Rican independence in the early 1820s, the Imperialists were in favor of joining forces with what other nearby Empire? The competing viewpoint was put forward by the Republicans who defended full independence.
Answer: The Mexican Empire
53. Written in Spanish, "Like Water for Chocolate" is the 1989 debut novel by Laura Esquivel, an author from what country?
Answer: Mexico
54. Runners start at Estadio Olímpico Universitario before running 10km down Insurgentes Sur to begin the marathon in what world capital city?
Answer: Mexico City
55. Originating in Mexico, the axolotl is a paedomorphic species of which order of amphibians?
Answer: Salamander
56. The United Kingdom was the first country on which the U.S. formally declared war. What was the second?
Answer: Mexico
57. The English word "chocolate" comes from a Spanish word which comes from a classic word in what language spoken widely in Central Mexico during the 16th century Spanish Conquest?
Answer: Nahuatl
58. Prior to 2016, what capital city in the Americas was technically referred to as a “District Federal” in its native language?
Answer: Mexico City
59. The Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica operates under what "Hollywood"-esque name in much of Latin America, including Argentina, Mexico, and Costa Rica?
Answer: Movistar
60. In 1913, Pedro Lascuráin was made president during a military coup. However, he holds the world record for shortest-ever presidency, since it lasted less than one hour. What country was he the (temporary) leader of?
Answer: Mexico
61. What artist created an enormous mural titled "The History of Mexico" for the stairwell of Mexico City's National Palace from 1929 to 1935?
Answer: Diego Rivera
62. The Ariel Awards, or Premio Ariel, is considered which country’s equivalent to the Oscars?
Answer: Mexico
63. What Costa Rican-Mexican singer was called "la voz áspera de la ternura" and was known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras? She lived to the age of 93 before passing away in Mexico in 2012.
Answer: Chavela Vargas
64. Taking its name from an Arawak word for "barbeque," barbacoa is slow-roasted meat usually taken from the cheeks of what animal in Mexico? You could also ask for "cabrito" to order this animal's meat in a different style.
Answer: Goat
65. Maximilian I was an Austrian archduke who, from 1864 until his 1867 execution, served as the first and only emperor in the "Second Empire" of what country?
Answer: Mexico
66. What Latina and Chicago native wrote "Caramelo," a novel about a Mexican-American family in Chicago who takes an annual road trip to visit their “Awful Grandmother” in Mexico City?
Answer: Sandra Cisneros
67. Located on the Yucatan Peninsula, what Mexican state sounds like it might contain Australian mammals but is actually named for a lawyer who fought for Mexican independence?
Answer: Quintana Roo
68. When the first Civil War of Costa Rica occurred in the 1820s, one side wanted full independence and the other side was in favor of joining what other nation?
Answer: Mexico
69. Which species of bird, including the green-tailed and white-chinned, is often spotted in South America and southern Mexico?
Answer: Jacamar
Water Cooler Trivia is well-equipped to provide you with exciting and engaging trivia quizzes.
So, how does it work?
Each week, our team will deliver original trivia quizzes straight to your inbox.
All you have to do is pick the categories.
You can leave the rest of the heavy lifting to us.
Take Water Cooler Trivia for a test run with our four-week free trial.
We do everything we can to ensure that Water Cooler Trivia's questions are appropriate, relevant, and accurate. Our database has tens of thousands of questions, so we don't always get it right. If you see a question that needs editing, we would love if you let us know here or email [email protected].
.png)