With the Spaniards' arrival to Tenochtitlán, Mexican culture as we know it began to emerge with their racial, cultural and spiritual merging with the diverse pre-Hispanic inhabitants of those lands. The Concheros dances about which native Mexican, Alfredo Martinez, speaks to us, are just one representation of this fusion.

Could it be that the “Tu Rock es Votar” campaign resulted in a closer Mexican 2006 election, one that ironically left the youth feeling more disillusioned than ever? Felipe Calderón Hinojosa edged out Andrés Manuel López Obrador by such a thin margin that the losing side demanded a total recount, which was not granted. The ensuing cloud surrounding the election left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Mexicans.

Just over a quarter of Mexico’s 127.5 million people are aged 18-24, and as such the “youth vote” could easily make or break any candidate in Mexico’s upcoming election on July 2. Patterned after the “Rock the Vote” campaign in the USA, Tu Rock Es Votar is running a television, radio and web campaign that hopes to improve voter turnout in the Mexican youth population despite a general desencantado (“disenchanted”) attitude found amongst all eligible voters.