Many people are unaware that a large percentage of people in south and central America are not Hispanic or "just" Latino, but are actually of native descent. These natives have had their own long tradition of arts and crafts, including intricate metalwork, since before the arrival of the Spanish. Native influence in mestizo art can be found in its complex metal and woodwork, the subject matter of the art--such as slavery and social criticism--and even the objects featured in paintings, such as tortillas and tamales instead of fruit in still lifes.
European art has a long history in painting and sculpting. These have traditionally been religious in subject, and even portraits frequently had some religious references. Symbolism was a fixture, at times with flowers being ascribed complex meaning. With time, as the races began to mix more, "pinturas de castas," or "Caste Paintings" were used to show what racial mixture produced what kind of mestizo and their rank in society.
Mexico accepted Mestizaje (mestizo heritage) as a racial and cultural identity after the Mexican Revolution of 1910, at which time the art began moving away from European traditions to a national art movement that embraced political, historical and folk themes. This mixture can be seen in everything from the cuisine to dia de los muertos processions and the way "virgenes" and "santas" are presented in native or traditional garb while painted in the posed European style. This characteristic of European tradition with political, historic, folk and indigenous themes can also be seen in the danzas of the region, many of which are variations of dances like the Waltz (el Vals). In visual arts, characteristics derived from native arts, such as the use of angular, linear patterns, and three-dimensional ceramics, are still commonly seen. Traditional handicrafts like pottery making, basket weaving and embroidery are still popular. Architecture continues to have pre-Columbian influences in everything from adobe housing to bass relief murals on walls.