(Business Lounge Journal – Special Report)
In a world where creativity and ideas have become important to global economy, Mexico maintains its position as a source of young talent. A young population of Mexicans, growing hand in hand with technology development, have found a way to integrate their cultural identity and traditions into new trends of the creative industries. Their creative tradition and innovation capacity are also joined by technology, such as video game development, digital animation, film and television production.
Business Lounge Journal interview the ambassador of Mexico of Indonesia, Mr. Federico Salas to get in depth knowledge on Mexican culture and creativity.
BL (Business Lounge Journal)
FS (Federico Salas)
Part 1: Mexican Creative Industry
BL: What is the situation of Mexico’s creative industry?
FS: This is the fact that we were very young country. More than half the population of Mexico is under 25 years old and it is the young people that are driving this. People that are entering it’s a new generation that is looking at the world in a very different way that is obviously pursuing different ways of expressing their creativity. And of course they have found the new technologies and in the new ways of communication, a more creative way of expressing themselves. That’s why there is a strong drive.
You know the sector that’s involved in creative industry in general as I said it’s growing very fast. It helps the fact that you know Mexico is close to the market of the United States and which of course observe a lot of these products. For those who know Mexico has a wider range of free trade agreement with Europe and Latin America, with United States, now we’re moving in a more forceful fashion towards the pacific region and so the market that’s available for Mexican product and for Mexican creativity is very large and it’s growing all the time. So obviously this is an important contribution to the Mexican growth, to the Mexican economy. The export sector today in Mexico is the most dynamic one of the economy in the country and the one that is growing fastest.
BL: How does the government help the young industries?
FS: Yeah there are tax incentives. I also support for those schools and the center of learning that people can learn or have the tools for work on this. In two ways, one of them of course is a technical aspect of the creative industries and something like workshop, and the other one of course is training people to be entrepreneurs like business administrators, so they know once you have the technical knowledge, what are you going to do about it. How you’re going to be go out setting up a business. So that’s sort of I would say the government contribution but I think the largest contribution of course comes from the initiative of a million young people. I know the young people, but most of the young people that are want to do something and something to expand the creative industry in Mexico.
BL: How do your creative product compete in the global scale?
FS: Maybe you know the thing that you have to look at I think is two things here. One of them is quality of the creative product, and not just the quantity of it. And I think that what you get is from some of the country like China of course you’re getting you know larger quantity good thing in some cases but the thing that you know what Mexico is trying to provide better quality of things in what we’re providing. Another aspect that I think is important for you to know is that a creative economic sectors in Mexico are today they integrated with the American market, so we doing things together with them, you know. Yes we are competing, sometimes we’re competing together entrepreneurs in the United States and in Mexico for the market, not only of the United States but also the Mexican market which is a large and growing market and some the other markets around the world, Latin America is also developing the significant pace and another places in the world.
Part 2: Mexican Culture
BL: Can you tell me about the culture of the people of Mexico?
FS: Mexico is a country that has a very-very rich and old culture, an ancient culture. As you probably know, the Mexican people originated way back in thousands of years in some remarkable civilization before the European formally came to the American continent. At the time of the discovery of America and eventually at the time of the European arrival to the territory that is now Mexico, the world as a very-very important civilization. Mexico, what is now Mexico city for example used to give an idea in 1520 which is of the time one of the Spanish conquest or the Spanish conquest was going on to conquer Mexico. Mexico City was a largest city of the world and it was a remarkable urban center built their islands built on that had a system of channels and irrigation and which it was quite remarkable for its time for the Spanish were actually quite astonished by what they saw, not only the beauty of the place but the technology that it involve. So we have that and of course we have the what we’ve been heritage from the European, so what you have today in Mexico is basically what we call them Mestizaje , which is the combination of the Asian civilization of Mexico combine with the European heritage that we had acquired mostly from Spain but not only also from France and another country that have had an important influence and presence in Mexico.
BL: How does the rich culture contribute to the creative aspects of the generation Y?
FS: People in Mexico are very creative that is a whole point. They are very creative historically speaking, I mean you know we were able to, as I said you know you can see in Mexico wherever you go the things that we have built, the things that we have made of traditional things which are important are now being channeled into the creative industry, into the high end industries of the world. We also being creative in making for example games and applications and that type of thing. What you have is a culture people that are simply creative and innovating and always thinking of new way of doing things, how you going to make something that’s a craft or ceramics, pot or paint something or build something that is going to be a part of something very high technology, tablet, mobile phone, or whatever.
Michael Judah Sumbayak adalah pengajar di Vibiz LearningCenter (VbLC) untuk entrepreneurship dan branding. Seorang penggemar jas dan kopi hitam. Follow instagram nya di @michaeljudahsumbek