Our knowledge of ancient Aztec civilization comes from many different sources: archaeology, codices or painted books, comparative ethnological studies and the like. But it is not until the advent of writing that a clear picture of past history begins to emerge. That is not to say that historical accounts did not exist before the Conquest. […]
Continue Reading
The Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards under Cortes in the sixteenth century brought to an abrupt end the developing civilization of the ancient Aztecs. With the destruction of their capital of Tenochtitlan (now modern Mexico City) much of Aztec religion and culture was destroyed in a catastrophic cultural holocaust. However, within a few decades […]
Continue Reading
Several Mesoamerican researchers have recently cast doubt on the current interpretation of certain features of pre-Columbian cultures and their world outlook — in particular that of the Classical Aztecs and their literature. Revisionist history can represent an attempt to change an historical account for political or personal reasons. Or it can be a response to new […]
Continue Reading
To Part One Mesoamerican epic poetry and saga: What is epic? To Part One Mesoamerican epic poetry and saga: A survey * * * * * In previous articles we looked at the remnants of texts in Nahuatl (Classical Aztec), which, according to the Mexican scholars A. Garibay and Leon-Portilla, have all the characteristics of the epic […]
Continue Reading
The Nahuatl language and culture of the Aztecs of central Mexico are among the best-documented sources of information we have for understanding the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Aztec society was abruptly interrupted and brought to an untimely end by the Spanish invasion and conquest of Mexico-Tenochtitlan in 1521. Nevertheless, it is from this very […]
Continue Reading
How do we really know what happened in ancient Mexico before the arrival of the Spaniards and the introduction of writing? Many articles and books have been written on the history of ancient Mexico from Prescott’s popular but biased Conquest of Mexico in 1521, to innumerable studies of the Aztecs, the Maya, and other indigenous folk in scholarly […]
Continue ReadingThe agent is a point that shifts position. No choice but to run, hide, drift: bus after bus, one last run and goodbye to this country for good – but never the nightmare that encapsulates it. J2191948… J2191948… I’d slurped down some tacos of dubious origin in Magdalena, flipped a coin and called it for […]
Continue ReadingUntil the day breaks and the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. -Song of Solomon Summer day of bougainvillea, wild poinsettia and swaying jacarandas – carefree, carefree – a dry wind carried the restless spirit of the future on its back, fanned by strange […]
Continue Reading
The wave of media excitement generated in 2009 by the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño was on a par with the announcement of a new Britney Spears release, even if up until that moment little was really known about him. Bolaño, who succumbed to liver failure in 2003 at the age of 50 while residing in […]
Continue Reading
Poets have always intrigued me. Sensitive and observant about the world around them, they are an eclectic blend of artist, philosopher and dreamer and are too often underappreciated during their lifetimes. Several years ago, I was rummaging through a box of family photos with my dad, when he showed me an old, yellowing image of […]
Continue Reading