Mexica: A History Podcast

19/05/2024

Ran into Tenoch the Xolo at the soccer field today.

He was not very nice, but very beautiful.

11/11/2023

"I've listened to all the Aztec podcasts out there. Yours is the best."

Go deep on the real story of Cortes, Moctezuma and the "Fall of the Aztecs."

Listen to deeply sourced Mexica: A History Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and others.

Listen to Mexica: A History Podcast on Spotify. Mexica: A History Podcast is a 9-episode, audio narrative about the Conquest of Mexico, historically sourced (from both Indigenous sources and first hand European accounts). with the goal of bringing the rich sights, scents and sounds of the Mexica wor...

03/11/2023

In this post I compare the various written versions of the "Great Treasure" delivered to Cortes from Moctezuma. Most lists record the famous gold and silver discs, other items vary.

https://mexicapodcast.com/2022/02/02/great-treasure-of-moctezuma/

Below are lists and descriptions of the Great Treasure presented to Cortes in San Juan de Ulua. This is the legendary gift presented by Tendile and includes the much mentioned gold sun-disc and silv

10/09/2023

The Chapultepec Aqueduct is the most well known of the water sources that fed Tenochtitlan, and laer Mexico City. But there were two others that fed the island-capital of the Aztecs. One of the those came into the city from the south, known as the Acuecuexco Aqueduct.

Read more...

In the Churubusco neighborhood of Coyoacan there were a number of springs that watered the indigenous communities there. Tenochtitlan's Tlatoani Ahuitzotl, in a desire to feed his growing city, asked

09/09/2023

The Enchanted Spring of Xancopinca was said to be haunted by the ghost of La Malinche, who protected the hidden treasure of Cuauhtémoc.

It was also the source of the little known Tlatelolco Aqueduct. Read more...

Mexica: A deeply sourced audiocast of the Conquest of Mexico.

20/08/2023

A cross section of the Acuecuexco Aqueduct, which ran from Churubusco in Coyoacan to Tenochtitlan. The aqueduct caused great flooding in the capital city, ruining crops and buildings. It was both a crowning achievement and failure of Emperor Ahuitzotl.

From an article by Cesar Lizardi Ramos.

03/08/2023

Itzcoatl - 4th Tlatoani (King) of the Aztecs
1380-1440 - Reign: 1427-1440
Name: Obsidian Serpent
Itzcoatl established the Triple Alliance, or what is casually refrred to as the Aztec Empire. After his likely nepher Chimalpopoca was killed it freed the Mexica people from their loyalty to the Tepanec Empire. Itzcoatl, unemcumbered by loyalty to his Tepanec ancestors, led a war against Maxtla, the ruler of the Tepanec capital in Atzcapotzalco. The king of Texcoco, legendary cultural icon Nezahuacoyotl joined the Mexica ruler in this war. After the war was won a new alliance, which included the altepetl, or family-ruled city of Tlacopan, emerged. The three rulers, Itzcoatl, Nezahuacoyotl and Totoquihuatzli formed the Triple Alliance that would rule the Valley of Mexico until 1521.

After cementing the alliance and control of the northern Valley and lakes, Itzcoatl moved south into Lakes Xochimilco and Chalco. But first he took down the reigning altepetls of Culhuacan and Coyoacan. Then they moved on to the chinampa towns of Cuitlauhuac, Mixquic and others.

With the entire Valley in their control, the lords of the Triple Alliance established their titles and districts. Itzcoatl took the title of Lord of the Culhua, Totoquihuatzli of Tlacopan took on the Tepanec lands and people while Nezahuacoyotl remained as ruler the Acolhua people east of Texcoco. With their power consolidated the Triple Alliance took on the people of Cuahnahuac.

Itzcoatl married Huacaltzintli, a princess of Tlatelolco. Her brother was king of Tlatelolco, and she would be grandmother to three more kings of Tenochtitlan.

Itzcoatl's Accomplishments
• Established the Triple Alliance
• Conquered Culuhua and Coyoacan
• Overthrew Tepanec subjugation
• Conquered Chinampa People of lakes Chalco and Xochimilco
• Built a causeway
• Expanded infrastructure and buildings of Tenochtitlan
• Established new religious and political hierarchies

Itzcoatl died in 1440 and was succeeded by his nephew Moctezuma I.

23/04/2023

The Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan was named for him, but who was Tenoch?

16/04/2023

Surely one of history's bloodiest artefacts, the sword of Hernan Cortes sits, locked away, in a Madrid armory.

https://mexicapodcast.com/2020/12/

01/04/2023

Resurrecting the ancient ball game of Ulama (ullamaliztli).

Before its revival in the 2010s, this game once played all over the Mesoamerican world only still existed in four communities in Sinaloa.

22/03/2023

Tenoch: Mexica Founding Father, Myth and Legend.

Read more about the namesake of the Aztec capital city Tenochtitlan.

Tenoch is the person, whether real or mythological, for whom the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan is named. But who Tenoch was, is a bit of a mystery.He appears frequently in many of the codices, or an

12/03/2023

The Aztec migration from Aztlan is central to their history, whether mythological or real. The story of the migration is told in several of the remaining codices.
Image 1: Codex Azcatitlan - On page 8 of the Codex Azcatitlan the Mexica begin their journey from the ancestral land of Aztlan, shown as an island.
Image 2: The first page of the Codex Boturini also features an oarsmen paddling away from an island city to begin the journey out of Aztlan. In this image the first stop, Colhuacan, is shown. An altar to Huitzilopochtli is shown (hummingbird headdress).
Image 3: A depiction of Aztlan from the Codex Aubin, published 50 years after the Conquest.

07/01/2023

Itzcoatl - 4th Ruler of Tenochtitlan, First "Great Speaker" of the Triple Alliance

Itzcoatl immediately broke away from Tepenec subjugation, not having the same familial ties that his predecessor did to Tezozomoc of Azcapotzalco. He levelled up the Mexica game by organizing the Triple Alliance, or what is popularly known as the "Aztec Empire," a three-way alliance between the Mexica, Tepenecs and the altepetl (city-state) of Texcoco.

Itzcoatl was the real deal, pushing the Mexica from part of the pack to dominant culture in the Valley of Mexico. Read more about his many accomplishments as Tlatoani.

1380-1440 - Reign: 1427-1440Name: Obsidian SerpentItzcoatl established the Triple Alliance, or what is casually referred to as the Aztec Empire. After his likely nephew Chimalpopoca was killed it fre

13/10/2022

Huitzilihuitl - 2nd Ruler of the Mexica

The second Tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, and the first that was born in the city, was Huitzilihuitl. He was the son of the first tlatoani, Acampichtli and a Mexica mother named Tezcatlan Miyahuatzin. He was born into a Mexica community still subject to the Tepanec people of Azcapotzalco. He took the throne at about age 16, after the death of his father circa 1403. Militarily, he aligned the Mexica with Azcapotzalco in their feud with Texcoco. Tenochtitlan profited greatly from the raids of cities to the south and east of Lake Texcoco during these wars. He died around 1417 with his son Chimalpopoca, succeeding him.

Huitzilihuitl pursued his father's politics, building ties, slowly strengthening the city and army. His reign saw the spread of cotton weaving, elevating Mexica clothing from the courser maguey (agave) fabrics to the much softer cotton fabrics.

Name: His name translates to hummingbird feather. In both of the images a green hummingbird can be seen representing his name. Next to his symbol is his name spelled in Latin characters.

08/10/2022

Acamapichtli - First Ruler of Tenochtitlan

The first Tlatoani of Tenochtitlan was a bit of a proto-Mexica, as the Mexica nation was just taking shape. After Tenoch had delivered the Mexica to the Valley of Mexico, they began the process of integrating with the other local polities of the Valley.

Acamapichtli was a native of Texcoco, his mother was Culhua roylaty, but his father was a Mexica noble. The council, or calpultin, decided to select a ruler with ties throughout the valley to cement the political place of the newly established Tenochtitlan. So Acamapichtli was chosen and became the first Tlatoani of Tenochtitlan around 1382. The Mexica were then a minor newcomer in a place with thousands of years of history.

As a minor city the Mexica, and their Tlatelolca Mexica neighbors, fell into subjugation by Azcapotzalco, capital of the Tepanec people. Acamapichtli had set the new Mexica city up to break free from subjugation. His son, Huitzilitzin, would move the city forward.

Acamapichtli's Accomplishments
• Built out the chinampa farming system
• Intermarried with numerous women from neighboring cultures to build family ties
• Created the four main neighborhoods of Tenochtitlan
• Great politician who established Tenochtitlan, politically, in the Valley
• Established a new royal line for Tenochtitlan with every subsequent ruler being a direct descendent until the Contact Period.

12/08/2022

Really big thank you to artist Pedro Rafael Mena for allowing me to use his drawing of Totonac leader Xicomecoatl of Cempoala in my YouTube video.

If you haven't seen his work yet, it's incredibly well sourced and amazingly executed.

Episode 4 - Exploiting Divides is now up on YouTube, and covers Cortés' meeting with Xicomecoatl in Cempoala, where he learns of political divides in this "new world." https://youtu.be/meHkl0VPzgs

31/07/2022

The new trend in podcasts, I hear, is to slap it up on the YouTube.

Episode 3: Along the Coast to Mexica Lands is now live on YouTube (and & ...).

Episode Three – Along the CoastCortes departs Maya country and heads north, to Triple Alliance (Aztec) territory. A messenger spots the ships, and this begin...

15/07/2022

Coyolxauhqui is a mesoamerican goddess and one central to the Mexica people. The image below shows a massive stone carved in her image. During an attack on her mother, she was killed by her brother Huitzilopochtli and tossed down a sacred mountain. The fatal tumble caused her to lose her limbs and head.

In some ceremonies, the sacrificial victims were following her example by being decapitated and tumbling down the pyramid, or sacred mountain. This stone was at the foot of the Great Temple where the bodies would land - having recreated her fateful tumble.

The stone was rediscovered in 1978 by electrical workers and now resides in the Museo de El Templo Mayor. A replica is positioned in the original location at the foot of where the Great Temple used to be.

14/07/2022

If you are ever in Las Vegas near the ARIA Hotel, stop in and gaze upon the five-panel wood carving depicting the Mayan creation myth and the arrival of the Spanish. This is the world's largest chainsaw sculpture, a medium usually reserved for roadside bear and bigfoot carvings.

It's a little off-topic from the Aztec/Mexica storyline, but the fates of the Maya and Aztecs are intertwined. This piece by J. Chester Armstrong and Dodd Mitchell is a wonder to look at.

04/07/2022

Episode 1: Moctezuma and the Valley of Mexico, we meet the reigning Aztec Emperor, Moctezuma. He is the leading member of the Triple Alliance, a confederacy of three separate city-states. Moctezuma was tlatoani, or king, or chief, of Tenochtitlan - the most powerful of the three. The other two being Tlacopan and Texcoco.

In Episode 1 we experience the grandeur of Tenochtitlan and the power of Moctezuma and his Triple Alliance partners as a stranger arrives.

https://mexicapodcast.com/

01/07/2022

The story of the Mexican Conquest, as commonly told, rarely mentions the role of Indigenous armies who fought alongside Cortes. When mentioned, one group is usually named as being "traitors" to their indigenous brethren, the people of Tlaxcala.

The Tlaxcalteca may deserve their reputation, despite being long-time enemies of the Aztecs. However, one group seems to never get mention for their role; the Texcocans. They completely flipped on the last Aztec Emperor Cuauhtémoc, too, and joined Cortes.

The Texcoco (capital city)/Anahuac (cultural group) army took part in the Siege of Tenochtitlan alongside the Spanish under the leadership of Prince Ixtlilxochitl. After the fall of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco this prince was made a Christian governor of the emerging colonial town of Texcoco.

25/06/2022

Discussion: at what point did Moctezuma's palace fall to the Spanish?

By my notes it seems it stayed in Mexica hands through the Toxcatl Massacre, Noche Triste and finally was lost in the Siege of Tenochtitlan when Cortes gained entry to the city.

Any other ideas?

24/06/2022

Part of the research process for Mexica was to plot the events on a map. The Google Map linked here has many of the locations of the actual events. Take a look...

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=11CjUQ12LHKnesZogX8_g5riJ_wA&usp=sharing

14/06/2022

Bonus Episode 9: The End of the Mexica is out now, the final instalment of Mexica: A History Podcast.

Cortes returns to the Valley of Mexico as the Mexica are struggling to recover from the Spanish/Tlaxcala occupation and a devastating outbreak of smallpox.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mexica-a-history-podcast/id1604702670

Spotify Podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NcjfTpGqndi6eaqrbTYp8