Mexico City revitalizes pride in its pre-Hispanic heritage during the 700th anniversary celebration of Tenochtitlán.

The Mexican capital will celebrate 700 years since its foundation in 2025, when the great Tenochtitlan was a city surrounded by an immense lake and traversed by canals, much like Venice. This is when the hierophany represented today on the Mexican flag originated: an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus (nopalera) defeating the serpent it holds in its beak. Numerous festivities are being planned for this anniversary, including reenactments of significant moments in the history of that warrior people, featuring hundreds of actors, and the placement of a monument to commemorate what the Mexica capital looked like before Hernán Cortés arrived and changed the lacustrine landscape where the indigenous peoples thrived. Where magnificent pyramids once stood, there are now a cathedral, the National Palace, and the City Hall, all located in the Zócalo, the largest plaza in Latin America. Highlighting the pre-Hispanic past is a focus of both this and the previous government, which, while acknowledging Spanish heritage and others, advocates for recognition of that historical period as well as the atrocities committed during the conquest. This idea frames these celebrations.

The aim is to “reinforce national identity, a sense of belonging, and patriotic pride,” as well as “encourage reflection in society regarding the importance of its participation in the country’s pivotal moments,” all while considering the active role of women in those historical processes. Gender considerations are very present in any event held during this administration under Claudia Sheinbaum, as well as that of the city’s mayor, Clara Brugada, known for her strong feminist background. In the presentation of the events this Monday, the president noted that Mexico is no longer a country constructed from the perspective of foreign eyes, as it had been for centuries, but must consolidate its culture by taking its own foundations as the origin and legacy.

The capital is already beginning to adorn itself with patriotic elements, such as an exhibition of prickly pear cacti transformed by various artists and collectives along Paseo de la Reforma, one of the city’s main thoroughfares. Additionally, a circular monument is planned, which will rise in concentric circles in memory of the ancient temples by the lakes, a replica of the teocalli of sacred war, upon which the eagle will rest. Eight engraved slabs on the monument’s slope will depict scenes from the Boturini Codex, illustrating the migrations of the peoples until they settled in Tenochtitlan. Tourists visiting in the coming months will be able to view the bas-reliefs of the tlatoanis (kings) from that era.

The monument will be unveiled on July 26, a significant date for those peoples when the solar disk, during its second zenith passage, projects vertically without casting any shadow. Mirrors of water reflecting the liquid past will complete this intervention in the Zócalo, where actors adorned with rich plumage and sounding seeds on their legs typically perform to delight tourists. During the morning conference, a fragment of the opera commissioned for this anniversary was also presented, which will feature the howls of war conch shells. The capital is preparing to commemorate its 700 years of history with all the flavor of its indigenous peoples, those who left the Spaniards in awe with their customs, gastronomy, and vast markets of plant and animal species they had never seen before, memories that Mexico still cherishes and a rich heritage it preserves.

In recent years in Mexico, with the arrival of the governments of the Fourth Transformation, as they have come to be called, under the previous administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the current one of Claudia Sheinbaum, emphasis has been placed on pre-Hispanic history and indigenous peoples. This idea was symbolized in the investitures of both presidents, who received the scepter in ceremonies involving incense, feathers, and ancient rites. Both presidents have brought these customs to the present in an effort to overcome a foreignizing perspective that had predominated in previous administrations, although pre-Hispanic culture has always been of interest to both national and international academics. The persistence to reclaim and consolidate that past has led to the reevaluation of numerous historical events, such as the so-called Noche Triste, in which Cortés’ troops and other allied peoples suffered a great defeat, now referred to as the Noche Victoriosa. As in other countries, these efforts have altered museum labels and revisited dozens of secular moments.

In the political arena, López Obrador’s arrival at the presidency quickly led to a clash with Spain due to this pursuit of memory, when a request was made to the Spanish Crown for a gesture acknowledging the atrocities committed by the conquerors in New Spain, which went unheeded and whose diplomatic tensions continue to this day. However, in recent weeks, the cultural sphere has offered some dates for easing relations between the two countries, notably with the two Princess of Asturias awards given to Mexico: the first to photographer Graciela Iturbide in the Arts category. Iturbide has captured the essence of that indigenous Mexico, its traditions, and rituals. The second award granted by the Crown was the Princess of Asturias to the National Museum of Anthropology, a cultural gem in the capital showcasing the pre-Hispanic past in all its splendor. Both awards were warmly welcomed by President Sheinbaum, who saw them as a sign of goodwill after the tensions with Spain.

Culture has been the main support in smoothing over these rough edges between the two countries, organizing exhibitions in Spain about Mexico’s past and honoring and recognizing works by international figures like Pedro Almodóvar as part of an exchange that could begin to mend diplomatic rifts. In the conference where the festivities celebrating the capital’s foundation were presented this Monday, the president spoke thoughtfully, emphasizing not only the legacy of Tenochtitlan but also valuing other subsequent influences.