The Challenge of Getting to Azcapotzalco
Then recently, by sheer good fortune, a guided excursion led by Arqueologia viva México to the archeological site of Tenayuca, just north of Azcapotzalco in the State of Mexico, showed us that getting to Azcapotzalco wasn't as difficult as we had thought. A Metrobus to Tenayuca goes from a Metro train stop just west of Centro straight through Azcapotzalco.
Around 200 BCE, the Teotihuacan civilization arose in a side valley in the northeast corner of the valley now called the Valley of Mexico. By 100 CE it had come to exercise political and cultural control of the entire Valley and beyond. This included the west side of the lake — later to be called Texcoco — which was already settled, likely by Otomí. Over one thousand years later, the settlement was to become Atzcapotzalco. When Teotihuacan waned between 500 to 800 CE, the area continued to remain an important center of that culture.
When the Toltec city-state of Tula rose, about 800 CE, to the northwest of the Valley, it, in turn, came to dominate the entire Valley. Then when Tula fell, around 1150 CE, the political instability created an opening for new migrations into the Valley. Among the groups moving in were a number of Nahuatl speaking, nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes coming from what is now the northwest of Mexico or the southwest of the United States. The Nahuatl language belongs to the Uto-Azteca language family of tribes in that area, including Ute, Shoshoni, Comanche and Hopi.
One of these tribes was the Tepaneca people, led, according to their oral history, by a chieftain called Matlacoatl. Their history, written down for the Spanish after 1521, states that, in 1152 CE, Matlacoatl established a village he named Atzcapotzaltongo. Remains related to that culture have been found in the area and dated between 1200 and 1230 CE. During the 13th century, the village grew into an altepetl, city-state, and gradually expanded its control over the southwest side of the Valley of Mexico.
A tlatoani, "speaker", named Acolhuatzin ruled for sixty years, from 1283 to 1343. He married a daughter of Xolotl of Tenayuca, an atepetl just north of Atzcapotzaltongo. He also moved the city to what is now the historic center of present-day Atzcapotzalco, on the edge of what was Lake Texcoco.
In 1325, Acolhuatzin allowed the Mexica — who had been expelled from land controlled by Culhuacan on the west end of the Iztapalapa Peninsula at the south end of Lake Texcoco — to settle on a set of Tepaneca-controlled islands in the lake, where they founded Tenochtitlan. In exchange, they owed Atzcapotzalco tribute and military service.
Later in the fourteenth century, the Tepaneca, with the aid of their Mexica subordinates, conquered Culhuacán and Xochimilco, thus gaining control of the south-central part of the Valley. In the early fifteenth century, the Tepaneca defeated the Alcolhua who ruled the east side of Lake Texcoco and thus became the major power in the Valley.
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| Delegación Azcapotzalco is the deep purple area in the northwest of Mexico City. Delegación Coyoacán is the dark magenta in the center of the City. |
So we kept our eyes open for the announcement on Facebook of a fiesta in the delegación. It would be our fifteenth delegación — the next-to-last — to make an initial visit.
We did not have to wait long, just two weeks, when the fiesta of Santiago (St. James the Apostle) was to be held. Many pueblos in Mexico City — and across the country — are dedicated to Santiago, the patron saint of Spain. One of those pueblos turned out to be in Azcapotzalco, Pueblo Santiago Ahuitzoltla. Seeking it out on a set of Google Maps, which show all the pueblos and colonias of each of the delegaciones, we found it located in the delegación's southwest corner. It was also not far from a Metro train station on Line 7 that would require only one change of trains from Line 2, which runs north from Coyoacán through Delegacion Benito Juárez, then east through Delegaciones Cuauhtémoc and Miguel Hidalgo, just south of Azcapotzalco. Santiago Ahuitzoltla was within our reach.
History of Azcapotzalco
When the Toltec city-state of Tula rose, about 800 CE, to the northwest of the Valley, it, in turn, came to dominate the entire Valley. Then when Tula fell, around 1150 CE, the political instability created an opening for new migrations into the Valley. Among the groups moving in were a number of Nahuatl speaking, nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes coming from what is now the northwest of Mexico or the southwest of the United States. The Nahuatl language belongs to the Uto-Azteca language family of tribes in that area, including Ute, Shoshoni, Comanche and Hopi.
One of these tribes was the Tepaneca people, led, according to their oral history, by a chieftain called Matlacoatl. Their history, written down for the Spanish after 1521, states that, in 1152 CE, Matlacoatl established a village he named Atzcapotzaltongo. Remains related to that culture have been found in the area and dated between 1200 and 1230 CE. During the 13th century, the village grew into an altepetl, city-state, and gradually expanded its control over the southwest side of the Valley of Mexico.
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| Atzcapotzalco, a Tepaneca altepetl, lay on the west shore of Lake Texcoco. Tenochtitlan was orginally one of its tributary cities from 1325 to 1438. |
A tlatoani, "speaker", named Acolhuatzin ruled for sixty years, from 1283 to 1343. He married a daughter of Xolotl of Tenayuca, an atepetl just north of Atzcapotzaltongo. He also moved the city to what is now the historic center of present-day Atzcapotzalco, on the edge of what was Lake Texcoco.
In 1325, Acolhuatzin allowed the Mexica — who had been expelled from land controlled by Culhuacan on the west end of the Iztapalapa Peninsula at the south end of Lake Texcoco — to settle on a set of Tepaneca-controlled islands in the lake, where they founded Tenochtitlan. In exchange, they owed Atzcapotzalco tribute and military service.
Later in the fourteenth century, the Tepaneca, with the aid of their Mexica subordinates, conquered Culhuacán and Xochimilco, thus gaining control of the south-central part of the Valley. In the early fifteenth century, the Tepaneca defeated the Alcolhua who ruled the east side of Lake Texcoco and thus became the major power in the Valley.
Atzcapotzalco continued to control much of the Valley of Mexico and over the mountains as far south as Cuernavaca (currently the capital of the state of Morelos) until the death of tlatoani Tezozomoc, who ruled for sixty years, during Tepaneca supremacy, from 1367 to 1427. Upon his death, a struggle among his sons over his succession gave tributary atepetls a chance to rebel.
The tlatoanis Nezahualcoyotl of the Alcolhuas, based in Texcoco, on the east side of the lake, Izcoatl of Tenochtitlan and Totoquihuaztli of Tlacopan, a Tepaneca village just to the south of Atzcapotzalco, formed the Triple Alliance and defeated the powerful altepetl in 1428. The former Tepaneca lands were divided among the three altepetls. The center of Atzcapotzalco was destroyed and turned into a slave market. Tlacopan (now modern Tacuba, in Delegación/Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo) became the center of the reduced Tepaneca territory on the west side of Lake Texcoco. (Wikipedia, with additional information on Tepaneca expansion from The Aztecs Under Spanish Rule by Charles Gibson, Stanford University Press, 1964, Also, see our post: Portraying Mexico City's Azteca-Mexica Origins.)
So on the Sunday after July 25, Santiago's feast day, we head off via the Metro for Santiago Ahuitzotla, with no information as to the schedule of events, but guessing they would begin around 10 AM. It takes close to an hour, including a short cab ride from the Metro station, to arrive at the pueblo.
We are somewhat taken aback. We have heard and read of la Virgen de los Remedios, but never seen her, as her basilica is outside the City. She is one of the most famous and important advocaciones. i.e., manifestations of the Virgin Mary as an advocate, a protector of the people, in the Valley of Mexico. Studies have shown she was sculpted in Spain. She was reputedly brought from there by Juan Rodríguez de Villafuerte, a captain in Hernán Cortés' army of conquistadors.
On the night of June 30-July 1, 1520, after the Spanish massacre of indigenous priests and nobles during an indigenous fiesta and the subsequent death of Moctezuma, the Spanish were forced to flee Tenochtitlan during the Night of Sorrows. After the surviving Spanish forces had crossed the causeway to Tlalcopan and were fleeing north, Rodríguez de Villafuerte ostensibly buried the Virgin beneath a maguey plant (a large succulent), hoping she would be safe there and that he might return someday to retrieve her.
She was discovered twenty years later by an indigenous peasant and became a highly revered version of St. Mary. In 1575, her own shrine was built where she was found, in Naucalpan, a city in the State of Mexico bordering on Azcapotzalco. It is now officially designated a basilica, a special church, by the Pope. With the Virgen de Guadalupe, in Tepeac to the north, the Virgen de la Bala (Virgin of the Bullet, in Iztapalapa) to the east and el Niño Pa (The Child [Jesus] of This Place, i.e., Xochimilco) to the south, she is considered one of the guardians of the four cardinal directions (an archetypical, indigenous symbolism) around the City of Mexico. During Colonial times, when there were major floods in the island City of Mexico, she—not the Virgin of Guadalupe—was brought to the Cathedral for the faithful to beseech her aid in stopping the flooding. As many as ten thousand faithful attend her feast day. Thus, it is a great honor for Santiago Ahuitzotla that she has been brought to participate in their fiesta.
The indigenous names of pueblos in the Valley of Mexico always have a meaning in Nahuatl, usually related to some identifying characteristic of its location or primary occupation (such as Iztacalco, House of Salt, as salt production was its major industry). So, of course, we wonder what Ahuitzotla means.
In ambling around the atrio, we discover a plaque of tiles embedded in the wall, almost hidden by a hanging plant. We ask the young man pictured lower left above if he would hold aside the plant so that we may photograph the plaque. He is muy amable (very considerate) and readily assists us.
We quickly find a source in Spanish that tells us that in indigenous times, ahuexote / ahuizote were mythical, monstrous animals. Built like coyotes, they had spines on their backs, rather like a fish, and paws like a monkey´s so they could grasp objects. They also had a claw at the end of their tail. They lived in caves underwater and would lure human victims by making calls like a crying baby. When the victim came close to the water, they would leap out, grab them with their paws and claws and drag them underwater where they would be drowned and eaten. Why a pueblo, originally near the edge of Lake Texcoco, would be identified as the place where such monsters lived is a mystery. It would seem to have been a place to be avoided.
But we are most happy that we have come to Santiago Ahuitzotla in Delegación/Alcaldía Azcapotzalco. The people, as in all the pueblos we have visited, are most welcoming and open in talking with us. They express surprise and a sense of honor that an extranjero has come to their fiesta and will show and tell of it via Facebook and a web blog.
As for us, we have finally succeeded in getting to a place of great historical importance in the indigenous history of the Valley of Mexico, Azcapotzalco, the home base of the Tepanecas, the dominant power prior to the Mexica/Azteca. Ahuitzotla is just one barrio of the original city. We hope very much to get to others, over time. Meanwhile, we have also succeeded in getting to the fifteenth of the sixteen delegaciones/alcaldias of Mexico City.
The tlatoanis Nezahualcoyotl of the Alcolhuas, based in Texcoco, on the east side of the lake, Izcoatl of Tenochtitlan and Totoquihuaztli of Tlacopan, a Tepaneca village just to the south of Atzcapotzalco, formed the Triple Alliance and defeated the powerful altepetl in 1428. The former Tepaneca lands were divided among the three altepetls. The center of Atzcapotzalco was destroyed and turned into a slave market. Tlacopan (now modern Tacuba, in Delegación/Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo) became the center of the reduced Tepaneca territory on the west side of Lake Texcoco. (Wikipedia, with additional information on Tepaneca expansion from The Aztecs Under Spanish Rule by Charles Gibson, Stanford University Press, 1964, Also, see our post: Portraying Mexico City's Azteca-Mexica Origins.)
The Fiesta of Santiago Ahuitzotla
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| When we arrive at the church, we learn that a mass for children is about to begin. Those who have just completed their catechism training wait outside in order to enter last and take front pews, where they will be specially honored. |
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| The priest, dressed in the green robes of of the post-Easter Trinity Season, meets with the youth who have completed their catechism training. A gentleman rings the church bell announcing "tercera llamada", third and final call that Mass is about to begin. |
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| A simple portada of fresh flowers adorns the church's triple entrance. The sign reads, "Bless us, Lord Santiago." |
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| We notice that the dome of the church is a well-preserved, elaborate mudéjar, i.e., Islamic/Moorish design brought from Spain. It contains what we know as the Jewish star. |
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| The Mass begins in the simple, flower-filled sanctuary. |
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| The retablo (reredos) is Neoclassical in design, with its Roman Corinthian columns, likely added in the late 17th or early 18th century, when Neoclassical architecture was replacing the ornate Baroque. To the left is Santiago Matamoros, St. James the Moor killer, mounted on the horse on which he is reputed to have arrived miraculously in 9th-century Spain to help defeat the Moors. To the right, he stands as an apostle and shepherd of his people. |
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| Santiago Matamoros |
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| Outside, all is quiet. Papel picado, paper cut in designs, announce the fiesta. |
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| In one corner of the atrio, men are beginning construction of the castillo (castle) of fireworks which will be set off after dark to culminate the fiesta. |
The Procession
As the Mass is coming to a close, we hear the sound of cohetes, rocket-style firecrackers approaching from a distance. It is the procession of Santiago through the streets, which, we learn, began at nine AM. It is returning to the church in time for the main Mass to honor Santiago. Soon, it enters through a gate at the side of the church.
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| The procession enters, led by chinelos, dancers "disguised" in Moorish-style costumes and masks "burlando", mocking, Spanish gentry. |
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| The central figure wears a traditional chinelo mask imitating a bearded Spanish gentleman. The pig faces are something we have never seen before on chinelos. It seems a rather more blatant burla, mockery of the Spanish. |
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| We are particularly taken by the elaborate shawl on the chinelo to the right. It, too, is unusual. |
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| Next comes the patron saint, Santiago. |
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| Santiago is followed by an advocación, manifestation, of the Virgin Mary that we have not seen before. We ask a watching parishioner who she is. We are told she is the Virgen de los Remedios, the Virgin of the Remedies. |
We are somewhat taken aback. We have heard and read of la Virgen de los Remedios, but never seen her, as her basilica is outside the City. She is one of the most famous and important advocaciones. i.e., manifestations of the Virgin Mary as an advocate, a protector of the people, in the Valley of Mexico. Studies have shown she was sculpted in Spain. She was reputedly brought from there by Juan Rodríguez de Villafuerte, a captain in Hernán Cortés' army of conquistadors.
On the night of June 30-July 1, 1520, after the Spanish massacre of indigenous priests and nobles during an indigenous fiesta and the subsequent death of Moctezuma, the Spanish were forced to flee Tenochtitlan during the Night of Sorrows. After the surviving Spanish forces had crossed the causeway to Tlalcopan and were fleeing north, Rodríguez de Villafuerte ostensibly buried the Virgin beneath a maguey plant (a large succulent), hoping she would be safe there and that he might return someday to retrieve her.
She was discovered twenty years later by an indigenous peasant and became a highly revered version of St. Mary. In 1575, her own shrine was built where she was found, in Naucalpan, a city in the State of Mexico bordering on Azcapotzalco. It is now officially designated a basilica, a special church, by the Pope. With the Virgen de Guadalupe, in Tepeac to the north, the Virgen de la Bala (Virgin of the Bullet, in Iztapalapa) to the east and el Niño Pa (The Child [Jesus] of This Place, i.e., Xochimilco) to the south, she is considered one of the guardians of the four cardinal directions (an archetypical, indigenous symbolism) around the City of Mexico. During Colonial times, when there were major floods in the island City of Mexico, she—not the Virgin of Guadalupe—was brought to the Cathedral for the faithful to beseech her aid in stopping the flooding. As many as ten thousand faithful attend her feast day. Thus, it is a great honor for Santiago Ahuitzotla that she has been brought to participate in their fiesta.
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| A banda, as is traditional, follows at the rear. |
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| The Mass honoring Santiago begins. La Virgen de los Remedios is at the left, together with a smaller version called a demandita (little prayer). |
La Gente del Pueblo de Santiago Ahuitzotla, the People of the Village of St. James Ahuitzotla
While we were hanging out in the atrio between masses and awaiting the arrival of the procession, as usual, we introduced ourselves to a number of people who were also waiting.
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| The man on the left approached us (we always stand out as the only güero extranjero, pale-faced foreigner, at a fiesta) and introduced himself as a member of the fiesta organizing committee (note the figure of Santiago Matamoros on his shirt). He then introduced us to the committee president (on the right) and the pueblo's historian (center). We gave them our card and told them we would be sharing our photos and story of their fiesta via Facebook. |
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| Familia mexicana. |
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| Familia mexicana. |
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| Couple upper right are brother and sister. Couple lower left are mother and son. |
"What's in a name?" The Meaning of Ahuitzotla (Ahuizotlan)
In ambling around the atrio, we discover a plaque of tiles embedded in the wall, almost hidden by a hanging plant. We ask the young man pictured lower left above if he would hold aside the plant so that we may photograph the plaque. He is muy amable (very considerate) and readily assists us.
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| Plaque with glyph of Ahuitzotla, or Ahuizotlan as it is spelled here, indicating it was founded in the year 750 CE, during the time when Teotihuacan dominated the Valley. We wonder what this strange creature is. |
Once we are back home we search online for the possible meaning of Ahuitzotla — or Ahuizotlan as it is spelled on the plaque. We know that the prefix -tla or -tlan means place or territory, but what is an ahuexote or ahuizote ('x' and 'z' are both pronounced as 's' or 'sh'), evidently the curious creature displayed on the plaque.
We quickly find a source in Spanish that tells us that in indigenous times, ahuexote / ahuizote were mythical, monstrous animals. Built like coyotes, they had spines on their backs, rather like a fish, and paws like a monkey´s so they could grasp objects. They also had a claw at the end of their tail. They lived in caves underwater and would lure human victims by making calls like a crying baby. When the victim came close to the water, they would leap out, grab them with their paws and claws and drag them underwater where they would be drowned and eaten. Why a pueblo, originally near the edge of Lake Texcoco, would be identified as the place where such monsters lived is a mystery. It would seem to have been a place to be avoided.
But we are most happy that we have come to Santiago Ahuitzotla in Delegación/Alcaldía Azcapotzalco. The people, as in all the pueblos we have visited, are most welcoming and open in talking with us. They express surprise and a sense of honor that an extranjero has come to their fiesta and will show and tell of it via Facebook and a web blog.
As for us, we have finally succeeded in getting to a place of great historical importance in the indigenous history of the Valley of Mexico, Azcapotzalco, the home base of the Tepanecas, the dominant power prior to the Mexica/Azteca. Ahuitzotla is just one barrio of the original city. We hope very much to get to others, over time. Meanwhile, we have also succeeded in getting to the fifteenth of the sixteen delegaciones/alcaldias of Mexico City.
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| Delegación/Alacaldía Atzcapotzalco with its pueblos and colonias. Pueblo Santiago Ahuitzotla is red area marked by mustard/yellow star. |
