This city would have possessed a beauty like no other. I am not at all surprised that some conquistadors felt as though they were experiencing a fantastical dream. When Hernán Cortés arrived in 1519, he was awestruck. In letters to the Spanish king, he compared Tenochtitlan favorably to Venice and declared it more beautiful than any city in Spain. His soldiers wandered the markets and … Continue reading Tenochtitlan. The City on the Lake
Lengua de vaca Now, when I speak of lengua de vaca (cows tongue) I am not speaking of the actual tongue of a cow but of a wild herb or “quelite”. The herb is no doubt (as you will see further down) named for its general appearance (shape and size wise in some cases) of a cows tongue. Commonly used and appreciated in México, the … Continue reading Quelite : Lengua de vaca
On Saturday 25/03/22 (03/25 if you’re from the E.U.A) I presented another talk at the Museum of Western Australia on behalf of the Friends of Mexico Society. (Notes in BOLD have been added to this Post and were not part of my original talk) This is an outline of my latest presentation at the Western Australian Museum as part of their Boola Bardip program of … Continue reading The Glory of the Aztec Empire
The word “Xochimilco” is Nahuatl for “where the flowers grow”. It is an area of lakes and canals that was a major agricultural centre in Mesoamerica and remains as the only reminder of traditional Pre-Hispanic land-use in the waterways of the Mexico City basin. This compound glyph for the place name Xochimilco features two colourful, detailed flowers [xochi(tl)], and a rectangular, segmented, textured parcel of land [mil(li)]. … Continue reading Xochimilco and the Axolotl
Masa Americana 