Acrostic poem for Tenochtitlan

The three poems featured in this entry were created by

Aztecs who were in Tenochtitlán (pronounced tay-notchteet-LAHN) at the time of the Spanish conquest of 1521 and

survived to tell about it. Two of the three poems were found

in a song collection called Cantares mexicanos (Mexican Songs).

This collection was made possible by a Spanish missionary,

who worked with a group of tlamatinime the poets and philosophers of the Aztec empire, between 1560 and 1580 to write

down the songs of the Mesoamericans. Most experts believe

the collection is the work of the renowned Spanish missionary Bernardino de Sahagún (1499–1590) and some of his native assistants, men who were well versed in Nahuatl and trained by Sahagún in Spanish

and Latin as well. This team collected ninety-one songs over

a period of many years. It took many more years before their

collection attracted the interest it deserves. The songs, or

poems, in the collection provide modern readers with a window into the Mesoamerican experience.

Explanation:

The end of the Aztec empire did not come swiftly or

quietly. It was the result of a violent battle that took place in

Tenochtitlán between April and August 1521. There were two

hundred thousand men, women, and children living in the

beautiful and prosperous island city when the Spanish conquistadores (Spanish word for “conquerors”) mounted their

last attack. By moderate estimates, about one hundred thousand Aztecs, or half the city’s population, died during the

siege. Everything in the city—markets, temples, palaces, and

homes—was completely destroyed. An overview of the fall of

Tenochtitlán is presented in this entry as a background to the

poems that follow.

The Aztec emperor Montezuma II (1466–1520) died in

Tenochtitlán during the first battle between the Aztecs and a

group of Spanish conquistadores led by Hernán Cortés (1485–

1547). In this first battle, the Aztecs soundly defeated the

Spaniards, forcing them to retreat from the city. Afterward,

Explanation:

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