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Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Mexico City marks 700 years since its founding by Indigenous people
Mexico City Anniversary MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City is marking the 700th anniversary of its founding with a series of public events on Saturday, including artistic performances honoring the city's Indigenous origins. Artists in Indigenous clothing reenacted the founding of the Aztec capital in front of the country's top officials in Mexico City's main square. Later, hundreds of dancers dressed in traditional clothing, feather headdresses, drums, and ankle rattles made of seeds performed sacred dances meant to connect with nature. The anniversary commemorates the establishment of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Mexica, a group also known as the Aztecs, who settled in the Valley of Mexico in 1325. As recorded by early Spanish chroniclers, Mexica elders told of a divine sign from their patron god Huitzilopochtli: an eagle on a cactus, signaling where to settle. That place became Tenochtitlan, the center of Aztec civilization and the site of today's Mexico City. That symbol was later recorded in the Codex Mendoza, which contained historical accounts of the Aztec empire. It became central to Mexican identity and appears today on the national flag. 'Mexico was not born with the arrival of the Spanish; Mexico was born much earlier with the great civilizations,' said President Claudia Sheinbaum in a speech in which she urged the eradication of the racism that still persists in the country. Tenochtitlan began as a village on an island in a lake ringed by volcanic peaks. But historians say many other details that have come down in history are based heavily on legend, and that the exact founding date is unknown. By the time the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, they were awed by a city filled with palaces, bridges, canals and bustling trade, according to Spanish chronicler and conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo. Historian Miguel Pastrana of the National Autonomous University of Mexico's Historic Investigations Institute, an expert on Tenochtitlan, said the weekend's festivities are 'political and civic" and do not reflect the latest historical research. The historical record describes the Mexica as a people who migrated from a place called Aztlan, supposedly an island whose exact location remains unknown. They knew how to fish, gather aquatic plants and hunt birds, as well as build dams, and they tried to settle in several places before arriving in the Valley of Mexico. The main island in the lake was already populated by the Tepaneca people, but they allowed the Mexica to settle there in exchange for tribute payments and other services, Pastrana said. Little by little, the Mexica's power grew. They were strong warriors and commercially prosperous, and they were effective at making alliances with other peoples. Tenochtitlan became a great city at the center of an empire until the Spanish conquered it in 1521. Solve the daily Crossword
Reuters
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
NASCAR brings American thunder to Mexico City in expansion drive
June 13 (Reuters) - The throaty roar of NASCAR Cup Series engines will reverberate through the Valley of Mexico this weekend, marking a bold international gambit for America's beloved motorsport as it races beyond its traditional borders. The ambitious cross-border event required substantial logistical efforts to bring the entire racing circus down south, amid recent protests in Los Angeles and complex U.S.-Mexico relations as well as stricter border controls under President Donald Trump's administration. For Daniel Suarez, who carries the hopes of a nation as one of only three Mexicans ever to reach NASCAR's premier division, the Mexico City race transforms him from competitor to cultural ambassador. "It's a great privilege to represent all Mexico. This isn't just another race on the calendar," Suarez told Reuters. "I'm very fortunate not only for my country, but for the whole Latin America region. It's not pressure as I love it, this is more like motivation, to go race in front of my people." The cultural collision is set to be a striking one. NASCAR brings its distinctly blue-collar heritage, born when Prohibition-era bootleggers modified cars to outrun the authorities, to a nation where racing fans have traditionally embraced Formula One's technical sophistication through local hero and former driver Sergio "Checo" Perez. However, NASCAR's arrival illuminates potential pathways for emerging talents like Regina Sivient, who recently made history as the first Mexican woman competing in the ARCA Menards Series, the minor, semi-professional stock car racing league that provides a pathway into NASCAR's three national touring series. "The most important thing about NASCAR coming to Mexico is that it gives us exposure," Sivient told Reuters. "When we saw Checo Perez in F1, being in the spotlight meant many Mexicans got to know him, that we drivers supported him, and that he received sponsorship from brands. In the end, as athletes that's what we want and what the sport needs to grow". As engines prepare to roar, the question is not whether NASCAR can follow the NBA and NFL in establishing Mexican footholds, but how quickly the quintessentially American motorsport might transform itself from curious novelty to beloved fixture in Mexico's sporting identity.
