Every March 13th, one of the most important moments in Mexican history is commemorated: the founding of Mexico-Tenochtitlán, the great city that would later become the heart of the Aztec Empire.
According to historical tradition, the city was founded on March 13, 1325, corresponding to the year 2 Calli (Two Houses) in the Aztec calendar.
Although historians have debated the exact date, this day has been adopted as the symbolic commemoration of the city’s birth.
🌎 The Sign the Aztecs Were Seeking
According to ancient chronicles, the Aztecs had traveled for years throughout the Valley of Mexico searching for the right place to establish their city.
The sign they had to find was very specific: an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus, in the middle of an islet in the lake.
This symbol would mark the chosen location to found their new capital.
That site was located on Lake Texcoco, amidst a landscape dominated by water and canals.
There, the story of Tenochtitlán began.
🧱 A City Built on the Lake
The chosen location wasn’t dry land.
It was an islet surrounded by the lake.
The Mexica had to build platforms, chinampas (floating gardens), and causeways to expand the city.
Over the centuries, that small settlement transformed into one of the largest cities in the world during the 15th century.
With monumental temples, gigantic markets, and a complex network of canals.
🌎 The Origin of Modern Mexico City
Today, modern Mexico City stands on the very spot where Tenochtitlán once existed.
Beneath many streets of the historic center, remnants of that ancient capital still lie.
That’s why every excavation in the city can reveal pieces and structures from ancient Mexico.
🌎 An Origin That Remains Present in the Country
The symbol of the eagle perched on a cactus, which, according to tradition, marked the site of the founding of Tenochtitlán, appears today on Mexico’s national coat of arms.
A reminder of that moment when the history of one of the most important cities in Mesoamerica began.
And that raises an interesting question:
If a small island in the lake became one of the most powerful cities on the continent…
what would Tenochtitlán have been like at its height?
Source: loquenosabias
