People of the Sun
Day 16
The piece of history that impresses me most about Mexico City is that since the 1st century A.D. this metropolis has been one of the most improtant cities in the Ameicas. From Teotihucan, the great Aztec capital, then renamed Mexico by the Spanish and capital of New Spain and it`s current incarnation as capital of Mexico. For so long a sophisticated civilization has inhabited this city.
Today we are heading just north of the city centre to the ruins of Teotihucan, the largest of Mexico`s ancient cities and capital of Mexico`s largest pre-hispanic empire. Once again I am in awe at the sheer size of the city as our bus snakes through traffic to the northeastern suburbs. The bus comes to a stop at a roundabout just outside of gate 3. We pay our 45 peso entry and as soon as we enter the hawkers decend on us. Never have I seen a site where people are allowed to sell right on the site. These are lazy sellers however and a simple no gracias and they move on. Maybe if they were selling something interesting we would look, but so many are selling buddhas! Huh? Wrong people, wrong religion and wrong hemisphere.
Teotihucan is huge, we walk out to the first temple, Templo Quetzacotal. Turning left from here is the start of the “Avenue of the Dead.” The main street of the city. Back in the day this must have been quite a sight, over 2 km long and lined with palaces and temples, all painted red and covered in frescoes. Then about the mid-way point is the pyramid of the sun, the 3rd largest pyramid in the world. At the end of the drag is the smaller yet more beautiful pyramid of the moon, it`s setting, terraces and detail make it very impressive.
Today you can still climb the pyramid of the sun and half way up the pyramid of the moon, we do both and the views are great. However I can`t help but wonder what kind of damage is being done by allowing thousands of people to walk on these daily. Besides that apparently pollution is weakening the structures every year.
Even though the crowds grew and the mid-day sun really took it`s toll on us we enjoyed the ruins. Although both Jordana and I agree the hi-light of the day was about 3km from the main site. We walked to a set of smaller former palaces with some excellent murals. Over 120 walls covered with jaguars, serpents and eagles. We were the only ones wandering this site and it was silent save for the barking of a few dogs and a distant tv from the nearby homes. It was our Indiana Jones moment of the day.
Tags: Americas, Aztecs, Mexico, mexico city
Michael Coroneos
I thought this is appropriate. One of your fav bands.
People Of The Sun Lyrics
Artist(Band):Rage Against The Machine
Yeah people come up
Yeah, we better turn tha bass up on this one
Check it, since 1516 Mayans attacked and overseen
Now crawl amidst the ruins of this empty dream
Wit their borders and boots on top of us
Pullin’ knobs on the floor of their toxic metropolis
But how you gonna get what you need ta get?
Tha gut eaters, blood drenched get offensive like Tet
Tha fifth sun sets get back reclaim
Tha spirit of Cuahtemoc alive an untamed
Now face tha funk now blastin’ out ya speaker, on tha one Maya, Mexica
That vulture came ta try and steal ya name
But now you got a gun, yeah this is for the people of the sun
It’s comin’ back around again!
This is for the people of the sun!
It’s comin’ back around again! Uh!
It’s comin’ back around again!
This is for the people of the sun!
It’s comin’ back around again! Uh!
Yeah, neva forget that tha wip snapped ya back
Ya spine cracked for tobacco, oh I’m the Marlboro man, uh
Our past blastin’ on through the verses
Brigades of taxi cabs rollin’ Broadway like hearses
Troops strippin’ zoots, shots of red mist,
Sailors blood on tha deck, come sista resist
From tha era of terror check this photo lens,
Now tha city of angels does the ethnic cleanse
Uh, heads bobbin’ to tha funk out ya speaker, on tha one Maya, Mexica
That vulture came to try and steal ya name
But now you found a gun, you’re history, this is for the people of the sun
It’s comin’ back around again!
This is for the people of the sun!
It’s comin’ back around again! Yeah!
It’s comin’ back around again!
This is for the people of the sun!
It’s comin’ back around again!
It’s comin’ back around again!
This is for the people of the sun!
It’s comin’ back around again!
It’s comin’ back around again!
This is for the people of the sun!
It’s comin’ back around!
Of the sun