| This tour focuses on the colorful community of
Xochimilco – “The Land where Flowers Grow” in the
Nahuatl language- in the south of the city. 500 years ago
Xochimilco was the agricultural hub of Mexico Tenochtitlán,
the imperial capital which is estimated to have had a
population between 200.000 and 300.000 at the time of the
Spanish conquest. As in centuries past, also today, channels
surround raised agricultural fields called chinampas. Since
the Valley of Mexico was originally wetlands, the chinampas
were the most productive means of agricultural production. Xochimilco is one of the oldest kingdoms in the Valley of
Mexico, with a long and colorful history. In periods large
areas of the Valley of Mexico and the modern federal state
of Morelos were parts of the kingdom of Xochimilco.In the 1439
Xochimilco was conquered by the Mexicah (the
Aztecs), whose last Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc planted an
Ahuehuete tree (tule tree it is called in Oaxaca) in
the Barrio San Juan (over 400 years ago) as a token of
gratitude because the Xochimilcas had taken Hernan Cortés
prisioner (1521).
After the fall of Tenochtitlan, Apochquiyauhtzin, the
local gobernor of Xochimilco was granted the governemt of
his people under the name Luís Cortés Cerón de Alvarado
(1522). The first 12 Franciscan friars started the
construction of the Cathedral of Xochimilco between 1534 and
1579.
Xochimilco has been able to conserve a
strong sense of identity and many old and colourful
traditions as Don Felipe II, King of Spain granted it the
label "Noble Ciudad de Xochimilco" on the 4 March,
1559. We will visit its Mercado de flores y frutas
(Fruits and Flowers Market) and its 16th century Main
Church, constructed as a fortress. Xochimilco is often
refered to as the "Mexican Venice" because of its
famous water-channels dating from pre-colonial times. The
visit to Xochimilco also includes a visit to a local pulquería
where you can taste the ancient refreshing Mexican beverage
pulque, which has been produced in the area since long
before the arrival of the Aztecs.
Among the important people from Xochimilco, Martín de la
Cruz wrote (1540-1545) “Xihuipahtli mecéhual amato” or
“libellus de medicinalibus indorum herbis”, worldwide
known as “Herbario Azteca” or “Codex Cruz-Badiano”,
the oldest traditional medicine book in America, translated
toLatin by another Xochimilca, Juan Badiano.
In 2007 Xochimilco celebrates its 20th anniversary as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In continuation of this tour we will take a trip in the
local "canoas" where the special session: Ethnography,
Ethnohistory and Pulque will take place.
Duration:
We
estimate that this day tour will take around 3 hours.
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