before mexico city became the sprawling metropolis it is today, it was teotihuacán, the heart of the aztec empire.

it was built on an island in lake texcoco around 400 BCE. this lake was drained by spaniards, but parts of it still live on in xochimilco, mexico city’s network of canals that the aztec turned into floating gardens called chinampas. we’ll visit this impressive agricultural feat and learn more about this crucial ecosystem from xochimilco’s team of all women farmers.

legend has it the aztec chose this area as their capital because they saw an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a prickly pear cactus. they understood this as a sign from the gods, and this very symbol is now on mexico’s national flag.

the aztec people created complex canals, flood-control levees, and aqueducts to adapt to their new environment. this city was built by a people determined - though the landscape didn’t make sense, they were very spiritual and trusted in the vision they had seen.

the city eventually comprised 70 neighborhoods and over 200,000 inhabitants, with structures rivaling advanced european cities. spanish conquistadors were in awe of how orderly and beautiful this indigenous city was. though their initial attempts at colonization failed, they eventually succeeded after a 75 day siege and a barrage of european viruses unleashed on the population.

descendants of the aztec are called the nahua and speak nahuatl, the aztec empire’s original language. most live in the outskirts of big cities and are farmers or artisans. interestingly, they identify as roman catholic, but practice syncretism, where they blend their own indigenous beliefs with the religion they were colonized with. la virgen de guadalupe (mother mary), for example, is tonantzin, the aztec mother earth deity representing life and nourishment.