A similar pit is also visible about half way up to the summit. This circle has a 7 foot external diameter and a 10 inch depth. At the base there is a round structure that may have served as an altar or a fire pit. The six-tiered Temple of the Sun (Great Pyramid) is the largest structure at Cempoala. What you see instead are structures assembled from smooth river stones and limestone mortar, including the peripheral wall encircling the site. Passing through the defensive walls surrounding the site, you find very little of that “silver” remaining today as the plaster has deteriorated over time. Imagine Cortés’ disappointment when he arrived and found that the “silver” was only the sun reflecting off the white plaster surfaces on all the structures inside the city. Upon their return, they reported that everything was covered in silver. CempoalaĪs Cortés and his entourage approached Cempoala, he sent riders on ahead.
When you are refreshed, follow in the footsteps of Hernán Cortés. You also have a standing invitation to visit Cempoala and you can plan your visit over a glass of Lechero Grande coffee at the Gran Café de la Parroquia. While at this new camp, Cortés first made contact with the local indigenous people known as the Totonacs, some of whom spoke Nahautl, and was invited to visit their capital to the north at Cempoala. This is likely because present-day Mexicans are not proud of this period in their history. Walking along the Malecon opposite the island, you find nothing that hints at the significance Chalchihuecan in the conquest of Mexico. After setting up camp on the malaria-infested dunes, a party of men was dispatched northwards along the coast in search of a safe harbor for their ships. Shortly after, Cortés and his men crossed over to the mainland at Chalchihuecan, just opposite the island, in order to establish a beachhead.
The brash Cortés demonstrated the power of his cannons, rifles and horses to the ambassadors and then suggested that they may wish to inform Moctezuma of his impending arrival in their capital of Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City). But how would he achieve this? He started by making a lasting impression on Moctezuma’s ambassadors whom he met on the Island of San Juan de Ulua in the harbor of what is now present-day Veracruz. San Juan de Ulua and Chalchihuecan in Present Day VeracruzĬortés set his sights on meeting Moctezuma. The long road to the Spanish conquest of Mexico had begun. By means of three-way translation Cortés learned about Moctezuma II and the rich and powerful Aztec Empire in Central Mexico. His greatest prize however was receiving a tribute that included a young female slave who spoke both Mayan and Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. The conquistadors on board were in need of intel because they wanted to establish a Spanish colony in Central Mexico.īy a stroke of luck, Hernán Cortés, the leader of the expedition, rescued a shipwrecked Spanish priest who had learned the Mayan language after having lived among them as a slave for eight years.
Ambition, wealth, power, status, a thirst for adventure and even a little luck – dreams are made of these and dreams are what propelled eleven Spanish galleons along the southeastern coast of Mexico in the spring of 1519 in search of military intel.
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