Space, Place, and Mapping ILA387 Spring 2016

Barbara Mundy, “Introduction” from "The Death of Aztec Tenochtitlan, the Life of Mexico City" (Daisy)

In this book Mundy approaches the death of Tenochtitlan as a myth. Although the reign of Tenochtitlan as an imperial capital came to an end, the “death” of Tenochtitlan as an Indigenous city is a myth. Though the Spanish empire change the territory to the center of a global empire it was unable to destroy the ideals, environment and the overall presence of indigenous culture. The main research question that she proposes throughout this introduction is what space does the environment built in Tenochtitlan occupy in Mexico City? In this book Mundy will look beyond the accounts of Hernando Cortés and define the endurance of the indigenous city of Tenochtitlan within the newly formed Mexico City. As Mundy begins to set the foundation of her perspective on the space of Tenochtitlan she address the pre-conquest work of codex Mendoza and codex Aubin to counter the historical accounts written by Cortés. The Introduction approach the theme and concept of space and time with visual example and step by step historical accounts of the formation of Mexico City. To support her theory she quotes the works of Henri LeFebvre, Michel de Certeau, Hernando Cortes, and Bartolome de las Casas. Before Mundy begins her defense of her argument she addresses the limitations of her use of Henri LeFebve triad of representational space, changing the categories of his original triad to perceived space, conceived space, and lastly including lived space. The physical space of Mexico City is just as important as the cultural and social context that represents this "space" Mundy gives a deeper analyzes of the context written about the birth of Mexico City that exist in Spanish historical documents, that dismiss the importance of physical space that was Tenochtitlan. She balances the importance of visual perspective of the "Mexica" with the words written about the New Spain to further display the establishment Mexico City. The contribution of The Death of Aztec Tenochtitlan is that Mundy gives her readers a view into an alternative history by reworking the state history that has served to silence the "Mexica" and maintain the dominant colonial power. Mundy takes what has been written in the past to make a complex but complete understanding of the “space” that was once Tenochtitlan but is now Mexico City.

“By emphasizing indigenous presence, rather than assuming its absence, in representations of space and lived spaces, this book makes a novel contribution to both the history of Mexico City and early modern urbanism” (Mundy 15)

Mundy, Barbara. The Death of Aztec Tenochtitlan, the Life of Mexico City. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015. 1-25. Print.

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