[Aztlan] Replica of Aztec Capital to be Built in Mexico

[Ian Mursell]

Many thanks, John, for flagging up this extraordinary story.

I think the correct current link is -

http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=36396

There is also a report in Spanish here -

http://www.informador.com.mx/cultura/2010/179730/6/replica-de-tenochtitlan-a
-escala-real.htm

Best,

Ian

Ian Mursell

MirandaNet Fellow, Institute of Education, London University

Director, 'Mexicolore'
28 Warriner Gardens
London SW11 4EB, U.K.
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7622 9577
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7498 0173
www.aztecs.org
Ian.Mursell at btinternet.com
info at mexicolore.co.uk

1980-2010: 30 years of bringing Mexico and the Mexica/Aztecs to life in
schools and museums throughout England.  Team visits, online teaching
resources and services, live interactive videoconferencing sessions, and
much more - all from Mexicolore, the 'highly successful teaching team'
(British Museum Education Service)




> http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new6396
> 
> 
> MEXICO CITY (EFE).- A replica of the sacred center of Tenochtitlan, the
> capital of the Aztec Empire, will begin construction this year outside
> Mexico City, the directors of the project said.
> 
> Notable among the 21 buildings that will make up the replica of
> Tenochtitlan, a city founded in the 14th century and one of the biggest of
> its day, will be the pyramids of Coacalco, Cihuacoatl, Chicomecoatl and
> Xochiquetzal, the Temple of the Sun and courts for the pre-Columbian ball
> game that played a central role in Aztec culture, all of them surrounded
> by a canal.
> 
> "Rescuing history" is the key to this project, which will occupy some 300
> hectares (740 acres), and where besides the pre-Columbian-style buildings
> there will also be offices, two Hilton hotels and two shopping malls, one
> of them dedicated to international designer fashions.
> 
> The buildings of the "sacred premises" will preserve the original
> dimensions, colors and paintings that, according to the observations of
> chroniclers like the Spanish conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo,
> decorated the Aztec capital.
> 
> These pavilions will be reserved for exhibitions and, in the case of the
> ball court, for concerts and cultural events. IMAX movie screens will be
> installed inside some of the temples.
> 
> "We must recover the pre-Columbian architecture, our true architecture,"
> the head of the project, Ivan Castañeda, said in Mexico City, but added
> that these will be "smart" buildings, "as required by businesses of the
> 21st century."
> 
> In order to "save these roots," whose importance is stressed by the
> creators of the project, the Nican Ca Tenochtitlan Center, as they are
> going to call it, will also include a Museum of Aztec Culture and an
> embassy of the indigenous peoples.
> 
> In addition, the canal surrounding the replica of the sacred premises will
> offer a nighttime boat tour featuring a representation of how the Aztec
> capital was destroyed by colonizers of the 16th century.
> 
> The team carrying out the project estimates that work will begin "in a few
> months" and that it will create more than 6,000 direct jobs and will take
> 5 years to finish, though the first replicas will be ready "by the end of
> 2010."
> 
> The plan has a budget of $3 billion, all provided by unnamed private
> investors from France, Britain, Chile and Peru.
> 
> The exact location of this park of commerce and culture has not yet been
> revealed, though it is known that it will be in the town of Huixquilucan,
> chosen for its proximity to a planned highway linking Mexico City with
> Toluca, capital of the surrounding state of Mexico. EFE
> 
> 
> 
> --
> John F. Schwaller
> President,
> SUNY Potsdam
> 44 Pierrepont Ave.
> Potsdam, NY  13676
> schwallr at potsdam.edu
> 
> 
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