I just got back from my first trip to Mexico City. I visited the cathedral and the Temple Mayor. Thank you for helping me to understand the brutal history behind it better. It is a vibrant place built on tragedy and murder.
I visited all of this in '96, and although my fiancee at that time was a Mexican citizen that did her best to be a tour guide, she didn't have nearly all of this same knowledge you displayed here. This was a phenomenal tour you shared here. I think your commentary and criticisms of both the Spaniards and the Aztecs was very fair. Thank you very much for sharing this. Beautifully done.
That is because the government was not proud of the prehispanic roots of a large part of the Mexican people, that is why it did not promote knowledge of our cultures, in the history books of the 80's and 90's very little is said about the subject and Without more sources of information at that time, many did not know about its history, unlike what happens today
I was working in DF exactly 20 years ago and I vividly remember walking around this area. However, things have obviously developed in those 20 years - more of the Aztec ruins have been discovered and the walkways have changed a bit. Also, some areas inside the cathedral were being supported by extensive scaffolding - you could see the various angles some of the pillars were leaning at. No idea if all that has been fixed or not. Whatever, a good video!
Such a beautiful cathedral a masterpiece of humanity with such a haunting backstory it’s unbelievable. The architecture mixing I think is very representative of Christianity in both Americas
Built on what used to be The Aztec Empire useless churches ought to be demolished so Mexican people would be able to look at the beautiful ruins that their ancestors left behind for them to see and appreciate The Church although nice is not and was not a part of the Mexican people in the past it was however and imposition and a way of controlling them I'd say down with the Churches, they are of no historical value an Argentinian's opinion.
If anybody wants to learn more about the events in which Cortez and his army invaded, killed many people, and then destroyed the old Aztec city I highly recommend a documentary by the youtube channel Fall of Civilizations, Episode 9 THE AZTECS part 1 and part 2. They are very long documentaries but they contain an extreme amount of detail which even some people from Mexico say is has a lot of information they did not hear in schools in Mexico.
very imformative. Learnt lots of new things. The content of the video itself is so good. Thank you for showing and talking these kind of videos linking past and present. We want to see many more across the world. Keep up the good work
Does anybody know whether the people who are in charge of the cathedral locally, or perhaps the Catholics from Vatican in any way acknowledge that their church was built on a former religious pyramid of Aztecs? Like maybe they have a sign somewhere inside the church or outside saying something respectful about the Aztecs? Maybe there is some access to the basement area where some old ruins can be seen? Or maybe Aztecs are depicted on the cathedral art somewhere?
Yup, they're prety much aware and acknowledge the Mexica ruins underneath, in fact when the leaning of the cathedral was corrected (by more than a meter!) the archeologists working on the new foundatios discovered various Mexica ruins and one can visit them with the apropiate permission, the main ruins that lay underneath is the temple of the Sun dedicated to Tonatiuh, part of the Tzompantli (a rack of skulls from decapitated warriors and other sacrificial victims) and part of the Calmecac which was a school for the Mexica noblemen and the prestly class. If you go to the cripts of the archbishops of México the first one (Juan de Zumarraga) is intered under a slab of stone showing prehispanic motifs and a serpent similar to Quetzalcoatl, this slab of stone if of modern creation but at the fron of his tomb there is an actual Mexica skull carved in stone that came from some undetermined temple of Tenochtitlan. Another fun fact is that when the Sun Ston (also known as the Aztec Calendar) was discovered it was re-erected resting against the wall of the West tower and it was there for a few decades, untill it was moved to the Natoonal Museum and then to the National Museum of Anthropology.
The Vatican is fully aware that it was built on the ruins of a pyramid, also under the cathedral there is a kind of catacombs that are more like the interior of the pyramid, where the first bishops and friars who arrived in the new Spain are buried. Even if I remember correctly one of them the most important one, he was buried with a mexica sacrificial stone covering his tombstone or something like that
It always stuns me that even in this day and age, with our understanding and awareness of the deplorable acts upon peoples in history ... and the countries who many decades or centuries past (English empire throughout the world, Japanese on the Chinese during the 1930's, Canadians against their own First Nations people, or Australia against their own ... etc, etc, etc ... just a couple examples), perpetuated colonial or otherwise horrors against others ... have more recently reached out in apology and reconciliation for past wrongs. Slowly working towards peace and responsibility for historic atrocities. But not Spain. The country literally raped and emptied the Aztec, Mayans and others of their riches and shipped it off to Spain. In essence Spain was built on the blood and theft of their colonial past. They have a successful economy today, literally because it was built on from what they stole. Spain has never, ever attempted or made any form of conciliatory gestures towards Mexico or the existing Mayan peoples or civilizations for what they did. Every time it is brought up by South American politicians or protesters, the leaders of Spain get mad and refuse outright to take any responsibility for what their predecessors did. They absolutely refuse to state that Cortez was a monster ... in fact he is still honored as a historic Spaniard of importance. This kind of crap makes you 1) not want to visit Spain and 2) hope that their Sagrada Familia falls down on them. They destroyed a world completely ... and they dont care.
Thank you!! I’m not a history teacher, never was. I’m a on-camera storyteller, I’ve been doing this for about 6 years :D I remember the details of a history story, like an actor remembers his lines for a play 😁
I was in the museum and it was stated that the ruins you showed were covered up by the Spanish with a plaza. The mexican government uncovered it in the early 1900s.
la planta de la catedral es gotica el interior es renacentista ajustandose al neoclasio con decoracion barroca en capillas altares principales y coro muchas de las capillas tienen bovedas goticas la nave principal y el crucero tienen boveda de canon y las laterales tienen bovedas vaidas y sorprendentemente el conjunto tiene unidad y es maravilloso no es una mezcolansa y no tiene par en el continente
The catacombs are not a legend: one of my ancestors was buried down there and family can visit the place only in Día de Muertos. My mom was able to get in and she says the tests of the pyramid can be seen and how is all falling apart. They don’t let cameras in though. I am hoping to get in this year and see it for myself :)
This video was informative on the background of Spanish cathedral. However, it's misleading to speak about the Aztec religious sacrifices without acknowledging the brutality of Spanish colonization in Mexico and the rest of Latin America. The Spanish killed millions of indigenous people throughout Latin America to the point of near extinction. The level of mass genocide carried out by Spaniards led to such a decrease in the indigenous population that the colonizers had to then bring over enslaved Africans for labor, which is horrifying. I recommend folks read "Open Veins of Latin America" by Eduardo Galleano to get a better understanding of the savagery of Spanish, Portuguese, French etc. colonization. So much of history is told from the European perspective that the history of those they oppressed are erased. Once you have this understanding, there is a sadness in knowing Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Santísima Virgen María a los cielos was built on and with the volcanic stones from Tenochtitlan. In 2019, the Mexican government issues a letter to Spain's King Felipe IV and Pope Francis urging them to apologize for human right abuses committed in the region during the conquest 500 years ago.
I don’t think we have to deflect our ancestors actions. I think it should be mentioned that the Aztecs weren’t the only one doing sacrifices. It’s not like their neighbors were in shock at the brutality of the Aztecs, since the Aztecs actually learned from them. Maybe you’re right though, I’m not writing this to minimize or undermine the amount of undermining I see from people who want to say that indigenous people of americas didn’t have a culture worth understanding. Also yeah, I’m honestly furious when I think about the loss of literature do to Spanish ignorance.
@@giannachacon1846 good point. And not only the Spanish, but also many other native American cultures did ritual sacrifice. While in Europe ritual sacrifice was not being practiced, the countless religious and political wars killed more people than the aztecs ever did. . Same thing in Asia, everyone were killing everyone, it was how things were back then. Yes it wasn't a good thing, but that was different times. We can't just talk about my ancestors and forget about what others did.
Not only are your videos fantastic with all the history and architecture background, but you are a fantastic and uplifting person as well.
I just got back from my first trip to Mexico City. I visited the cathedral and the Temple Mayor. Thank you for helping me to understand the brutal history behind it better. It is a vibrant place built on tragedy and murder.
Thank you Ariel.🥰 You are a delight to listen to. I enjoy Your videos so much! Bravo 👏
That is the most amazing Cathedral I have ever seen! It's intriguing history, and the giant pendulum tracking it's movement is profoundly interesting.
Very interesting video Ariel. Learned something new again. ☀
Here from tiktok. You got a new sub. Going down the rabbit hole.
I was there 6 months ago and the cathedral and templo mayor didnt mean anything to me UNTIL i watched this video. Thank you very much!
Thanks for your honesty because it is all embellishments..
I visited all of this in '96, and although my fiancee at that time was a Mexican citizen that did her best to be a tour guide, she didn't have nearly all of this same knowledge you displayed here. This was a phenomenal tour you shared here. I think your commentary and criticisms of both the Spaniards and the Aztecs was very fair. Thank you very much for sharing this. Beautifully done.
That is because the government was not proud of the prehispanic roots of a large part of the Mexican people, that is why it did not promote knowledge of our cultures, in the history books of the 80's and 90's very little is said about the subject and Without more sources of information at that time, many did not know about its history, unlike what happens today
@@Anthony-hc8bz I didn't know that. Interesting. I'm glad that has changed.
I remember walking by the ruins when they first located it. Back in 79-80,
When I was going to school about 6 blocks from el Zocalo 🙂
These videos are wonderful, thank you so much for them.
🥳💕thanks for the upload🤗✅🥰☕
I was working in DF exactly 20 years ago and I vividly remember walking around this area. However, things have obviously developed in those 20 years - more of the Aztec ruins have been discovered and the walkways have changed a bit. Also, some areas inside the cathedral were being supported by extensive scaffolding - you could see the various angles some of the pillars were leaning at. No idea if all that has been fixed or not. Whatever, a good video!
Love your informative video about the history of Mexico! I'll be headed there soon.
Amazing walking tour my friend! superb quality! Love it! Big like! 👌👌🥰
Such a beautiful cathedral a masterpiece of humanity with such a haunting backstory it’s unbelievable. The architecture mixing I think is very representative of Christianity in both Americas
Built on what used to be The Aztec Empire useless churches ought to be demolished so Mexican people would be able to look at the beautiful ruins that their ancestors left behind for them to see and appreciate The Church although nice is not and was not a part of the Mexican people in the past it was however and imposition and a way of controlling them I'd say down with the Churches, they are of no historical value an Argentinian's opinion.
Great video, very well presented and researched.
Great video Ariel. Thank you.
Ariel off the wall a long way off civilization. Amanzing. Take care.
If anybody wants to learn more about the events in which Cortez and his army invaded, killed many people, and then destroyed the old Aztec city I highly recommend a documentary by the youtube channel Fall of Civilizations, Episode 9 THE AZTECS part 1 and part 2. They are very long documentaries but they contain an extreme amount of detail which even some people from Mexico say is has a lot of information they did not hear in schools in Mexico.
❤️❤️❤️ Lots of love for all your videos on your channel! They are so cool! ❤️❤️❤️
Sweet!
beautiful
Your underrated
I enjoyed this so much. Thanks
very imformative. Learnt lots of new things. The content of the video itself is so good. Thank you for showing and talking these kind of videos linking past and present. We want to see many more across the world. Keep up the good work
I got to visit the ruins back in 2002
I need to go back and visit my grandma
It's sad that there wasn't any Aztec dancers around el Zócalo
You tell a good story Ariel. Thank you for a great video. And, yes, the story of the Americas is a complex one.
Good job..never seen it from that point of view 👌
*10:19** anybody know the music title?/alguien sabe cómo se llama la música*
Does anybody know whether the people who are in charge of the cathedral locally, or perhaps the Catholics from Vatican in any way acknowledge that their church was built on a former religious pyramid of Aztecs? Like maybe they have a sign somewhere inside the church or outside saying something respectful about the Aztecs? Maybe there is some access to the basement area where some old ruins can be seen? Or maybe Aztecs are depicted on the cathedral art somewhere?
Yup, they're prety much aware and acknowledge the Mexica ruins underneath, in fact when the leaning of the cathedral was corrected (by more than a meter!) the archeologists working on the new foundatios discovered various Mexica ruins and one can visit them with the apropiate permission, the main ruins that lay underneath is the temple of the Sun dedicated to Tonatiuh, part of the Tzompantli (a rack of skulls from decapitated warriors and other sacrificial victims) and part of the Calmecac which was a school for the Mexica noblemen and the prestly class.
If you go to the cripts of the archbishops of México the first one (Juan de Zumarraga) is intered under a slab of stone showing prehispanic motifs and a serpent similar to Quetzalcoatl, this slab of stone if of modern creation but at the fron of his tomb there is an actual Mexica skull carved in stone that came from some undetermined temple of Tenochtitlan.
Another fun fact is that when the Sun Ston (also known as the Aztec Calendar) was discovered it was re-erected resting against the wall of the West tower and it was there for a few decades, untill it was moved to the Natoonal Museum and then to the National Museum of Anthropology.
The Vatican is fully aware that it was built on the ruins of a pyramid, also under the cathedral there is a kind of catacombs that are more like the interior of the pyramid, where the first bishops and friars who arrived in the new Spain are buried. Even if I remember correctly one of them the most important one, he was buried with a mexica sacrificial stone covering his tombstone or something like that
👍🏻🧡😊
Amazing! I wish they would take out the modern screens and horrible blue and white stickers....they really ruin it. Great video.
It always stuns me that even in this day and age, with our understanding and awareness of the deplorable acts upon peoples in history ... and the countries who many decades or centuries past (English empire throughout the world, Japanese on the Chinese during the 1930's, Canadians against their own First Nations people, or Australia against their own ... etc, etc, etc ... just a couple examples), perpetuated colonial or otherwise horrors against others ... have more recently reached out in apology and reconciliation for past wrongs. Slowly working towards peace and responsibility for historic atrocities.
But not Spain.
The country literally raped and emptied the Aztec, Mayans and others of their riches and shipped it off to Spain. In essence Spain was built on the blood and theft of their colonial past. They have a successful economy today, literally because it was built on from what they stole.
Spain has never, ever attempted or made any form of conciliatory gestures towards Mexico or the existing Mayan peoples or civilizations for what they did. Every time it is brought up by South American politicians or protesters, the leaders of Spain get mad and refuse outright to take any responsibility for what their predecessors did. They absolutely refuse to state that Cortez was a monster ... in fact he is still honored as a historic Spaniard of importance.
This kind of crap makes you 1) not want to visit Spain and 2) hope that their Sagrada Familia falls down on them.
They destroyed a world completely ... and they dont care.
Very wise words..
Just in case that mean Eastern daylight time. NYC time.
Boy do I feel silly 😜🙃
💕M8R🥰heyy🤗
@@itsstillmekenia Hey bk 💕
Ariel, you are a great storyteller! Are you a history teacher or something? How can you remember all of those details?
Thank you!! I’m not a history teacher, never was. I’m a on-camera storyteller, I’ve been doing this for about 6 years :D I remember the details of a history story, like an actor remembers his lines for a play 😁
I love how balanced you are about presenting the information.
Catedral linda
Tanta história... Tantas construções destruídas pelos espanhóis... E nunca houve justiça por esses povos
I was in the museum and it was stated that the ruins you showed were covered up by the Spanish with a plaza. The mexican government uncovered it in the early 1900s.
Yeah, i like the Aztec ruins better
la planta de la catedral es gotica el interior es renacentista ajustandose al neoclasio con decoracion barroca en capillas altares principales y coro muchas de las capillas tienen bovedas goticas la nave principal y el crucero tienen boveda de canon y las laterales tienen bovedas vaidas y sorprendentemente el conjunto tiene unidad y es maravilloso no es una mezcolansa y no tiene par en el continente
@15:39 Sitting on the laps of catholic saints lol
The catacombs are not a legend: one of my ancestors was buried down there and family can visit the place only in Día de Muertos. My mom was able to get in and she says the tests of the pyramid can be seen and how is all falling apart. They don’t let cameras in though. I am hoping to get in this year and see it for myself :)
Actually many of the mesoamerican civilizations practiced human sacrifice. The Mexica just did it on a much larger scale.
Actually there is no proof of that they sacrificed humans. .... gringo/euro propaganda
¿aquello no fue la virgen del guadalupe?
This video was informative on the background of Spanish cathedral. However, it's misleading to speak about the Aztec religious sacrifices without acknowledging the brutality of Spanish colonization in Mexico and the rest of Latin America. The Spanish killed millions of indigenous people throughout Latin America to the point of near extinction. The level of mass genocide carried out by Spaniards led to such a decrease in the indigenous population that the colonizers had to then bring over enslaved Africans for labor, which is horrifying. I recommend folks read "Open Veins of Latin America" by Eduardo Galleano to get a better understanding of the savagery of Spanish, Portuguese, French etc. colonization. So much of history is told from the European perspective that the history of those they oppressed are erased. Once you have this understanding, there is a sadness in knowing Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Santísima Virgen María a los cielos was built on and with the volcanic stones from Tenochtitlan. In 2019, the Mexican government issues a letter to Spain's King Felipe IV and Pope Francis urging them to apologize for human right abuses committed in the region during the conquest 500 years ago.
I don’t think we have to deflect our ancestors actions. I think it should be mentioned that the Aztecs weren’t the only one doing sacrifices. It’s not like their neighbors were in shock at the brutality of the Aztecs, since the Aztecs actually learned from them. Maybe you’re right though, I’m not writing this to minimize or undermine the amount of undermining I see from people who want to say that indigenous people of americas didn’t have a culture worth understanding. Also yeah, I’m honestly furious when I think about the loss of literature do to Spanish ignorance.
💯
Nunca! eso quiere solo para ganar la elecciones
@@giannachacon1846 False information.
@@giannachacon1846 good point. And not only the Spanish, but also many other native American cultures did ritual sacrifice.
While in Europe ritual sacrifice was not being practiced, the countless religious and political wars killed more people than the aztecs ever did. .
Same thing in Asia, everyone were killing everyone, it was how things were back then.
Yes it wasn't a good thing, but that was different times.
We can't just talk about my ancestors and forget about what others did.
This is the land of Tartaria. Tell the truth.
Southwest of United States not America.
America is a big continent not a country
You mentioned a statue of John Paull II , what about RU PAUL II
🤦
Why are you saying Tetnochitlan when it is Tenochtitlan? Why noone, who is doing these educative videos can`t pronounce the names properly? WHY?
When native aztecs attack spanish, the were called terrorists, visitor is landlord, native were slaves😁