Purépechas: The Empire of Mexico Impregnable to the Mighty Aztecs

  • Stephanie Mendes
  • BBC Travel

image source, Good pictures

“This is the legacy of our people,” my uncle said as we looked at the pyramids. We weren’t in Egypt, we were in the city of Tjintzuntzan in the state of Michoacán in southwestern Mexico.

The pyramids -or yácatas- that rose before us were singularly round and made of volcanic stone; They are probably the most fragmented relics of the Puripechas, a pre-Hispanic tribal group that ruled here but most people have never heard of.

In fact, I had never heard of them until a few months ago when I found out AA direct derivativeA from them.

Born and raised in California, I grew up not knowing this part of my heritage because it disappeared from my family after my grandfather died in 1978. My grandmother had five children and no income, but after saving, she accompanied my father and his brothers to America in 1983.

Eden Hayes

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