President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada Molina announced the launch of “Mexico Tenochtitlan: Seven Centuries of a Legacy of Greatness,” a program of cultural and commemorative activities to honor the 700th anniversary of the founding of the ancient Mexica capital. The celebration will run throughout the month of July.
Speaking at her morning press conference, Sheinbaum emphasized that this tribute aims to honor the Indigenous civilizations that thrived prior to the Spanish conquest and to help rebuild the nation’s historical memory. She reaffirmed that the conquest was not a civilizing act but an invasion that sought to destroy great pre-Hispanic cultures, stressing that recognizing this legacy is key to continuing the construction of the nation.
Among the announced events is “Seven Centuries of the Legacy of Greatness of Mexico Tenochtitlan,” a large-scale performance on July 26 in the capital’s Zócalo, featuring 838 actors and 3,500 dancers from community cultural centers known as Pilares and Utopías. The show will depict key moments in Mexica history through four acts: the founding of Tenochtitlan, the struggle for freedom and greatness, the city’s splendor, and contemporary Mexico.
The agenda also includes the Island Pathway project, which will illuminate and decorate 23 kilometers along the original perimeter of Tenochtitlan with murals and public art; the film opera “Cuauhtemoczin” to be shown at the Palace of Fine Arts and the Zócalo; the sculpture exhibition “La Nopalera en el Corazón” on Paseo de la Reforma; a coloring book “Codex Tenochtitlan: Mexica Settlement” to be distributed in public elementary schools; and a videomapping presentation “700 Years of the Founding of Mexico-Tenochtitlan” from July 11 to 27.
Diego Prieto Hernández, director of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), announced that a new monument, Tlalmanalli, will be unveiled on July 26, alongside the release of a commemorative lottery ticket and postal stamp. Authorities agreed that these activities seek to honor the resistance and legacy of Mexico’s Indigenous peoples, pillars of the nation’s cultural identity and greatness.
