ABSTRACT
The whole myth of Aztli:in as a rediscovery of Aztec culture is a phenomenon of this century, and it has very little to do with the historical consciousness of Spanish-speaking peoples up to this century. In a sense, it is also part of the Mexicans' attempt to create a history. I'm not saying that's invalid, but one has to take it with a grain of salt. The Aztecs were a great people, but they were also butchers, and they were not the greatest of the indigenous peoples who lived in the valley of Mexico. Certainly, the Toltecs were far greater. The Mexican government's attempt to erase three hundred years of history under Spanish rule is understandable, but it is also pretty intellectually illegitimate. We are a combination of two, and we have to appreciate and understand how they mixed and created a third people. Here, in New Mexico, Aztlan, the recapturing of our Aztec ancestry and noble lineage-well, it's forced. I dare say it may be forced elsewhere where you have a culture that's been here so long, that antedated the American conquest, that antedated Mexican independence. It's a little forced.
