Aztec Rhapsodies: The first and only epic poem of the Conquista

Throughout history, a fewer talented souls person managed to crook momentous events into epic poems. We person the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Epic of Gilgamesh and present the Aztec Rhapsodies.

The taxable of the rhapsodies is the autumn of the Mexica empire arsenic seen done Mexican eyes, and it’s a communicative adjacent much bizarre than the autumn of Troy.

The Aztec Rhapsodies picture the Spanish conquest of the Mexica.

As the fable goes, a fistful of unwashed Spaniards who didn’t cognize the section connection walked into 1 of the best-organized cities successful the satellite — a metropolis protected by the astir ferocious warriors successful the Americas — and captured its person without a hitch. That, indeed, is simply a communicative worthy telling.

The communicative is told successful verse implicit 132 pages with much than 100 illustrations, taken chiefly from 16th-century codices. “Aztec Rhapsodies, Flower and Song of the Mexican Conquest,” was published successful 2024. It is present disposable connected Amazon, some successful people and Kindle form. And yes, it is successful English!

The writer of this astir antithetic enactment is Gabriel de la Asunción Michel Padilla, curator of a fascinating small depository successful the municipality of El Limón, Jalisco, located halfway betwixt Guadalajara and the Pacific coast.

Michel’s well-illustrated publication of 48 rhapsodies begins with the landing of the Spaniards successful Cuetlaxtlan (today’s Veracruz) successful the twelvemonth 1519. The publication begins with these lines:

In the location of the flowers, of the music,

by the blossomy mansion of Mixcóatl,

where are hatched and sung anthems of battle,

here is woven successful words, present is recited,

how ominously landed successful Cuetláxtlan,

Castilian men proceeding from the east,

at the coastland governed by Pinotéuctli,

nearby the limits of the godly water,

the threshold of the sea, of twisted tides.

The pursuing chapters subordinate Moctezuma’s absorption to the beingness of those Castilian men, however helium sent magicians and sorcerers to bash them successful — unsuccessfully — and how, fearing they were gods, helium welcomed them to his palace.

Gabriel Michel Padilla’s epic poem of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, “Aztec Rhapsodies,” is disposable done Amazon oregon straight from the author. It is disposable successful Spanish and successful English. (Amazon)

We larn however the Spaniards allied themselves with the galore tribes that hated the Aztecs, of the fierce battles that ensued, of the scourge of smallpox… and the time that the Spaniards grabbed Moctezuma by the arms and forced him to amusement them the storehouse of the nationalist treasure.

Of peculiar involvement are the Aztec descriptions of guns and cannon and their interaction upon Moctezuma:

Specially did it origin him to faint

when helium heard however the guns discharged the shot,

how it resounded and thundered, terrifying.

There was fright, consternation, eardrums burst,

when the Spaniards ordained occurrence of the shot.

From within, a stone came forth, a circular pebble,

It went on sparkling, it rained fire.

The fume that came from it was fetid, foul.

When it went into the brain, the caput was wounded.

When it struck a hill, it made a hole.

It was arsenic if the upland were demolished.

If the changeable reached a tree, it turned into a sliver.

It was thing amazing, awe-inspiring.

It was arsenic if idiosyncratic blew it away.

I asked writer Gabriel Michel what inspired him to constitute an epic poem connected the Spanish conquest.

“Many years ago,” helium told me, “I was a seminarian, and successful my studies of Greek, I came upon Virgil’s Aeneid, the epic poem which tells the communicative of the autumn of Troy and the founding of the Roman Empire. At the property of 13, I told myself: “This is what I should beryllium doing. I should use this to my ain country.”

Widely recognized for his extended probe and publications connected the history, ethnography and anthropology of the Sierra de Amula portion successful Jalisco, Michel Padilla is besides the laminitis of the Museo Licho Santana successful El Limón, Jalisco. (John Pint)

At that point, Michel began his lifelong survey of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, starting with Bernal Diaz de Castillo’s “True History of the Conquest of New Spain.”

“Later on,”  said Michel, “I examined the writings of those who had been conquered, and I was genuinely astonished by what I found.”

Michel archetypal wrote his ain mentation of the Conquista successful prose and then, spot by bit, rewrote it successful verse, inspired, helium says, by the writings of St. John of the Cross, whom helium considered the precise champion writer of Spanish literature.

English speakers whitethorn glean the astir from “Aztec Rhapsodies” by simultaneously speechmaking chapters of the publication “The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico” (2006) by historiographer Miguel León-Portilla. Both books archer the aforesaid story, but successful a precise antithetic manner.

Michel Padilla with his book. (John Pint)

Like each epic poems, “Aztec Rhapsodies” is meant to beryllium work aloud. Give it a try!

Should you ever question done Jalisco, you whitethorn privation to halt successful El Limón to sojourn Gabriel Michel and his fascinating depository Museo Licho Santana, which offers a good postulation of everything from pre-Hispanic figurines to prehistoric fossils — specified arsenic an intact Ice Age gliptodont. 

If you are funny successful the Spanish mentation of “Aztec Rhapsodies,” you tin get a transcript here — or by contacting Gabriel Michel astatine Whatsapp 321 100 5138.

John Pint has lived adjacent Guadalajara, Jalisco, for much than 30 years and is the writer of “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” and co-author of “Outdoors successful Western Mexico.” More of his penning tin beryllium recovered connected his website.