Si existe un tema que merece ser contado con cámaras, tiempo y honestidad periodística, ese es Name of Mexico. Lo que revelan las investigaciones más rigurosas sobre este asunto va mucho más allá de lo que aparece en los titulares.
Los antecedentes
Several hypotheses seek to explain the etymology of the name “Mexico” (México in modern Spanish) which dates, at least, back to 14th century Mesoamerica. Among these are expressions in the Nahuatl language such as (in translation), Mexitli (“place in the middle of the century plant”) and Mēxihco (“place in the navel of the moon”), along with the currently used shortened form in Spanish, “el ombligo de la luna” (“belly button of the moon”), used in both 21st century speech and literature. Presently, there is still no consensus among experts. There is another version, spread by writer Arturo Ortega Morán, in the sense that the deceased Nahuatl speaker Juan Luna Cárdenas pointed out that the word México comes from the nahuatl word Metzico, and the meaning of the latter is: “The place of the Metzikah, the followers of Metzitli, those who entrusted themselves to the moon.”
As far back as 1590, the “Orbis Terrarum Typus De Integro Multis in Locis Emendatus” of Petrus Planicus showed that th
Cómo se desarrolló
Anahuac (meaning land surrounded by water) was the name in Nahuatl given to the Valley of Mexico during Pre-colonial times. When the Spanish conquistadors besieged México-Tenochtitlan in 1521, it was almost completely destroyed. It was rebuilt during the following three years, after which it was designated as a municipality and capital of the vice-royalty of New Spain. In 1524, the municipality of Mexico City was established, known as México Tenustitlan. In 1585, it became officially known as Ciudad de México. The name Mexico was used only to refer to the city, and later to a province within New Spain. It was not until the independence of the vice-royalty of New Spain that “Mexico” became the traditional short-form name of the country. In the 1810s, different insurgent groups advocated and fought for the independence of the vice-royalty of New Spain. This vast territory was composed of different intendencias and provinces, successors of the kingdoms and captaincies general administered
Dato clave: Mexico would then mean “Place of Mexi” or “Land of the War God.
Las voces que deben escucharse
Etymology According to one legend, the war deity and patron of the Mexica Huitzilopochtli possessed Mexitl or Mexi as a secret name. Mexico would then mean “Place of Mexi” or “Land of the War God.” Another hypothesis suggests that Mēxihco derives from a portmanteau of the Nahuatl words for “moon” (mētztli) and navel (xīctli). This meaning (“Place at the Center of the Moon”) might then refer to Tenochtitlan’s position in the middle of Lake Texcoco. The system of interconnected lakes, of which Texcoco formed the center, had the form of a rabbit, which the Mesoamericans pareidolically associated with the moon. Still another hypothesis offers that it is derived from Mectli, the goddess of maguey. These last two suggestions are deprecated by linguist Frances Karttunen, since the final form “Mēxihco” differs in vowel length from both proposed elements. Nahua toponymy is full of mysticism, however, as it was pointed out by the Spanish missionary Bernardino de Sahagún. In his mystic interpreta
El impacto real
Name of Mexico has been the subject of considerable study and documentation. Several hypotheses seek to explain the etymology of the name “Mexico” which dates, at least, back to 14th century Mesoamerica. Among these are expressions in the Nahuatl language such as, Mexitli and Mēxihco, along with the currently used shortened form in Spanish, “el ombligo de la luna”, used in both 21st century speech and literature. Presently, there is still no consensus among experts.
Por qué esta historia importa
La historia de Name of Mexico no es solo un relato del pasado. Es un espejo que nos ayuda a entender el México de hoy — sus contradicciones, su resiliencia, sus retos y su potencial. Conocerla es un primer paso hacia una conversación más honesta sobre el país y la sociedad que queremos construir.
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