Lost City of Aztlan: Our story begins in ancient Mesoamerica, the land that held the mysterious beginnings of the Aztec people—one of the greatest empires of the ancient Americas.
Now, some say that Aztlan—the rumored origins of the Aztecs—was a real place that has yet to be rediscovered. While others believe that like Avalon and Atlantis, Aztlan is nothing more than a myth.
But today, let’s explore the stories of this famous land—whether it be myth or matter is unimportant, for it is quite an interesting tale.
We begin just before Aztlan is founded, in the vast lands known as the Chicomoztoc—the place of seven caves. They say that seven tribes lived inside these seven caves, and that one day these tribes emerged from their dwellings and—upon discovering their deep-run commonalities—decided to settle as one in the lands known as Aztlan.
Now, the stories say that these seven tribes—then called the Nahua—were not the first to arrive on Aztlan’s lands. For another, known as Chichimecas, settled on Aztlan first. But the Chichimecas were a far less civilized people, and the Nahua quickly took their place as the leaders of this new land.
They say the land itself was lush and full of life—a great and gorgeous island resting in the middle of a freshwater lake. The island was brimming with life—a veritable paradise of creatures and plants of all species and kinds.
Aztlan, they say, was a place unlike any other. Both a utopia and a place to call home.
Now, some stories say that all the people of Aztlan lived together in a simple, unifying peace. That the harmony of the lands echoed into the tribes that called them home.
While others say that tyrannical rule did infect the lands early on.
But what many of the stories do agree on is that after some time, the Aztecs of the Nahua fled the city of Aztlan due to a roaring natural disaster—forcing the tribespeople out of their new home.
As the legends say, once the Aztecs left Aztlan their beloved God Huitzilopochtli came to them and forbade them from calling themselves the Azteca. That instead they must now be known as the Mexica—and live the rest of their lives with this new name.
While we don’t know exactly how long the Aztecs lived in Aztlan, the stories from their time there have lived on in the hearts of Mexican culture for centuries.
Over the past six-hundred years many have ventured off in search of the mythic city—with not one person ever finding its exact location.
Many people in recent years have still tried—searching as far north as the lands we know now as Utah, and as far south as the northern terrains of Mexico. Wherever Aztlan may have been, its seekers do not know. But that has not quelled the desire to find out.
Today, Aztlan still lives on in the fires of myth and legend—its story used to this day to inspire messages of unity and hope.
For perhaps, if such a paradise once existed that we can find it for ourselves once more.
