A replica of Mexico’s Templo Mayor has been built to commemorate the religious site, however, the original remains in serious need of repair.
Templo Mayor was the main temple of the Mexica people, positioned in their capital city, Tenochtitlan.
It was a significant religious site, dedicated to both the god of war Huitzilopochtli the god of rain Tlaloc.
Four months ago, in April, a metal roof at the archeological site of Templo Mayor collapsed during a hailstorm.
It is yet to be repaired, and remains closed to visitors.
The replica was built recently, as a site for the commemoration of five hundred years since the fall of the Tenochtitlan to the Spanish invaders.
In 1521 the invaders destroyed the sacred pyramid and used much of its material to build Mexico City’s Roman Catholic cathedral.
The commemoration was described by the Mexican government as recognising “500 years of Indigenous resistance”.
Representatives from Indigenous communities of Mexico, the US and Canada were invited to speak at the event.
📽 La proyección electrónica de ‘Memoria Luminosa’ sobre una réplica del Templo Mayor, el sitio más importante de la civilización mexica, conmemora los 500 años de la caída de Tenochtitlan
🔗 https://t.co/W0Uri6FhaK pic.twitter.com/ue0Bpmi942
— EL PAÍS México (@elpaismexico) August 14, 2021
Current President Lópes Obrador, who attended the ceremony, has been criticised for neglecting the Temple’s remains.
Funds are needed to preserve the archeological site, however, Obrador has cut funding to Templo Mayor by 75 per cent since taking office.
The slash in funding has hindered the excavation of the site, and made it difficult for the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology to repair the recent damage to the roof.
Speaking to Reuters, the ministry’s general festival director Argel Gomez emphasised the cultural significance of Templo Mayor.
“For the [Aztecs] it was the centre of the universe. It was the point at which one could enter the underworld and the different celestial levels”.
Some of the damage to the excavation site can be seen in a photo below:
Mientras tanto, en el Templo Mayor aka El gran cú… pic.twitter.com/nC5A5RXqGi
— Viviana Hinojosa (@Vivianolala) August 13, 2021
