As both a student at SDSU (Go Aztecs! Even though our mascot is up for debate) and being of indigenous Mexican-Indian descent (according to my Abuela, we are actually Aztec), I have always been fascinated with the culture and language of these native people.

Last Summer, I actually visited Teotihuacan, Mexico D.F. with my family and got to climb the pyramids that the Aztecs had once climbed. Here’s my sister and I on top of the moon pyramid:

7 years of good luck for those who reach the top!

As the story goes, the Aztecs were a nomadic tribe that had just left Aztlan when they came across the land that was to become the great city of Tenochitlan, by signs from their god, Huitzilopochtli.

While touring the ruins, I came across names that I had heard before on the SDSU campus (Chapultepec, Tenochca, Toltec, Cuicacalli). This language seemed to be completely separate from Spanish and quite hard for me to pronounce. (So many q’s and x’s) Our tour guide, Nacho, introduced us to the Nahuatl language, which is the official language of the Aztec peoples.

Many indigenous tribes once covered the landscape that is Mexico. A map of these peoples can be found here. According to statistics, only 5.4% of the population speaks one of the 62 indigenous languages, which all belong to the Amerind language family. Nahuatl is the most popular of these languages and is classified as an agglutinant language, meaning words consist of a string of prefixes, suffixes, and roots to form an idea.

San Diego State has incorporated the Nahuatl language into the naming of its buildings to go with the whole Aztec theme. The university even offers indigenous language classes through the Latin American studies department.

The history of the Aztecs is fascinating and I feel honored to have been able to visit the very place where they once lived. My interest in the language and culture (and Mexican food in general) are only heightened after my trip.

#aztecs #sdsu #indigenous #nahuatl