The Aztecs did not count time on an infinite scale, as we do, but in cyclical periods of 52 years, and at the end of each cycle, life and the world would begin again. To herald the beginning of a new cycle, the New Fire ceremony, the most important Aztec ritual, was held. Every 52 years, the people of Tenochtitlán threw away the statues of their gods and all their household utensils and extinguished any fires in their homes and temples. While the city was in complete darkness, the priests left the Templo Mayor and traveled to Huixachtlan (Cerro de la Estrella, or Hill of the Star), and at the top they performed a ceremony to light a new fire. The ritual was shrouded in uncertainty and fear, as it was believed that if the new fire was not successfully lit, the world would end and the stars would turn into monsters that would devour humanity. During the five days leading up to the ceremony, the people let out their fires and destroyed their household goods, and then they waited, fasting and lamenting, as they pondered the possibility of the world’s collapse. That moment was beautifully recreated in 3D by Kole.
“The most difficult part was gathering all the information and then trying it out,” explains Thomas Kole. “How do you create a city if you actually know nothing about it? How do you start collecting that information? That was very difficult and meant I threw a lot of things away when I found different sources of conflicting information. That is part of pioneering, venturing into the unknown, into what no one has done before, but that is also very difficult because it takes a lot of time. Plus, I don’t speak Spanish and I’m not an academic, so I really approached this as an outsider,” says Kole.
“The year is 1518. Mexico-Tenochtitlán, once a modest settlement in the middle of Lake Texcoco, is now a bustling metropolis. It is the capital of an empire that rules and receives tribute from more than five million people. Tenochtitlán is home to 200,000 farmers, artisans, merchants, soldiers, priests and aristocrats. It is currently one of the largest cities in the world. Today we call this city Ciudad de Mexico – Mexico City,” reads the site, which begins with a stylized Tenochtitlán sign created by Mi Corazón Mexica.