A Morning at the Market of Tlatelolco

Imagine it's a morning around the year 1519. You're standing in Tlatelolco, the twin city of Tenochtitlan, on an island in a great lake. In front of you is the biggest market in this part of the world. It's early, but the square is already full of people.

You're walking into the market now. But it isn't messy at all. Every kind of thing has its own street. On your left, people are selling vegetables: onions, garlic and many herbs you don't know. On your right, there's a street of birds. Hunters are holding up ducks, quail and colorful parrots. Further on, there are rabbits, deer and fish, fresh and cooked.

Now you're turning into a quieter street. Here, men and women are selling medicines and roots for every pain. Next to them, painters are buying colors in small bowls. In another street, people are selling cotton thread in many colors, deerskins, mats and beautiful feathers. You can also see gold and silver jewelry, stones, shells and big clay pots.

Are you hungry? Some people are selling food and drinks at a fixed price. A barber is washing and shaving a man's head. Porters are carrying heavy loads on their backs, and workers are waiting for someone to give them a job for the day.

Look at that big building in the square. Inside, ten or twelve judges are sitting all day. If two people have a problem, the judges decide. Other officials are walking among the stalls. They're checking the measures that people use to sell their goods. Is a measure false? Then they break it, right there.

Hernán Cortés came here in 1519 and wrote about this market for the king of Spain. He said that more than 60,000 people came every day to buy and sell. He also said that the square was twice as big as the main square of Salamanca, a large Spanish city. For a man from Spain, that was the best way to explain it.