Going back to its roots, Mexico is observing the 500 years since the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, by constructing a replica of Templo Mayor.

For the Aztec civilisation, Templo Mayor was the most sacred site.

The mock temple which is mostly in white is being built at Mexico City’s main square Zocalo, which is a bustling place. Interestingly, this is close to the real Templo Mayor ruins – in which the Aztecs in the past used to venerate and worship their two main Gods with sacrifices and pageantry.

The Spanish forces after their 1521 conquest and later destruction of Tenochtitlan, razed this temple. Following this they built a Roman Catholic cathedral next to where the temple once stood and ironically used several stones from the temple to build the church.

Standing 16 meters or 52 feet high, this replica of Templo Mayor is the biggest that has ever been made, according to Mexico’s Culture Ministry. Historians and experts said that the original structure was as high as a 15-story building.

Talking to the Reuters, Argel Gomez, the Ministry’s General Festival Director observed: "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.”

The ceremony at Zocalo, commemorating five centuries since the fall of Tenochtitlan to the Spanish invaders led by Hernan Cortes will be attended by the Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador today. It is noteworthy to recall that Obrador had earlier asked Spain and the Vatican to apologise for human rights violations and abuses during the conquest of what is today’s Mexico.

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