According to the Aztec Calendar, Mexica New Year begins sometime between March 12-17.
“This year is special,” said Mazatzin Aztecayollazalli Acosta, who hosted a traditional Aztec dance celebration at City College of San Francisco on March 11. The celebration begins with the burning of ocote (pitch-pine) candles, followed by prayers, drumming, singing and dancing.
The Aztecs or Mexica were an indigenous people who flourished in central Mexico between 1300 and 1521, who after traveling through various places ended up settling in the Valley of Mexico. Their civilization is considered the last great Indigenous empire before the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century. The calendar they followed includes two systems: Xiuhpohualli, a 365-day solar count, and Tonalpohualli, a 260-day cycle used for divination purposes.
Today, Mexica New Year is celebrated by some Nahua communities in Mexico, where the date is known as 12 Tekpatl (Nahuatl for Flint). “The Flint represents the tongue,” said Mazatzin, who helped bring the ancient celebration to City College’s Mission campus in 2007. “The word: profound, pointed and sharp. It’s punchy to try to dig and find the root of the truth.”
