mid month musing

Emma Murray — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 16:31:56 GMT

Through this split in the sandy bushes is the beach where, in 1519, Hernán Cortés landed with an unauthorized fleet of Spanish men and horses. In January 2025, I walked along this beach, feeling for the ghost of this egocentric conquistador. He’d gone against his King’s wishes, and, almost incredulously, he’d arrived upon lands (ruled by the ninth Mexica Emperor, Moctezuma II) where people had predicted the imminent arrival of a light-colored deity, Quetzalcoatl, from the east, Cortés’ exact path. What were the odds?

I didn’t know what I’d find here at Playa Chalchihuecan. Along with… so much else… Cortés and his expedition brought the Spanish language to the North American continent. All of this changed the course of global history in ways that no one could’ve imagined. After moving inland, Cortés later returned to this bay and burned his ships to prevent any of his skeptical men from leaving. I learned in my Nahuatl class last night that Chalchihuecan would translate to “place of green,” which might be a literal naming (see photo), or could also relate the cultural contexts of the color green: political power and supreme agency. Western culture associates green with prosperity and forces of envy.

Cortés built a house a bit over a mile inland, fifteen miles north of where the Spanish eventually founded the critical port city of Veracruz. Today, this original outpost of Cortés, called La Antigua, is a small town that practically revolves around his house. The whole structure has been engulfed by a giant strangler fig.

A mix of fossilized coral and river stones were used to construct his house. It was from here that Cortés strategized the expedition further inland to assess Moctezuma.

One of many passageways inside.

Cortés landed near a thriving community of Totonac peoples, who’d built up one of the largest Indigenous cities on the Gulf Coast: Cempoala. Archeologists estimate at its height (the arrival of Cortés), 25-30 thousand people lived in the 5 square-miles that surround the spiritual temple above.

This 600-year-old ceiba tree, on the river that runs through La Antigua on its way to the sea, predates the arrival of Cortés.

Here, I’m talking with Mario, a historian-guide I connected with when I arrived in Cempoala; he grew up right outside the archeological site. We’re standing in the middle of a circular structure that researchers believe the Totonacs used, with the sun, to tell time.

The name Cempoala is a Nahuatl (Nawatl) word and has two meanings: “abundance of water” and “place of twenties.” The site is 1) near a river and 2) was the market grounds were people from surrounding villages would gather and trade every twenty days. A constellation of religious altars bounded the site.

In 1523, in La Antigua, Cortes’ men built Ermita del Rosario: the first church raised in “New Spain”/on continental North American soil.

Here, a parting view: the coast down the street from my hotel in Veracruz, where Spanish is now the official language and Nawatl has been classified as endangered.

Thanks for following along.

xx Emma

senses + sensibilities : mid month musings

mid month musing