I first went to Mexico in 1991 to see a total eclipse of the sun.

We flew into Mexico City, and stayed at the Majestic, on the Zócalo. I walked along an Aztec canal, just south of the Palacio Nacional. The narrow streets were crammed full of vendors. (I haven’t been able to find that canal on recent visits; maybe it was filled in and paved over in some urban renewal project. Maybe I misremember it.) I saw Diego Rivera’s great murals. Especially his depiction of Tenochtítlan, the great Aztec city. What’s this? I thought. Where is that beautiful lake? Soon after, I read Bernal Díaz del Castillo’s first-hand account, THE CONQUEST OF NEW SPAIN.

I returned many times. I read and wrote about it. I took pictures.