Mexico City, which has the partially-destroyed Aztec Templo Mayor in the dead center of the city, a giant statue of Cuahatemoc on Avenida Reforma, streets and neighborhoods named after Aztec princes, fighters, heroes of the 19th Century Mexican Revolution, screams defiance of colonialism and imperialism. The reign of dictator Porfirio Diaz built the gorgeous neoclassical structures and organized the street ejes, but he is not celebrated as a dictator there. In comparison, Merida has buildings around its public square seemingly commemorating the conquistadors of the Montejo family. They also get an entire avenue and neighborhood named after them. To give this a little more context: I could never imagine an Avenida Cortes in Mexico City. How can I bring this topic up with Mexicans and engage in an understanding conversation? There are clearly some major observations I have just by being here: the country is incredibly Catholic. While rejection of imperialism and domination has empowered indigenous and mestizo people more than in the past, the religion has not been abandoned. Perhaps there is a narrative I can get from a local, I thought.
I brought up this topic with my Mexican roommate from Queretaro while in Merida. In Spanish, I asked him about the whole Montejo thing and how they would never have that in Mexico City. He responded by explaining that Mexico wasn’t really a cohesive country until after the Revolution. Each state had its own experience with the war, each with different demands and expectations. In the Yucatan, the final hold out of the Revolution, it seems that there were compromises made with the conquerors and perhaps there was less brutality? Although I cannot really say that this seems to be the case as the art gallery on the opposite side of the man square, across from the Montejo house, displays incredibly graphic artwork depicting the torture, famine and execution of the Mayans.
Maybe there is something about all of this comparison in Merida. Maybe Merida is having an identity crisis as it embraces its Mayan roots, grows to the size of a sprawling metro and is attempting to justify its colonial beauty against the harsh reality of the living conditions of the Maya of today.
The other part of the "conquistador recognition" decision in building and street naming has to do with how the different regions ended their relationships with the conquistadors. The Aztecs were conquered. They were defeated and humiliated. Their leadership was murdered. The tragic and humiliating defeat leaves Central Mexico with a harsh feeling towards conquistadors. Although, I could be exaggerating as I am not a Mexican person, but this is what I have observed. In the Yucatan, the story of the Maya is very different. The Mayans were not conquered. They fought back the conquistadors in unexpected ways. There were numerous truces. At some point, European leaders, while still subjugating and humiliating the Mayans, knew they would not be able to eradicate Mayan leadership and Mayan culture.
Mayan culture is very much alive today. Maya language is taught in schools in the Yucatan. Pride for Mayan ancestry is abound. The Central Mexican Aztec and Mixteca descendants, according to my friend from Mexico City, do not really know what tribe they descend from. They know they have part indigenous ethnicity but they do not really know from where.
There are many similarities here to the Jewish story: Yiddish language, Yiddish culture, Judeo-Arab culture, Judeo-Arab languages, Ladino, assimilation, and knowing where we came from. According to my grandmother, The Grafs come from Jozefaw, Poland and have lived there for many generations. Our darker complexion has led us to assume Mediterranean or Middle Eastern routes. My 23andme results make it incredibly clear that I am 100% Ashkenazi. Our records from before World War II are gone. Like some of the people in Mexico who became my friends, I will never really know where I came from.
Cortes and Montejo are lucky they have streets and buildings named after them around Mexico. I doubt people think much about it. It bothered me. I saw it as a stark contrast to the fights for indigenous rights, land recognition and redistribution. It's probably not the on the list of biggest problems that Mexico needs to solve. It's government corruption issues and death of journalists are at the top.