Copo de Algodón, hija de la princesa de Tacuba y del señor de Tenochtitlan, nació en la era del Quinto Sol, en una ciudad que un pueblo fiero y guerrero levantó en una laguna de reflejos color turquesa. Creía en Tláloc y Huitzilopochtli, y amaba las flores y los cantos. Un día su mundo se agitó, como las aguas al lanzar una piedra… Conoce, a través de su voz, los acontecimientos de su época: las guerras floridas, la matanza de Cholula, la llegada de Hernán Cortés, la muerte de Moctezuma, el sitio de Tenochtitlan… y sumérgete en la historia antigua de México, en la existencia de sus personajes y en la fascinante cosmovisión de este pueblo.
Summary - English
Copo de Algodón, daughter of the princess of Tacuba and the lord of Tenochtitlan, was born in the era of the Fifth Sun, in a city that a fierce and warrior people raised in a lagoon of turquoise reflections. He believed in Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli, and loved flowers and songs. One day his world was shaken, like the waters when a stone is thrown… Get to know, through her voice, the events of her time: the flowery wars, the slaughter of Cholula, the arrival of Hernán Cortés, the death of Moctezuma, the siege of Tenochtitlan… and immerse yourself in the ancient history of Mexico, in the existence of its characters and in the fascinating cosmovision of this people.
Club Schedule
Week
Chapters (Inclusive)
# of pages
1
CIPACTLI - CALLI
10
2
CUETZPALLIN - MÁZATL
16
3
TOCHTLI - ITZCUINTLI
13
4
OZOMATLI - ÁCATL
13
5
OCÉLOTL - COZCAQUAUHTLI
14
6
OLLIN - XÓCHITL
19
Will you be reading along with the club?
Yes
No
I’ll be reading, but at my own pace
0voters
What type of media will you be consuming the book as?
The book isn’t available at any libraries here so I won’t be joining you this time. Which is a shame because it looks like an interesting read. I’ll be lurking though
Here are page numbers from my Kindle version I’ve pulled (so they won’t be super accurate, but can be approximates for now) as well as the corresponding percent for each chapter:
Chapter
(Kindle) Starting Page
Starting Percent
# of Pages
CIPACTLI
7
5%
3
EHÉCATL
10
10%
4
CALLI
14
14%
3
CUETZPALLIN
17
19%
4
CÓATL
21
24%
4
MIQUIZTLI
25
28%
3
MÁZATL
28
33%
5
TOCHTLI
33
39%
5
ATL
38
43%
3
ITZCUINTLI
41
47%
5
OZOMATLI
46
52%
5
MALINALLI
51
57%
3
ÁCATL
54
62%
5
OCÉLOTL
59
65%
5
CUAUHTLI
64
70%
5
COZCAQUAUHTLI
69
76%
4
OLLIN
73
81%
4
TÉCPATL
77
85%
3
QUIÁHUITL
80
89%
5
XÓCHITL
85
94%
7
Pretty short chapters all around. It’s looking like it’s going to be a pretty small club this time around (@Micki’s the only other person on the poll right now), so we have a lot of leeway on how fast/slow we want to read. If we read around 15 pages/week, like with Mentirosa, that’d look something like:
Week
Chapters (Inclusive)
# of chapters
1
CIPACTLI - CUETZPALLIN
4
2
CÓATL - TOCHTLI
4
3
ATL - OZOMATLI
3
4
MALINALLI - CUAUHTLI
4
5
COZCAQUAUHTLI - QUIÁHUITL
4
6
XÓCHITL
1
That last chapter is 7 pages according how my Kindle’s dividing them, so it would be pretty easy to squeeze into week 5 if we wanted. What do you think?
I ordered a copy through eBay today so I think I’ll join this club. I was a little interested in nos llamaron enemigo, but I missed it and it looks like it went quickly. I wasn’t sure about this until I checked the summary, but it seems interesting. I don’t know a lot about this period of history but what I do know is sad and tragic. I can probably start anytime in April, I’m working through some sci fi books in Spanish now but may take a break from that series for a while.
Thanks - a week away! Looking forward to this one. I spent quite a bit of time in Mexico City so this will be an interesting read. I’m wondering whether to read a little background on Tenochtitlan this week before we start.
Tenochtitlan ,[a] also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan ,[b] was a large Mexican altepetl in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the city.[3]
So we are reading this book almost exactly on the 700th anniversary of the founding of the city! Well organised Eefara!
Well that was interesting. The Aztec words definitely made it feel more challenging at times but I was starting to get more used to them by the end of this week’s reading.
It has a bit of a feel of a book aimed at educating children in the guise of a story. I can imaging children reading this with their teacher in class. Felt like we were shown quite a bit of Aztec history and culture, which lent itself to further the exploration. I looked up Tizroc’s Stone which is a real thing: Stone of Tizoc - Wikipedia
I think it may be the first book in our Spanish bookclub that has opened with human sacrifice of a child! It was interesting to hear our protagonist’s thoughts on the ceremony - considering it a privilege to be chosen (albeit a sad privilege). Also interesting her recollection of the child’s mother watching the ceremony.
I can’t help wondering what the world would be like if the Aztec empire had survived rather than being wiped out. Perhaps they might have retained closed borders like Japan and allowed their very individual society to develop further before integrating with the world…
Hi guys! Sorry for my absence, I’ve only just gotten back from vacation.
I’ve been a bit surprised with how difficult this book has felt from week 1. Probably just a combination of mixed-in Aztec words and it having been a long time since I’ve read any Spanish, but I was hoping a younger protagonist would make it an easier read, haha.
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