Copo de Algodón

The fall of Tenochtitlan, through the eyes of Montezuma’s daughter

This novela tells the story of a fascinating piece of history, the arrival of Hernán Cortés in Mexico, and the conquest of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. The story is told through the eyes of a young princess living in the capital, whose nickname is Copo de Algodón.

This book does a good job at describing life in Tenochtitlan, explaining some of the culture, rituals and ceremonies, and gives some interesting insight on how the residents viewed some of their more gruesome customs.

It has a bit of textbook feel. I can imaging Mexican school children reading this in class as part of understanding their history and culture. It’s a little bit dry, there’s not much character development or dialogue.

The difficulty level for Spanish learners is ramped up quite a bit by the use of lots of Nahuatl names, place names and other vocabulary. For example, rather than using the word escuela, she will use the word tepochcalli. You’ll need to know that a tenochca is a resident of Tenochtitlan, and not confuse them with a tlaxcalteca, a resident of Tlaxcala. These Nahuatl words are often quite long and to unaccustomed eyes quite similar looking. You’ll probably find it helpful to keep a character list as you go along.