The Legend of Puebla’s Two Volcanoes

There seems to be a legend around every corner here.

Here’s a legend that has been passed down from generation to generation since the time of the Aztec Empire about the two volcanoes we can see from our rooftop…

Popocatépetl is the name of the biggest volcano we can see. Its name comes from the Nahuatl verb “popoa” meaning “smoke” and the noun “tepetl”, meaning “hill”, so its name literally means “Smoking Hill”.

Popocatépetl is an active volcano that is approximately 730,000 years old. It has a symmetrical conical shape and a maximum height of 5,450 meters above sea level, which makes it the second highest in Mexico.

Iztaccíhuatl, the other volcano, gets its name from the Nahuatl words “iztac”, which means “white” and “cíahuatl” which is interpreted as “woman”, so its name translates as “White Woman”. Today it is better known as the “Sleeping Woman” due to its profile that resembles a woman lying down with her face towards the sky.

Iztaccíhuatl is an extinct volcano and is the third highest mountain in the country with an altitude of 5,220 meters above sea level.

The legend of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl is a story of love and pain that has been passed down from generation to generation since the 14th century. Legend has it that Popocatépetl was a Tlaxcalan warrior and Iztaccíhuatl was a princess of Tlaxcala. They fell in love and Iztaccíhuatl's father promised Popocatépetl that he could marry her if he won a war against the Aztecs.

However, a warrior who hated Popocatépetl sent a false message to the emperor, informing him of his army's victory and Popocatépetl's death.

Iztaccíhuatl refused to eat or leave the palace and died of sadness.
When Popocatépetl returned from battle, he learned of Iztaccíhuatl's death and took her body to the mountains. There he built a funeral altar for her and stayed there watching over her until he died of grief. The gods, moved, turned them into mountains.

It is said that Popocatépetl is the smoking mountain that still releases smoke from time to time to confirm that he watches over Iztaccíhuatl, who sleeps next to it.Read more