"Paso de Cortes"

Following their stay in Cholula, the Spanish army set out for Tenochtitlan along a road that led between the famous volcano Popocatepetl and the nearby snow-covered mountain of Iztaccihuatl. This pass is now commonly referred to as the "paso de cortes." According to the Florentine Codex, it was here, at a town called Quauhtechcac, that Motecuzoma sent a great nobleman named Tziuacpopocatzin and his entourage to meet Cortes and to offer him one last gift in hopes of persuading him not to enter Tenochtitlan. This was one of Motecuzoma's many mistakes in his dealings with Cortes, for the treasures that he offered in hopes of bribing the Spaniards to leave only encouraged them. The Florentine Codex relates that upon seeing the gold and silver brought by Tziuacpopocatzin, the Spaniards "appeared to smile; they were greatly contented, gladdened. As if they were monkeys they seized upon the gold. It was as if their hearts were satisfied, brightened, calmed. For in truth they thirsted mightily for gold; they stuffed themselves with it; they starved for it; they lusted for it like pigs" (Sahagun, 31).

After the Spanish had taken the gold, Cortes approached Tziuacpopocatzin and asked him if he was Motecuzoma. Tziuacpopocatzin replied that he was, but Cortes' Tlaxcalan allies quickly refuted the claim. Cortes angrily accused Tziuacpopocatzin of dishonesty, and openly mocked Motecuzoma for his attempt at trickery. The Nican Tlaca of Anahuac, writing in the Florentine Codex, sadly recalled "Thus there came only to nothing still another of their meetings, of their welcomings" (Sahagun, 32). The Spaniards continued on their march to Tenochtitlan.