Azcatitlan Codex Returns to Mexico After Nearly Two Centuries on Loan

After more than 180 years abroad, the Azcatitlan Codex was brought to Mexico for a temporary exhibition at the National Museum of Anthropology. The 16th-century manuscript, which chronicles the Mexica migration, the founding of Tenochtitlan, and the Spanish conquest, arrived on loan from France's Bibliotheque Nationale as the two nations mark two centuries of diplomatic relations. Roberto Velasco described the display as a reunion of the population with its ancestral memory, while indigenous voices such as Emilia Mendoza celebrated the event as a victory for cultural restitution. The codex, created by an Otomi craftsman, will remain on view until December, after which Mexico will send the Codex Boturini to France in exchange.