The importance of masks in Aztec culture...
The good Aztec farmer studied the moon calendar
Teaching resource - a Maya farmer’s house
A throne has layers of meaning...
The Codex Cospi was once thought to be Chinese!
What looks like an Aztec fruit farmer is in fact...
No-one surpassed the Mixtecs in the applied arts
Control of lake navigation was crucial to the Aztecs
Read a lovely story about Aztec companion spirits
What do the elements in the 20 Aztec day signs represent?
Basic Aztec facts: Aztec MUSIC...
Village dogs were companions to the Aztecs
Just how were Aztec weapons used in practice?
New perspectives show the complexity of Aztec ritual practices
For ancient Mexicans the cosmos was woven and netted
We tell you which museums hold Aztec objects...
Which was the highest rank in the Aztec army?
An Aztec stone jaguar head lurks in Mexico City
Cacao use among the Pre-Hispanic Maya
A cremated example of a death whistle is rediscovered
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Aztec running
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Caves as Sacred Space in Ancient Mesoamerica
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Lightning in Mesoamerica
Dr. H.B. Nicholson - ‘Grandfather’ of Aztecs Studies
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Especial Birds in the Americas
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Water in the Valley of Mexico
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Mexico’s Faked Prehistory
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Portrait of a Collection: National Museum of Mexico, 1865
Clean Aztecs, Dirty Spaniards
Templo Mayor animation
The Aztecs and the atlatl
Aztec Manners
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Hare vs Rabbit in mythology Click the flag for a Spanish translation
The Skywatchers of Cahokia
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Mexico’s long-distance running tradition
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3 Mexican football fans

Aztecs, ballgames and logos...

Mexico have come pretty close (quarter finals) to winning the World Cup, and were the first country to host the FIFA series twice - in 1970 and again in 1986, each time in the famous ‘Estadio Azteca’ or Aztec Stadium in Mexico City. (Written/compiled by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)

Official FIFA World Cup emblem, Mexico 1986
Official FIFA World Cup emblem, Mexico 1986

The Aztec Stadium, designed by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez (who also designed Mexico City’s celebrated National Anthropology Museum), was built in 1966, and is the second largest (capacity 114,000) football stadium in the world. It was in the stadium during the 1986 World Cup that the world famous ‘Mexican Wave’ first broke onto the international scene.

Mexico City’s Aztec Stadium
Mexico City’s Aztec Stadium (Click on image to enlarge)

For decades the Mexican team have sported a strip with a striking design based on the ultimate Aztec icon - the Sunstone or Calendar Stone. The ‘ghosted’ version in grey became very popular around the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Mexico’s 1998 World Cup shirt design based on the Calendar Stone
Mexico’s 1998 World Cup shirt design based on the Calendar Stone (Click on image to enlarge)
Mexicans learn to love football from before they’re born!
Mexicans learn to love football from before they’re born! (Click on image to enlarge)
More on the Aztec Calendar Stone
More on the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame
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Mexicolore replies: Thanks for asking, George. We’re afraid we don’t know, at present. We’ll try and find out for you...
Mexicolore replies: There is a link on this page, Alma, to a page on our site about the pre-Hispanic ballgame, ullamaliztli! Click on ‘More on the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame’...