Quauhquechollan

Quauhquechollan was a Nahua city-state in the valley south of the volcanoes of central Mexico. Its people lived under Mexica pressure before the arrival of the Spaniards. Their history is remembered in the Lienzo de Quauhquechollan, a large and richly detailed painted cloth that presents conquest through the eyes of Indigenous participants.

In 1520 the rulers of Quauhquechollan allied with Hernán Cortés against the Mexica. Several years later their warriors accompanied Jorge de Alvarado on campaigns into Guatemala. The lienzo traces their alliance, journey and battles, portraying them as conquerors alongside the Spaniards. Painted around 1530, it is both a map and a statement of the community’s role in the campaigns, preserving a Nahua account of events usually told through Spanish narratives.