Tlaxcala, Mexico: The Conquistadors’ Allies and the Cacaxtla Murals

Tlaxcala is the capital of Mexico’s smallest state — the state of Tlaxcala, 30km northeast of Puebla and 120km east of Mexico City, a city of 90,000 that carries the most politically complex legacy in Mexican history: the Tlaxcalans were the indigenous nation that allied with Hernán Cortés in 1519 against the Aztec Triple Alliance, contributing 30,000–100,000 warriors (the historical estimate varies enormously) to the conquest of Tenochtitlán without whom Cortés’s 500 soldiers could not have achieved what they did. This alliance — celebrated by the Tlaxcalans as a liberation from Aztec tribute extraction, condemned by Mexican nationalist historiography as treason — defines Tlaxcala’s ambiguous place in Mexican collective memory: neither fully celebrated nor commemorated on the same national stage as Aztec culture, but historically pivotal in a way that makes Tlaxcala one of the most intellectually interesting cities in Mexico for anyone engaged with the complexities of the conquest.

Historical Significance: The Tlaxcalan Alliance

The Tlaxcalteca (Tlaxcalans) were the Aztec Triple Alliance’s unconquered neighbor — a confederation of four altépetl (city-states) surrounded by Aztec-controlled territory, maintaining independence through resistance across multiple Aztec military campaigns. The Aztecs used the Tlaxcalan border for “Flower Wars” (xochiyáoyotl) — ritualized battles fought to capture rather than kill, securing sacrificial victims for the Aztec religious calendar. When Cortés arrived in 1519, the Tlaxcalans initially fought against him, then allied after recognizing that the Spanish represented an opportunity to end Aztec hegemony. The alliance was pragmatic, not naive — the Tlaxcalans extracted specific concessions from Spain, including the Capitulaciones (an agreement on Tlaxcala’s post-conquest status), perpetual exemption from paying tribute (the Aztec-imposed burden they most resented), and legal equality with Spanish citizens. These concessions were honored for the first century of colonial rule, making Tlaxcala the most explicitly negotiated indigenous-Spanish alliance in the conquest.

Cost of Visiting Tlaxcala

Tlaxcala is one of Mexico’s most affordable colonial cities — the absence of a large tourism economy keeps costs at local levels. The city is easily done as a day trip from Puebla (30 minutes by bus, $1.50) or as a stop between Puebla and Mexico City. A dedicated 1–2 night visit covers the city and the nearby Cacaxtla and Xochitécatl archaeological sites.

Climate

Semi-arid highland at 2,252m — similar to Puebla but slightly cooler. Spring (March–May): 12–24°C, dry. Rainy season (June–September): 14–22°C, afternoon rains. Winter (November–February): 5–18°C with cool evenings. The Tlaxcala highland air is clean and dry — the xeric landscape (maguey, nopal, and the characteristic vegetation of the Mexican semi-arid plateau) defines the surrounding countryside.

Things To Do

• Basílica de Ocotlán — The 18th-century churrigueresque church on the hill above Tlaxcala is one of the finest examples of the ultra-ornate Spanish churrigueresque baroque style in Mexico — the white stucco façade with its elaborate carved decoration contrasts with the red brick towers in a composition that defines the visual identity of Tlaxcala. The interior contains the Camarín de la Virgen (the Virgin’s dressing room — a Baroque interior room decorated with gold and painted relief that is among the most ornate sacred spaces in Mexico).
• Cacaxtla archaeological site (20km south) — The 650–900 AD site remarkable for the most complete and best-preserved pre-Columbian murals in Mexico: the Battle Mural (showing warriors in jaguar and eagle costumes engaged in combat), the Bird Man murals (a figure with blue-feathered body on a black serpent), and the Venus platform paintings — all in vivid original color preserved under protective roofing. Cacaxtla predates the Aztec and is associated with the Olmeca-Xicalanca trading culture. The murals are among the most extraordinary pre-Columbian paintings surviving in the Americas.
• Centro Histórico and Palacio de Gobierno — The Palacio de Gobierno murals by Desiderio Hernández Xochitiotzin (painted over 45 years, completed 2000) document the Tlaxcalan history — the pre-conquest era, the alliance with Cortés, and the colonial period — in a 50-meter mural cycle that is the most ambitious documentation of the Tlaxcalan perspective on the conquest in visual art. The adjacent 16th-century cathedral (one of the first Franciscan churches built in New Spain) and the Plaza de la Constitución anchor the compact historic center.
• Carnaval de Tlaxcala — The Tlaxcala carnival (pre-Lent, February–March) is among Mexico’s most visually distinct: the huehues (masked characters in elaborate costumes mocking Spanish colonial authorities) and the camadas (neighborhood dance groups with 150-year-old costumes) maintain a tradition that blends indigenous memory with colonial-era social satire.

Getting There

From Puebla: 30–40 minutes by combi (shared van) from the Puebla CAPU terminal or from the Av. 5 de Mayo stop in central Puebla — $1.50, departures every 10–15 minutes. From Mexico City TAPO: direct bus via Apizaco, 2 hours, $7–10. From Mexico City airport: the Mexico City-Puebla-Tlaxcala corridor is well-served by ADO. Tlaxcala city is compact enough to walk the entire historic center; combis serve the surrounding state and the archaeological sites.

FAQ

Are Tlaxcalans viewed negatively in Mexico for the alliance with Cortés?

The short answer: yes, historically in nationalist discourse; no, in current academic and cultural assessment. 20th-century Mexican nationalism (the muralist movement, the “cosmic race” ideology of Vasconcelos) emphasized indigenous resistance to Spanish conquest and treated the Tlaxcalan alliance as betrayal. Contemporary historians have largely rejected this framing — the Tlaxcalans made a rational decision to end Aztec subjugation using available tools, and the Aztec empire was itself a recent colonial power over the Tlaxcalan region. The murals in the Tlaxcala Palacio de Gobierno represent the Tlaxcalan perspective directly: the conquest as liberation from Aztec tribute rather than as colonial surrender. Whether you find that argument convincing is itself one of Mexican history’s most productive intellectual debates.

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