Cuauhtémoc will receive state funeral honors

The last Mexica tlatoani, Cuauhtémoc, will receive the state funeral honors that were pending after his execution on February 28, 1525, by order of Hernán Cortés, during a ceremony in the capital's Zócalo, which will be led by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.

He died 500 years ago and today, by order of the President of the Republic, he will be given the posthumous honors that are pending, since at that time, as it was not known with certainty where his remains were, he was not given those honors that were established as part of the Mexica culture," explained Brigadier General Gregorio Espinoza Toledo, commander of the Planning Committee (Complan) of the ceremony.

Starting at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, the 28th, a marching band, a military band, a flag with escort, three companies from the Heroic Military College, 240 cadets, as well as 400 elements from the National Defense Secretariat (Defense) will participate in the funeral ceremony and artistic staging, for an approximate of one thousand elements in its planning and execution.

The event will have two components: a solemn component and a cultural component. The solemn part will have a high point in the State funeral honors. We are considering Cuauhtémoc our last Mexica tlatoani, as head of State who died in office, and since his honors are pending, they will be rendered to him in accordance with the current Military Ceremonial Regulations that we have in the Armed Forces,” explained General Espinoza Toledo.

The second component of the ceremony will consist of four artistic-cultural acts that recall the Mexica custom, consisting of a musical aria, a poem to the Tratani who died 500 years ago; the reading of his will, which was provided by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), and the interpretation of the last quartet of the poem by Izcoátl.

The discipline of the staff, commented General Espinoza Toledo, allowed the Ceremony for the 500th Anniversary of the Execution of Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc to be planned and carried out in less than a month.

The time was short indeed, the coordination for the planning began approximately 20 days ago, but, in itself, the preparation with personnel has already taken 11 days, in terms of the conception of the scenes and so on, and for the military personnel today is the fourth day of rehearsals.

"As you will see, it will be very well organized. The personnel will be greatly helped by the discipline that is obviously a basis for the conduct of all military personnel," said the commander of Complan, Espinoza Toledo.

More than 6,000 children from secondary schools in the Valley of Mexico are invited to the Plaza del Zócalo, so the population was invited to follow the broadcast on private and official television channels, as well as on the social networks of the Presidency and the Defense Ministry.