In his lifetime, Carlos Fuentes has witnessed the rediscovery of the ancient Aztec temples beneath the central square of modern Mexico City. "So we found that what we thought was dead was really alive." He retraces the Indian world through their magnificent pyramids and sculptures, a world of precise astronomy and human sacrifice, serenity and violence. The return of their blond, exiled god was forecast for the very year Cortes reached their shores. The savagery of the conquistador equaled that of the Indian, but he brought with him a new god; a god who sacrificed himself for men.
