Sacred Trees of Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City. Between Oblivion and the Dispute for Power

Abstract

What can a tree tell us about a constantly colonized landscape such as the Valley of Mexico? The aquatic origin of some tree species, such as Taxodium mucronatum (Ahuehuete) and Salix bonplandiana (Ahuejote), are a testimony that forces us to reach within collective memory and contrast the past with the present. This memory, which is disarticulated by the many components of a given landscape: vegetation, fauna, landform, and water channels, to name a few, holds the relics of a place that remains in our imagination. Thus, I selected some tree lake species that cohabit in the streets of Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City, that represent an almost extinct biocultural component in the territory’s landscape, which retains similarities of the layout of Mexico City-Tenochtitlan. The management of trees in the city is engrossed in a complex conflict, not only due to the presence of diseases but also because there is still no sustainable approach that allows researchers to analyze these organisms from alternative fields of study like anthropology. The application of standards is the main instrument of legitimation; however, it has caused damage to trees, along with the constant power conflicts to control the structures of the State.