Popo went off to war, while the princess Iztaccíhuatl waited impatiently for her beloved. The father granted it to the young warrior on the condition that he return from the battle safe and sound so he could marry his daughter. They were in times of war with the Aztecs, but before leaving for an important battle, Popocatépetl asked the King of the Tlaxcalans for his daughter’s hand in marriage. She fell in love with the most famous and most handsome warrior of her people, Popocatépetl. The version of the story from the east side of the mountains involves a beautiful princess of Tlaxcala named Iztaccíhuatl. Following is a brief survey of the legends of Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl.
There are many more ancient legends connected with these majestic volcanoes, some of them possibly going back thousands of years. Whether this hairy hominid actually exists and lives on the slopes of these mountains may be just the stuff of legends. For more information on the Cuatlacas, please see Mexico Unexplained episode 105. Some hikers and cryptid researchers also believe that these peaks are the home of the legendary Cuatlacas, a hairy creature similar to North America’s Bigfoot or the Himalayan yeti also known as the abominable snowman. The Parque Nacional Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl includes almost 40,000 hectares of protected area and is home to Mexico’s Swiss-trained alpine rescue team. Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl form part of what geologists call the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and their peaks and ridges form part of the continental divide. In between its intermittent periods of eruption, snow fields form on its slopes, and the white-topped mountain is visible from most parts of Mexico City and from Puebla on a clear day. Her partner, immediately to the south is Popocatépetl, when translated from Nahuatl means, “Smoking Mountain.” Often shortened to “Popo,” this mountain is an active volcano. This mountain, a dormant volcano comprised of overlapping cones, is known as Iztaccíhuatl which means in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, “White Lady.” The locals sometimes refer to the mountain by a less often used Spanish name, Mujer Dormida, or “Sleeping Woman,” and can readily point out her head, chest, knees and feet.
One is usually powder white and covered in snow. Flying into Mexico City or arriving to the Mexican capital overland, one is instantly awestruck by two mountains to the southeast of this megalopolis.
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