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This essay examines the aesthetic representation of sacrificial rituals in the Crónica mexicana written by Hernando Alvardo Tezozómoc in 1598. Drawing from Ritual and Performance Studies, I analyze the way in which Tezozómoc, a descendant of the Mexica nobility, depicts the rituals performed at Tenochtitlan before the conquest in order to highlight their non-verbal aspects which included choreography, space, sensory experiences, gestures, and sequences. This article demonstrates how the representation of such performatic aspects of ritual serves as Tezozómoc’s aesthetic strategy as an insider in order to transmit the cultural values and ideology of the Mexica. Furthermore, I argue that this way of writ-ing ritual is an innovation in the historiographical field and sets Tezozómoc apart from other historians that labeled Mexica sacrificial rituals as demonic aberrations.
