La princesa Izta y el guerrero Popoca

According to Nahuatl tradition, Izta was the most beautiful Tlaxcalteca princess. One day a warrior named Popoca came to see her and promised to love her for who she was. Izta fell in love with him and his honesty. The emperor did not want his daughter Izta to marry a soldier, but proposed to Popoca that he could if he defeated the ruler of the Aztecs-with whom they were at war. Popoca’s opponent bribed one of the Tlaxcaltec messengers to tell Izta that the warrior had been defeated and killed. He also gave the princess a potion to ease her pain. When Popoca returned, triumphant from the battle, Izta would not wake up. He took her to the top of the mountain and laid her on a bed of flowers. He knelt beside her. Soon, snow began to fall but he did not move despite the cold. He would always remain by her side. Over time two volcanoes emerged, one facing the other: Iztaccíhuatl (sleeping woman) and Popocatépetl (smoking mountain). Iztaccíhuatl remains asleep, but Popocatépetl occasionally releases ash and smoke, as if he aspires to wake his loved one. These volcanoes guard the Valley of Mexico.