Mexican church pre-Hispanic paintings suggest negotiation

By FERNANDA PESCE
Associated Press

TEPOZTLAN, Mexico (AP) — Indigenous symbols found painted next to Roman Catholic motifs at a 1550s-era convent near Mexico City suggest Spanish priests negotiated with Indigenous leaders in the first years after the 1521 conquest. The popular belief has long been that the Spanish simply imposed their religion and government system after the defeat of the Aztec empire. But the few Spanish priests faced with the monumental task of converting thousands of Indigenous people in a short period of time may have had been forced to take Indigenous preferences into account. Experts said Friday the paintings suggest a dialogue between the two cultures.