The story of Tomás Cruz, a Zapotec mason who has been working for more than 40 years in one of the most important archaeological projects in Mexico.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himThe story of Tomás Cruz, a Zapotec bricklayer who has been working for more than 40 years in one of the most important archaeological projects in Mexico.
In 1974, the Zapotec bricklayer Tomás Cruz, aged just 18, decided to emigrate to Mexico City without imagining that - almost half a century later - he would become the master of archaeologists, anthropologists, biologists and many other young professionals who come to work in the Great Pyramid to learn the secrets of the ancient and mysterious Tenochtitlan.
His life seems like a tale: the adventures of the Zapotec indigenous, who - as soon as he comes of age - decides to leave for the first time his homeland, Santa Ana Yareni, a Mexican village located in the state of Oaxaca, and move to the city of Mexico. It was not easy to start from scratch, he and his wife had to share a small room with four other relatives for years.
In the afternoons, when he wasn't working as a bricklayer in the Great Pyramid, he built his house. At first what he earned was not enough to cover the expenses, so, to supplement his income, he crossed the border illegally and did some jobs in the United States: he collected peaches and melons, he worked as a gardener or bricklayer.
It was a cousin of his, in 1978, who warned him that in the Great Pyramid (Templo Mayor in Spanish) they needed people to work. At that time he did not know anything about Tenochtitlan, he had no idea who the Mexica were, he did not know their gods or their rituals, but above all he did not know what the future would hold for him. He is now an expert in relic recovery and shares his knowledge with archaeologists and other specialists.
Tomás with his 42 years of experience in the field, is the oldest employee of the “Templo Mayor” and one of the most sought after keepers of the secrets of Tenochtitlan in the world. If one day the Aztec emperors are found, much of the credit will go to our native Zapotec and his arduous work and dedication.
Source: The Country
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