Codex Azcatitlan returns to Mexico for bicentennial celebration

The Codex Azcatitlan, a significant 16th-century manuscript detailing the history of the Mexica people, has returned to Mexico for a temporary exhibition at the National Museum of Anthropology. The document, which narrates the migration from Aztlan to the founding of Tenochtitlan and the subsequent Spanish conquest, had been in France since 1840.

This cultural exchange is part of the “Gran Fiesta Franco-Mexicana,” a program of approximately 200 activities celebrating the bicentennial of diplomatic relations between Mexico and France. The agreement, reached by President Claudia Sheinbaum and President Emmanuel Macron in late 2025, involves a reciprocal loan: while the Codex Azcatitlan is displayed in Mexico City through December 2026, the Codex Boturini will be sent to the National Library of France in Paris.

In addition to the manuscript, the exhibition includes various archaeological and ethnographic pieces. The return of the codex is viewed as a significant moment for cultural heritage and the strengthening of ties between the two nations.