José Luis, a merchant in the Mexican town of Xalitzintla, explains that the Popocatépetl volcano has been trembling and spewing ash and incandescent rocks because it is angry at not having received his offering. He, like many local inhabitants, considers the volcano, which has the name “Don Goyo” or “Popo,” as a being with a soul and a body that appears to them.
In Xalitzintla, the closest community to the volcano, the elderly José Marcos recalls that when he was a child, the mountain personified as a man came to his house to ask for water and a taco. According to Marcos, the mountain appeared as Gregorio Chino Popocatépetl, the volcano.
Every March 12, the day of San Gregorio Magno, homage is paid to the volcano. Hundreds of inhabitants of the region go to the “navel,” a ledge 200 meters from the crater, to offer typical dishes, tequila, mezcal, flowers, and clothes while singing “Las Mañanitas.” However, this year the authorities prohibited access due to the volcano’s increased activity, which caused displeasure among the villagers who feared angering “Don Goyo.”
Isabel, owner of a small restaurant in Xalitzintla, says that when she was a child, she also saw the personification of Popocatepetl. She described him as a tall, white-haired man with green eyes. Isabel keeps her anonymity to avoid being called a “gossip,” but she enjoys recounting the stories of love and jealousy between Popocatepetl, its neighbor Iztaccihuatl, and two other volcanoes in the area, La Malinche and Pico de Orizaba.
According to pre-Hispanic legend, “Don Goyo” was a warrior in love with “Rosita” (Iztaccihuatl), but her father preferred another man of higher rank, Pico de Orizaba. The father sent Popocatépetl to war in the hope that he would die. Iztaccihuatl died of sadness, and the warrior took her to the mountain, where they became majestic volcanoes.
In Xalitzintla, where about 2,000 people live, life revolves around volcanoes. Images of “Don Goyo” and “Rosita” covered in snow adorn the walls. The inhabitants consider the “tiempero,” a mediator who communicates with the volcano, an influential figure in the community. Currently, Antonio Analco and Nazario Castro dispute the title of “tiempero,” which has caused division among the inhabitants.
While Castro blames people who break security to take photos and post them on social networks for provoking the volcano’s wrath, Analco believes that natural phenomena are signals and that Popocatepetl will warn them in dreams when the time comes to evacuate and get to safety.