How the Nopal Cactus Bridges Culture and Climate in Mexico
Nopal cactus, also known as prickly pear. Lauren Banford, 2014. Source: The Guardian.
Nopal cactus grows where others wouldn’t dare. Resilient, versatile, and adaptive, it is one of the most widely recognized endemic plants of the Americas. Yet the cactus’s symbolism is especially deep-seated in Mexico, where its importance to national identity is reflected in everything from culinary traditions to the nation’s ancient origin story. Now, as Mexico—and indeed the entire world—grapples with an urgent need for sustainable resources and practices amidst the looming realities of climate change, nopal is once again proving to be a valuable ally for human survival.
Teocalli of the Sacred War stone sculpture depicting the founding story of Tenochtitlan. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Long ago, so the story goes, the Aztec people (known also as the Mexica) departed their arid homeland, Aztlán, and headed south in search of more fertile, hospitable land. They were instructed by Huitzilopochtli, the god of sun and war, to find a new home in the Valley of Mexico. The Aztec high priests were told to establish their city in the exact place where they found an eagle perched on a nopal cactus with a live serpent in its beak—once this sight was beheld, they would know that they had found their promised land.
After a long and arduous journey, it is said that the Aztec travelers finally arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the 13th century CE. At the valley’s center, surrounded by high mountains and thick forests, sat Lake Texcoco. It was here that the prophecy of the gods was fulfilled—true to Huitzilopochtli’s message, the wandering Aztec watched in awe as an eagle swooped down, landed on a cactus growing from a small island in the middle of the lake, and began to devour a snake.
Having clearly received the sign they had been seeking for so long, the Aztec set about constructing a temple to Huitzilopochtli upon the island to inaugurate their new city. They named the settlement Tenochtitlán, a Nahuatl name which translates roughly to “the place where nopal cactus grows from a stone”—in other words, “the land of the nopal.”
Tenochtitlán’s founding marked the symbolic birth of a nation. The city was designated as the new capital of the Aztecs’ sprawling empire and was recognized as the influential center of Mesoamerica for centuries. Today, of course, it is known as Mexico City.
This legendary origin story is immortalized in the coat of arms emblazoned on Mexico’s flag, which depicts the famous scene through which the prophecy was realized: a golden eagle sitting on the outstretched pads of a nopal cactus while eating a snake.
Over the hundreds of years that have followed, the cactus has become a fundamental symbol of Mexican national identity. The desert plant, which is still abundant across Mexico’s landscapes, is thought to embody the indomitable resilience of the Mexican people and the strength of their Indigenous roots. Some folklore even attributes divine powers to the cactus, associating it with prosperity and protection.
To this day, nopal is known as la planta de la vida—“the life-giving plant.” Just one fallen pad of the cactus can form an entirely new plant, offering an apt metaphor for continuity and rebirth for both modern Mexicans and their ancient predecessors.
Read the full story, published May 9 2025, at TheCollector.
