This is a story that explains the origin of chocolate, a sugary treat that was made a long time ago, yet has preserved its sweet taste today. A treat, that started with the bare hands of a human. A pair of hands that belonged to no one else, but to a sagacious young boy named Achcauhtli...

One colorless dim morning, when the Quetzals didn’t sing and the Xoloitzcuintles were fast asleep, Achcauhtli decided to head down the road to pick up the crops for the day.

As he strolled down the rocky route, he saw a keen ray of sunlight flashing down the field in which the crops were located. Achcauhtli squinted and stared closely to see if something wrong was happening.

Impossible for him to decipher what was really going on in there, and realizing that staring was just pointless, he decided to keep walking and check on the crops.

When he arrived, the ray of sunlight blazed more and embraced his entire dark olive skin. Suddenly, a hoarse, transparent voice whispered to him, “Achcauhtli, Achcauhtli.” Achcauhtli, confused and bewildered, looked up and noticed that the voice came from above.

Out of nowhere, the voice came back, “Achcauhtli, you have been chosen to fulfill a significant duty. A duty with a purpose of offering us a new oblation. Something new, distinct. Something that we have never experienced before. You will have one day in order to come up with it, or else, I will shut myself off and tell Tláloc, God of the rain, to be active forever and drown the crops. We have chosen you for your savvy thoughts, humble attitude, and insightful mind. All of the Aztec Empire trusts you and is now in your hands. Good luck.”

Achcauhtli, disconcerted and perplexed, started to process what Huitzilopochtli just told him, and began pondering about a new object that he could truly admire. Keeping this in mind, he started to wander around to see if something gave him an idea.
After too much ruminating and strolling, Achcauhtli decided to take a path down the jungle so he could free his mind. As soon as he got there, he sat on top of a giant rock and started to scan all the nature around him.

Suddenly, Achcauhtli spotted a large brown seed hanging from a tree. He walked toward it and pulled it down.
It was a hard, big seed that was not easily broken. Achcauhtli was really looking forward to discover what was inside, so he took a thick log of wood, and with all his might, hit the seed.  When the seed popped open, he tasted the bits that were inside. They were bitter and strong, with absolutely no sweetness.

Achcauhtli looked for something that could make it sweeter, and found sugarcane. He cut some of it with a spear and mixed it with the bits of the seed. Once done, he tasted both of them at the same time, but it was still bitter.

Nightfall came and Achcauhtli hadn’t figured anything yet. Upset, desperate, and hopeless, he decided he would wake up early the next morning. That way, he could tell Huitzilopochtli about his struggle and failure in finding a new oblation.  

The next day, after suffering a hard rain, Achcauhtli woke up and started to get prepared for his way back. But when he turned around, there was a Quetzal licking the leftovers of his mixture. Achcauhtli got near and tasted it. It was much sweeter and it had a different taste. So, he took the mixture and ran to the field where he had met Huitzilopochtli the previous day.
 

Once he got there, rays of sun embraced him once more. Achcauhtli lifted the mixture into the sky and offered it to Huitzilopochtli.

A long time passed and Huitzilopochtli hadn’t uttered a thing. Didn’t he like what Achcauhtli had come up with?

After a few, long seconds, Huitzilopochtli congratulated him for finding a new oblation that involved a unique taste.  When the God of the sun asked him what he had done, Achcauhtli grinned with pride and answered, “Spring began, and the Quetzals arrived.”
Huitzilopochtli smiled. And in a blink of an eye, he let his power cover Mesoamérica, as he slowly absorbed the sweet mixture Achcauhtli had done.