The ritual and music were stimulating but clearly Spanish in origin. The feeling of empathy arose from a sprinkling of brown indigenous people in the background, poor but with the dignity and bearing of an ancient culture. The impressive cathedral and plaza in the heart of the city had been constructed in the 16th century by the Spanish conquistadors on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the great Aztec capital they had devastated more thoroughly than any city plundered by Nadir Shah. Unlike him they had stayed on. I remember reporting back to The Hindustan Times that after the affluent US, much in Mexico felt like home. The impression was reinforced by the name given by Christopher Columbus to the people he found when he landed in America. He called them Indians, believing that he had reached India. Their colour and features may have confused him.