At the time of the Spanish Conquest, Itzohuatzin was governing Cuahnanhauc. It was a rich city and densely populated, with large farms and its characteristic ravines bridged over. The Spanish marched on Cuernavaca even before taking the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. They were led by Gonzalo de Sandoval and he was joined later by the conquistador, Hernán Cortés. The bridges were destroyed to prevent the Spanish from entering the city, but they were able to cross on a fallen tree. The Spanish troops pillaged and burned the city before retiring to nearby Acapantzingo, where they celebrated the first mass in Morelos on Sunday, April 14, 1521, before continuing their march on the capital. The Spanish had difficulty pronouncing the Nahua name of the city and changed it to "Cuernavaca."