"Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli are as much rivals as the Jaguars and the Serpents are," our driver explained patiently. "Xochitalco wanted to insult Huitzilopochtli by sacrificing himself to another god in the tlachtli —the ball court is dedicated to the sun god and has his temple right next door. And it’s a well known fact that Huitzilopochtli would have claimed Xochitalco otherwise. It’s the curse, you see."