Alva Ixtilxochitl, whose father was one of the native allies of Cortés, helps us imagine the mixed feelings that the fall of the city aroused, even among the Aztec's enemies:

"On the day that Tenochtitlán was taken, the Spaniards committed some of the most brutal acts ever inflicted upon the unfortunate people of this land. The cries of the helpless women and children were heart-rending. The Tlaxcalans and other enemies of the Aztecs revenged themselves pitilessly for old offences and robbed them of everything they could find. Only Prince Ixtilxochitl of Texcoco, an ally of Cortés, felt compassion for the Aztecs, because they were of his own homeland. He kept his followers from maltreating the women and children as cruelly as Cortés and the Spaniards did.... The anguish and bewilderment of our enemies was pitiful to behold. The warriors gathered on the rooftops and stared at the ruins of their city in a dazed silence, and the women and children and old men were all weeping...."