In the Shadow of Chernay The Fedaral inspector for Archaeology in México, Lorenzo Pérez Castro presents the story of two men who shared e yoyage: Désiré Charnay, a celebrated French explorer, end a Mexican inspector, Lorenzo Pérez Castro, a decorated military engineer. Together they traversed thousands of miles In Mexico from 1880 to 1881 in what was known as the Franco-American expedition. The aim of missiom was to explore a diversity of archaeological sites, from the snow-covered mountainsides of the volcano Popocatepetl in the Mexican highlands, to the torrid jungles of Tabasco and Chiapas This study analyses the trip from previously unpublished sources. A key part of that historical record is the inspector's official diary: a document that is a precise accounting of Charnay’s movements and of Pérez Castro’s views of the ruins being discovered. His sorber work contrasts whit Charnay’s recounting of same trip, a personal diary that was published serially as an epic adventure. Comparing the two narratives reveals not only inconsistencies in their accounts but also the growing tensions between the two men, leading ultimately to bitter recriminations. In Iight of the new evidence, the story of inspector Pérez Castro and Charnay needs to be retold and, reconsidered. Their journey together unfolded as México and France, former enemies, were attempting to reset their diplomatic relations, and both men played a crucial role in a high stakes political game, that involved the resurgence of nationalistic policies aimed at Mexico’s archaeological heritage.
