Another legend with a life of its own was that of Sierra Azul, the Blue Mountains, which were heavily laden with silver. If that were not enough, there was the story of Dorado, the golden man who would cover himself with gold dust and then bathe in a lake as an offering to his gods.
Mythical geography suggested that the Strait of anian, the waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, existed somewhere north of New Spain. Whoever found and fortified it could control Commerce between nations and oversee the richest nation in the world.
There were tales of kingdoms galore, like the Kingdo of Quivira where streets were paved with gold. The Kingdom of Teguayo was another wealthy Indian area that was waiting to be found. These kingdoms had to exist. After all, had not Hernan Cortes found the Kingdom of the Aztecs and Francisco Pizarro that of the Incas?
These myths and legends had their origins in past civilizations and, since they had not been disproved, were alive and well in the late medieval world and were brought over by the Spaniards and other European explorers to the New World.
These then were the legends and myths that charged the atmosphere of Mexico City when Friar Marcos de Niza returned from his reconnaissance 350 leagues to the north in the area that today we call New Mexico. Niza was sent by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza to confirm the existence of the cities that Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and his companions heard about during their epic trip from Florida to Mexico (1528-1536).