Manuel Rodríguez Villegas

Manuel Rodríguez Villegas, known as Manuel Rodríguez (May 27, 1982), born in Tequixquiac, Mexico. was a Mexican novelist, essayist and architect. He made the first electronic Nahuatl dictionary also other Mexican indigenous languages. He published his first novel, called Los frutos de Tierra Santa (The fruit of Holy Land in English) in May 2023,^[1] his published work was over New Spain landscape life.^[2]

His ancestors were landowners in this region, whose fortunes were ruined by the Mexican Revolution. They were descendants of Marranos (Portuguese and Spanish settlers) who had to join the agrarian movement and give up their properties.

He was the first son from Germán Rodríguez and Margarita Villegas, he was the firstborn, he have got one sister.^[3] Was a prominent child, before entering school, he already knew how to read and write, he began his studies at Nicolás Bravo primary school at the age of five years, he completed his secondary studies at the E.S.T.I.C No. 51 Heriberto Enriquez, also in Santiago Tequixquiac. In 1994, Manuel traveled outside of Mexico for the first time. His parents took a family vacations to California state, where he and his sister got to know the United States, and there he began his commitment to studying hard.

In 1999 he started as a student of La Salle high school in Pachuca city. He entered the seminary in Monterrey city, but not having a religious vocation, decided to study architecture and returned to Pachuca. He studied architecture inside Tecnological Institute of Pachuca in Hidalgo State, Mexico.^[4] After completing his professional career, he moved to Mexico City. The first time he traveled abroad alone was to the University of Stuttgart, in Germany. He spent time there studying photography and visual arts.^[5]

In 2007 he joined the faculty at National Autonomous University of Mexico Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning. He always had the support of his father in his educational life, and in his youth he practiced extreme sports such as snowboarding and mountaineering. He has visited many countries around the world, and began his career as a backpacker and athlete before becoming his studies, he was a scholarship holder at UNAM. He held several jobs before earning his master's degree: he was an English teacher, an industrial designer assistant in Panama City, and an architectural clerk assistant in Ciudad Satélite.

In 2016 he finished a postgraduate degree as a UNAM young researcher in city heritage revitalition.^[6] In 2018, he was a professor of literature at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico, Campus Zumpango. He later became an academic and staff professor at the Polytechnic University of Hidalgo, teaching on Architecture and Logistics Engineering.

In 2001, he proposed a flag for the state of Jalisco, consisting of two blue stripes and a stripe of gold with the State Emblem in the center; it resembled the flag of the New Galicia or Intendence of Guadalajara from Priciliano Sánchez. Also, he was the designer of the flag of the municipality of Tequixquiac in 2017.^[7]

As an architect he has carried out the Second restoration work of Santiago Apóstol Parish in Tequixquiac in 2011 by CONACULTA and INAH, and he built the Restoration work of Eugenia León theather with César Rodríguez in Tlalnepantla de Baz in 2018. He has stood out as a restorer of old buildings or those with heritage value.

He edited the firts Nahuatl electronic dictionary and wrote many indigenous vocabularies on eletronic system inside Instituto Tecnológico de Pachuca. Made two Nahuatl electronic dictionaries on 2004, Aulex^[8] and Freelang.^[9][10] Manu began writing at Architecture Multimedia Room. These dictionaries have been consulted and used for new works on Nahuatl.^[11]

In 2014 he visited the University of Warsaw for international conference about comprehensive models for research and revitlization about electronic endangered indigenous languages as Nahuatl in Poland.^[12] He participated in several workshops on lexicography in the Nahuatl language and other languages.^[13]

After having studied writing, style and Spanish grammar at the Casa Universitaria del Libro from UNAM, in order to prepare his research thesis for a master's degree, he embarked on the world of literary art. When he fell ill with COVID-19 in March 2021, he was quarantined in his own home and wrote a novel.

He published his first novel at the Madrid book fair in Spain on May 27, 2023, entitled The fruit of Holy Land.^[14] A historical novel about the first inhabitants of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in rural areas. This novel has been translated into English^[15], Portuguese^[16] and French language.^[17]

His second novel is The little way of the Andes, this was published in 2024, It's an adventure story in which the author tells some anecdotes from his backpacking trip through the Andean countries^[18] and The old woman from the wind.^[19]

• 2006: First electronic Spanish-Nahuatl dictionary.^[20]
• 2006: First electronic Spanish-Otomi dictionary.^[21]
• 2006: First electronic Spanish-Mazahua dictionary.^[22]
• 2025 Dictionary Spanish-Central Nahuatl.^[23]

• 2011: Second restoration work of Santiago Apóstol Parish in Tequixquiac.^[24]
• 2014: Santiago Tequixquiac, pueblo metropolitano.^[25]
• 2016: La revitalización de los centros históricos la calle 22, el centro histórico de Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche.^[26]
• 2024: El centro histórico de Santiago Tequixquiac.^[27]

• 2023: The fruit of Holy Land^[28] ISBN 978-607-29-5835-7 .^[29]
• 2024: Caminito de los Andes.^[30] ISBN 978-607-29-6522-5 .^[31]
• 2025: La anciana del Viento.^[32] ISBN 978-607-29-6878-3 .^[33]

• Embassy of Germany in Mexico, photographic awards by Fall of the Berlin Wall Anniversary, Photo: A wall, two realities (Un mundo, dos realidades). (2009)
• Tequixquiac Arts Awards, literarure category, Novel: The fruit of Holy Land (Los frutos de Tierra Santa). (2025)

Media related to Manuel Rodríguez Villegas at Wikimedia Commons

• Dictionary on line Nahuatl-Spanish-Nahuatl Freelang