Tuesday, April 21, 2009

El Angel de la Independencia

This monument is located on el Paseo de la Reforma in downtown Mexico City.
Officially known as Columna de la Independencia (cite in Spanish) it was built in 1910 to commemorate to beginning of Mexico’s War of independence, but later it began to represent the most important leaders of the war. It is a victory column signifying law, war, justice, and peace. At the top of the column lays an angel bronze statue holding a crown above Miguel Hidalgo head symbolizing victory. Surrounding the column there are many statues representing the heroes of the war and characteristics such as strength and innocence. This column is a very important traditional gathering place for celebrations, especially soccer victories. In 1986 the celebrations damaged the column so much it had to go under restoration. There have been two major restorations and some have been quite controversial. The first was due to the earthquake in 1957 and the second due to a celebration of the World Cup victory celebrations.
Another article I found that is more recent said that a copy of it was made and sent to Beijing for the Olympics. It was supposed to enhance Mexico’s relationship with China and to wish everybody the best of wishes. This symbol of independence, peace and friendship was able to do just that.

2 comments:

  1. Helpful, but needs more facts, more information. Should be more detailed

    ReplyDelete