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Monumento a la Raza

Mexico

Monumento a la Raza

The Monumento a la Raza is a 50-meter (160 ft) high pyramid in northern Mexico City. It stands at the intersection of Avenida de los Insurgentes, Circuito Interior and Calzada Vallejo, within the Cuauhtémoc borough. The monument is composed of three superimposed truncated pyramids, adorned with vari

ous sculptures along its sides and crowned by a large eagle. The structure was designed by Francisco Borbolla, while the sculptural elements and overall layout were conceived by Luis Lelo de Larrea. Many of the artworks date back to the Porfiriato period. The copper-and-steel eagle was cast by the French animalier Georges Gardet, and the bronze high reliefs were created by the Mexican sculptor Jesús Fructuoso Contreras. Originally, the eagle was intended to sit atop the never-completed Federal Legislative Palace—later replaced with the Monumento a la Revolución in downtown Mexico City. The reliefs were inspired by those made for the Aztec Palace, presented in the Mexican pavilion of the 1889 Paris Exposition. Construction of the monument began in 1930 and was completed a decade later. It was inaugurated in 1940, on the Día de la Raza (Columbus Day), and it is dedicated to la Raza—the Indigenous...

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