Everything about El Ngel totally explained
El Ángel de la Independencia ("The Angel of Independence"), most commonly known by the
shortened name
El Ángel and officially known as
Columna de la Independencia, is a
victory column located on a
roundabout over
Paseo de la Reforma in downtown
Mexico City.
El Ángel was built to commemorate the centennial of the beginning of
Mexico's
War of Independence, celebrated in
1910. In later years it was made into a mausoleum for the most important heroes of that war. It is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Mexico City, and it has become a focal point for both celebration or protest. It bears a resemblance to the
Victory Column in
Berlin.
Description
The base of the column is quadrangular with each vertex featuring a
bronze sculpture symbolizing
Law,
War,
Justice and
Peace. Originally there were nine steps leading to the base, but due to the sinking of the ground fourteen more steps were added.
On the main face of the base, which faces downtown Mexico City, there's an inscription reading
La Nación a los Héroes de la Independencia ("The Nation to the Heroes of Independence"). In front of this inscription is a bronze statue of a giant lion led by a child, representing strength and the innocence of youth during War but docility during Peace.
Next to the column there's a group of
marble statues of some of the heroes of the
War of Independence. The column itself is 36 meters high. The structure is made of
steel covered with quarried stone decorated with garlands, palms and rings with the names of Independence figures. Inside the column is a two-hundred step staircase which leads to a viewpoint above the
capital. The
Corinthian-style capital is adorned by four eagles with extended wings from the
Mexican coat of arms used at the time.
Crowning the column there's the sculpture that gives the name to the monument. The 6.7 meter statue by
Enrique Alciati represents the
Winged Victory. It is made of bronze, covered with
gold and weighs 7 tons. In her right hand the Angel holds a
laurel crown, symbolizing Victory, while in her left she holds a broken chain, symbolizing Freedom.
History
Construction of
El Ángel was ordered in
1902 by
President Porfirio Díaz. Architect
Antonio Rivas Mercado was in charge of the design of the monument, while the actual construction was supervised by Mexican engineers Gonzalo Garita and Manuel Gorozpe. All the sculptures were made by
Italian artist
Enrique Alciati. The monument was ready for the festivities to commemorate the first hundred years of
Mexican Independence in
1910. The opening ceremony was attended by President Díaz and several foreign dignitaries. The main speaker at the event was Mexican
poet Salvador Díaz Mirón.
In
1925 the remains of the following heroes of the Mexican Independence were interred in a
mausoleum at the base of the monument:
An
eternal flame (Lámpara Votiva) honoring these heroes was installed in the base of the column at the order of President
Emilio Portes Gil in
1929.
The monument suffered some damage during an earthquake on
July 28,
1957 when the sculpture of the Winged Victory fell to the ground and broke into several pieces. Sculptor
José Fernández Urbina was in charge of the restoration, which lasted more than a year. The monument was reopened on
September 16,
1958. It survived, undamaged, the
devastating earthquake of
September 19,
1985.
More recently
El Ángel has become the traditional gathering place for celebration amongst Mexico City inhabitants, particularly following
football victories and as a focal point for political rallies.
Further Information
Get more info on 'El Ngel'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://el___ngel.totallyexplained.com">El Ángel Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
