Monumento A Los Indios Verdes

Statues of (Nahuatl for Aztec rulers) Ahuitzotl and Itzcoatl are installed in Mexico City. They are collectively known as the ("). The statues are verdigris due to the effects of weather. They are around to tall and their plinths have inscriptions in Nahuatl. The statues were created by to represent Mexico at the 1889 Paris Exposition.

The statues were unveiled in 1891 in front of the equestrian statue of Charles IV of Spain along Paseo de la Reforma. Since then, they have been moved to Calzada de la Viga, to the northern section of Avenida de los Insurgentes, and since 2005 they are found in Mestizaje Park, in Gustavo A. Madero borough.

Thanks to the statues, the zone between Deportivo 18 de Marzo metro station and the beginning of the Mexican Federal Highway 85D (Mexico City–Pachuca section) is known as "Indios Verdes".

Ahuitzotl and Itzcoatl

Itzcoatl was the son of Acamapichtli. He served as the fourth of Tenochtitlan and he was the first emperor of the Aztec Empire, ruling from 1427 to his death in 1440. He was the father of Tezozomoc.

Ahuitzotl was the grandson of Moctezuma I (on his mother's side) and Itzcoatl (on his father's side), as well as the son of Tezozomoc and Atotoztli II. Ahuizotl served as the eighth ''Huey Tlatoani'' of Tenochtitlan and the sixth ruler of the Aztec Empire, ruling from 1486 to his death in 1502. He was the father of the last ruler of Tenochtitlan, Cuauhtémoc.

History and description

Antonio Peñafiel and Antonio Anza were asked by the Ministry of Promotion of Mexico to represent the country at the 1889 Paris Exposition. The project resulted in the creation of the Aztec Palace. Among the symbols created for it, there were two bronze sculptures created by Alejandro Casarín Salinas, one of Ahuitzotl and the other of Itzcoatl. They are around to tall and weigh around . The reason why Ahuitzotl and Itzcoatl were selected to have statues while other rulers were represented with reliefs is unknown.

The statues, however, were not displayed at the event and instead they were placed along Paseo de la Reforma Avenue, in Mexico City, in September 1891. The installation was never well-received as the style of the avenue was inspired by that of Europe. By 1902 the statues were moved to the , next to the Canal de la Viga (Viga Canal). In 1920, the government piped the canal and by 1939 the sculptures were moved to the northern section of Avenida de los Insurgentes, the main northern entrance to the city. The statues remained there until 1979 due to the construction of a Mexico City Metro station that was later named after them. They were placed in an area next to the station, but in 2005 they were relocated again due to the construction of a bus rapid transit station. Since then, the monument stands in Parque del Mestizaje (Mestizaje Park).

Due to the aging process and exposure to saline water and the sun, the statues have turned verdigris. They still stand on their original plinths, which have inscriptions in Nahuatl.

Thanks to the statues, the zone between Deportivo 18 de Marzo metro station and the beginning of the Mexican Federal Highway 85D (Mexico City–Pachuca section) is known as "Indios Verdes". Because of this, the statues are not moved away from the area even though there have been requests to return them to their original place. For historian Dalia Argüello Nevado, arguing that the monuments should return to their original site with comments that Paseo de la Reforma would dignify them in a better way denotes in itself a form of racism against the inhabitants of the north of the city.

Reception

After their installation, the statues received derogatory commentary. In an article written for the newspaper ''El Tiempo'', a columnist called them "the Aztec Mummies of Paseo", further saying that it contrasted with the "magnificent" equestrian statue of Charles IV of Spain by Manuel Tolsá formerly located in front of them. A columnist from '' El Universal'' wrote that supporters of the ''On the Origin of Species'' work by Charles Darwin would think they "are more human than a gorilla". ''Monitor Republicano'' labeled them as "big dolls" and said that tourists would think that "these eyesores" were created by the settlers of Anahuac, and that the government preserved them as "archaeological relics". The writer concluded that although these were favorable comments, those who realized that they were actually recent works would judge the citizens as "savages". Other comments said it would have been better to use their materials in candlesticks and pennies instead.

Other criticisms they received were due to anachronistic issues such as proportions that do not resemble reality or that they are holding weapons from another era. One journalist said that the "proportions of the limbs sin against anatomical laws".

Gallery

File:Metro Indios Verdes 01.jpg, Indios Verdes metro station is named after the monument and its pictogram features the silhouettes of the sculptures ''(sign pictured)''
File:Monumento a los Indios Verdes (2020, cropped).jpg, The monuments in 2020

See also

* Indigenismo in Mexico
* Monumento a la Raza (Mexico City), a monument featuring multiple castings created for the 1889 Paris Exposition.
* Porfiriato, the era when the statues where created.

References

External links

*

"Indios Verdes (Green Indians Monument)"
at ''Atlas Obscura''

{{Authority control
 
1889 sculptures
1891 establishments in Mexico
Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City
Indigenismo in Mexico
Indigenous peoples in Mexico City
Monuments and memorials in Mexico City
Outdoor sculptures in Mexico City
Paseo de la Reforma
Relocated buildings and structures in Mexico
Sculptures of Indigenous Mexicans