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Monument to Alvaro Obregón
The monument to President Alvaro Obregón, an architectural and sculptural
work by the architect, Enrique Aragón Echeagaray, and sculptor, Ignacio
Asúnsolo, was built on the site of his assassination, the former La
Bombilla restaurant. The are is now the Bombilla Park in
the neighbourhood of San Ángel,
Mexico City. The assassination occurred on the 17th of July 1928, at
the hands of a religious fanatic, after Obregón was re-elected president
for a second term.
The monument's wall is of a square plan that narrows as it rises to
an obelisk. Three of its sides bear monumental reliefs, and the front
features two colossal figures of Fertility and Labour. These two giants
stand on guard at either side of the two steel doors that bear large,
ornamental chains that forms part of the bolt. A wide, stone stairway
leads to the entrance. The interior is of an octagonal plan, with the
walls and floors in pink, grey, and black Italian and Mexican marble.
The central piece is an altar with a bronze statue of Obregón by
Asúnsolo, accompanied by two other statues of his followers. At the
centre of the gully, a marble staircase leads to a lower level. Again,
marble decorates the walls and floors, along with bronze supports, and
various reliefs. The central piece is glass covering the exact location
where Obregón was murdered on that fateful day, accompanied by an inscription
that reads: 'I die blessing the Revolution. Santana del Conde, Guanajuato,
3rd of June 1915. Here, 11th of July 1928.' The original bullet holes
are preserved in the original floor. A niche in the wall holds a bronze
sculpture of the president's arm that he had lost in battle in 1915,
along with the actual arm preserved in a jar of formaldehyde, although
in poor state. There is a main altar near a small door that leads to
a narrow, spiral staircase, which in turn, leads to a lookout, that
gives views of San Angel. The monument was complete with haste, being
shorter than planned, and due to a lack of funds, it \was not completed
as intended. It has been thus said that it is a mutilated commemoration
to a mutilated hero. |
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