The ''Fuente de la República'' () is a

carbon steel Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states: * no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...

fountain and sculpture installed in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, Mexico. It was inaugurated on 13 December 2007 by

Marcelo Ebrard Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón (; born 10 October 1959) is a Mexican politician who is serving as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico. Affiliated with the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) since 2018, he was appointed to lead the f ...

, the Federal District's head of government, and was placed at the intersection of Avenida

Paseo de la Reforma Paseo de la Reforma (translated as "Promenade of the Reform") is a wide avenue that runs diagonally across the heart of Mexico City. It was designed at the behest of Emperor Maximilian by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig during the era of the Secon ...

Avenida Juárez Avenida Juárez is a street in the Historic Center of Mexico City flanking the south side of the centuries-old Alameda Central park. Originally each block had a different name: *Calle de la Puente de San Francisco between San Juan de Letrán ...

and

Avenida Bucareli Avenida Bucareli, often referred to as "Bucareli Street", is a main avenue and ''eje vial'' (arterial road) in Mexico City. It divides the Historic center on the east from Colonia Juárez on the west. It is named after the viceroy of New Spai ...

, in the

Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler (''tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, making him the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle" ...

borough. The fountain was created specifically for the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the country's independence in 2010. It was designed by

Manuel Felguérez Manuel Felguérez Barra (December 12, 1928June 8, 2020) was a Mexican abstract artist, part of the Generación de la Ruptura that broke with the muralist movement of Diego Rivera and others in the mid 20th century. Early life Felguérez was ...

, who also designed the ''

Puerta 1808 ''Puerta 1808'' (Spanish for "Gateway") is an outdoor carbon steel sculpture by Manuel Felguérez installed in Mexico City, Mexico. It was inaugurated on 20 October 2007 by Marcelo Ebrard, the head of government, and was placed in the cor ...

'' sculpture found in front of it.

History and design

During the planning of the installation of ''

'',

used the space to conceptualize how to place it on the corner of

and

. He mentioned that, at that time, there was only a traffic circle with poorly maintained grass and commented to his team that a fountain could improve the view; the roundabout replaced the Glorieta del Caballito, whose main sculpture was removed in 1979. He suggested it not be too high to avoid taking attention away from all the visible monuments in the area. On the day ''Puerta 1808'' was inaugurated (20 October 2007), Felguérez hinted to

, the head of government, that a fountain would be a good way to decorate the space, and he approved it. Felguérez designed it ''in situ'' with the

Monumento a la Revolución The Monument to the Revolution ( es, Monumento a la Revolución, links=no) is a landmark and monument commemorating the Mexican Revolution. It is located in the Plaza de la República, near to the heart of the major thoroughfares Paseo de la Re ...

as a visual reference. The jets of water it would spurt would take the shape of the monument, with high curves in the center and tapering curves at the sides. These reach in height. Juan Álvarez del Castillo was chosen as the architect. The concrete fountain is coated with

; it is in diameter, has 700 water jets, 200 lamps and eight pumps that move of recycled water. Felguérez said that the fountain is different from others because instead of having a sculpture in the center, the fountain itself is the sculpture. On the border two red circles are painted to represent the eyes of Mexico. The fountain was inaugurated on 13 December 2007 for the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the country's independence in 2010.

References

External links

* {{Public art in Mexico City 2007 establishments in Mexico 2007 sculptures Concrete sculptures in Mexico Fountains in Mexico Historic center of Mexico City Outdoor sculptures in Mexico City Paseo de la Reforma Roundabouts and traffic circles in Mexico Steel sculptures in Mexico