''Fuente de los Cántaros'' is an outdoor fountain and sculpture of an indigenous woman 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 ...

Parque México The Parque México ( en, lit. "Mexico Park"), officially Parque San Martín, is a large urban park located in Colonia Hipódromo in the Condesa area of Mexico City. It is recognized by its Art Deco architecture and decor as well as being one of t ...

, in Mexico, created by José María Hernández Urbina in 1927, and restored in 2008.

Description and history

The fountain was created by

José María Hernández Urbina José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, with Luz Jiménez, an indigenous Nahua woman, as the model, in 1927. The statue, 3 m in height and constructed from concrete, depicts a naked woman with a water pitcher under each arm, from which the water flowed. Locally she is referred to as ''La Muñeca'' or the ''Mujer de los Cántaros''. The fountain faces onto Calle de Michoacán, which divides the park, at the entrance to the Teatro al Aire Libre Lindbergh (Lindbergh Forum, named for

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

). Urbina, together with the architect Roberto Montenegro was one of the creators of the Forum, with its

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

features, in the 1920s, at the time that

Colonia Condesa Condesa or La Condesa is an area in the Cuauhtémoc Borough of Mexico City, south of Zona Rosa and 4 to 5 km west of the Zócalo, the city's main square. It is immediately west of Colonia Roma, together with which it is designated as ...

was being developed. The statue has come to symbolize the Mexican people (''Mexicayotl'' or ''

Mexicanidad Mexicayotl (Nahuatl word meaning "Essence of the Mexican", "Mexicanity"; Spanish: ''Mexicanidad''; see '' -yotl'') is a movement reviving the indigenous religion, philosophy and traditions of ancient Mexico (Aztec religion and Aztec philosophy) a ...

'') before The Conquest. The Forum was poorly maintained, and fell into disrepair, but in 2008 a restoration began at a cost of 21 million pesos over 17 months, but was considered controversial by local residents. The fountain is considered an important landmark and attracts many visitors.

In popular culture

The statue has become symbolised in stencil graffiti on the walls of Mexico City, and has been replicated in fibreglass for a film and is a frequent subject for artists.

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