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

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

woman in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Parque México The Parque México (), 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 the larger green areas ...

, 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 very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

, with

Luz Jiménez Luz Jiménez or Luciana (born Julia Jiménez González; 1897–1965) was an indigenous Mexican model and Nahuatl-language storyteller and linguistic informant from Milpa Alta, D.F. As a young woman she witnessed the Mexican Revolution, an ...

, an

Nahua The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as ...

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, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

). Urbina, together with the architect

Roberto Montenegro Roberto Montenegro Nervo (February 19, 1885, in Guadalajara – October 13, 1968, in Mexico City) was a painter, muralist and illustrator, who was one of the first to be involved in the Mexican muralism movement after the Mexican Revolution. His ...

was one of the creators of the Forum, with its

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

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'') 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 Stencil graffiti is a form of graffiti that makes use of stencils made out of paper, cardboard, or other media to create an image or text that is easily reproducible. The desired design is cut out of the selected medium and then the image is tran ...

on the walls of Mexico City, and has been replicated in fibreglass for a film and is a frequent subject for artists.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links