Benito Juárez Hemicycle

Benito Juárez Hemicycle
Benito Juárez Hemicycle
Location	Alameda Central park
Nearest city	Mexico City, Mexico
Coordinates	Coordinates: 19°26′06″N 99°08′39″W / 19.4350°N 99.1442°W
Established	1911

The Benito Juárez Hemicycle is a Neoclassical monument located at the Alameda Central park in Mexico City, Mexico and commemorating the Mexican statesman Benito Juárez. The statue of Juárez is flanked by marble Doric columns. The pedestal bears the inscription "Al benemerito Benito Juárez la Patria" (Spanish: "To the meritorious Benito Juárez, the Homeland").

History

The construction began in 1906 to mark the centennial of Juárez's birth.^[1] The engineers for the construction of the monument were assigned by Porfirio Díaz.^[2] The monument is one among several commemorating Benito Juárez across the world.

Style

It is Neoclassical style, semicircular, with strong Greek influence; it has twelve Doric columns, supporting an entablature and frieze structure of the same order. On both sides it has two golden spikes.

At the center is a sculpture composed of Benito Juarez seated with two allegories. Homeland Juarez crowning laurels in the presence of a second that represents the law in the basement has festoons, another sculpture center that chairs a republican eagle with open wings in a facing, with neoaztequistas frets, which lie two lions.

In its central body, holds a medallion with laurel that frames the legend:

"By Meritorious Benito Juarez. La Patria."

Social practices

The Chamber is a prominent point in Alameda. It has been a meeting place for the start of marches and popular rallies such as the student movement of 1968 and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in 2006. For decades, the commemoration of the birth of Benito Juarez occur protocol by Mexican presidents. For decades it was the destination of the gay march to Mexico City in 1999, the organizing committee decided reach the Zocalo.

References

1. Benjamin, Thomas (2010). La Revolución: Mexico's Great Revolution as Memory, Myth, and History. University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292782977.
2. Butterfield, Beldon (2012). Mexico Behind the Mask: A Narrative, Past and Present. Potomac Books, Inc. p. 68. ISBN 1612344267.

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Spanish Wikipedia.