Its official name is Monumento a la Independencia. It’s a meeting point and a starting point. While those who step foot here may not know it, they are standing on the remains of those who made this country. Before becoming the headquarters for important social protests and rallies, the monument was a mausoleum formed by a slanted zócalo, a quarry-stone column standing 35 meters high, and the statue of the Winged Victory of Samothrace at the top – designed by architect Antonio Rivas Mercado.
It’s still possible to visit the urns and the sculptures of the 14 national heroes that are interred in the space: Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama, José Mariano Jiménez, José María Morelos y Pavón, Mariano Matamoros, Francisco Javier Mina, Guadalupe Victoria, Vicente Guerrero, Nicolás Bravo, Leona Vicario, Andrés Quintana Roo, Víctor Rosales and Pedro Romero.
Also referred to simply as “El Ángel,” the monument has a small 360-degree lookout. To access the top, you must ask permission at the Delegación Cuauhtémoc (Aldama s/n, esq. Mina, Buenavista), in the Patrimonio Cultural area, from 10am to 2pm.
The person in charge of the group that will go to the lookout must show their official identification (INE) in the Patrimonio Cultural, where they will provide you with a date and time for your visit. The procedure is free of cost.