Coyote de Nezahualcóyotl
Located to the east of Mexico City, the municipality of Nezahualcóyotl is the most populated of Mexico, where each square kilometer of surface shelters an average of 17,537 people. It is a territory of contrasts; On the one hand there are its traditions and commerce that govern the patterns of a population that does things in its own way, and on the other hand, the stigma it drags as a violent and marginal zone.
The history of this place began in the fourteenth century by the influence of the Toltec culture that was consolidated in two great dominions: the Mexica in the city of Tenochtitlan, and the acolyte in Texcoco, where Acolmiztli-Nezahualcoyotl was born, a great monarch who ruled Texcoco With courage and wisdom, in addition to earning a reputation as wise and who gained fame as a poet. His extensive intellectual formation resulted in a high aesthetic sensibility and a great love for nature, which were reflected not only in the architecture of the city, but also in its poetic and philosophical manifestations.
By the 1940s, due to the economic crisis and the lack of efficient programs of the governments of the Republic to promote the development of the countryside, to encourage the economy in small communities, as well as the creation of educational institutes of different levels, Provincial people emigrated to the capital of the country, in search of alternatives that would allow better living conditions for them and their children.
In those years, Mexico City, which had only one million 500 thousand inhabitants, was eager for cheap labor to promote the progress and development of both new and existing factories, as well as small workshops and services to Those who could easily integrate the new residents. However, the capacity and quality of housing was not the ideal place to host the emigrants, so their price was raised, leaving them with the least resources to support their families and postponing their longings for improvement.
By the year 1945, some families settled in part of what today is the colony Juárez Pantitlán and Pantitlán, the latter in the Federal District; Shortly thereafter, fractionators bought dried-up land from commoners at derisory prices, to promote housing for those who wanted their own living space. So this town grew until it became what it is today.
Nezahualcoyotl comes from the Nahuatl language “Nezāhualcoyōtzin” , which derives from “Nezāhual” which means fasting, and “Coyōtl” which is coyote; Therefore, means “fasting coyote,” understanding fasting as a form of sacrifice.
Perhaps in this meaning is that the teacher Sebastián was inspired to create the “Coyote in Fast”, sculpture that has become the main symbol of the municipality of Nezahualcóyotl. This work was built as part of the festivities for the 45th anniversary of the creation of the municipality.
It is located in the roundabout that forms the avenues Adolfo López Mateos and Pantitlán, and can be observed to a distance of two kilometers to the round and from the International Airport of the City of Mexico.
The work measures 40 meters in height, weighs 200 tons and has an area of 366 square meters and an interior basement of 21 meters. The construction of the also known as Coyote Head, made of iron and concrete, began in 2006 and had a cost of five million pesos.
Since its construction its color was red, which makes it very striking, and to this day, no graffiti artist has scratched the sculpture, which may denote the respect that the inhabitants have acquired for this work that represents them.
The plastic conception of this work is based on a geometric abstraction that evokes the figure of a coyote, who seen from one angle looks sad and from another looks aggressive, while his half-opened snout refers to two pyramids.
