Parks and Monuments

Yesterday I took a long walk to the affluent neighborhood of Polanco to visit some of the green spaces in that district.

My first stop was a strange, little park along the Paseo de la Reforma on the opposite side of the boulevard from Chapultepec Park... the Mexico - Azerbaijan Friendship Park.  This green space includes a sculptural feature that is a map of the Caspian Sea nation which was once part of the U.S.S.R. 

From what I have read, there used to be a bronze statue here of Heydar Aliyev, the late President of Azerbaijan.  In 2019 the park was the scene of discord rather than friendship when angry protesters demanded the removal of the statue of Aliyev, who was an authoritarian ruler accused of human rights abuses.  Aliyev is no longer here.

Turning off of the Paseo de la Reforma, I came to a less controversial park, Parque Gandhi.  Here there is a monument dedicated to the man who won the independence of India through non-violent protest.

Farther down the avenue is a statue of the U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Returning to the Paseo de la Reforma, I pass the Winston Churchill Garden which includes a statue of the famous Prime Minister.  It was donated by the British community of Mexico City in 1974.

Continuing down the Paseo de la Reforma I came to an obelisk which is a monument in honor of Simón Bolívar, the Liberator of South America.

Just beyond that is the Lebanese Embassy.  Can you see the nation's emblem, a cedar tree, next to the entrance?

The embassy faces the Garden of the Republic of Lebanon.  There is a statue entitled "Tras un Sueño" ("After a Dream")

I am not sure of the statue's significance, but it was donated in 2016 by the Chedraui family.  The Chedrauis are the owners of one of Mexico's largest supermarket chains, and they are of Lebanese descent.

Also in the park, although it has nothing to do with Lebanon, is a bust of Luis Donaldo Colosio.

Colosio was the Presidential candidate for the ruling party PRI in the 1994 election.  During a campaign rally in Tijuana he was assassinated.  Conspiracy theories abound concerning Colosio's death, including that his own party betrayed him.

From here I walked a few blocks north of the Paseo de la Reforma to reach Polanco's largest park, Parque Lincoln.

The park gets its name from the statue of Abraham Lincoln, a gift from the United States.

Facing Lincoln's statue, on the other side of the street which bisects the park, is a newer monument, a statue of Martin Luther King.

A number of other pieces of statuary adorn the park.

When this neighborhood was developed in the 1930s most of the homes were grand mansions built in the neo-colonial style.  Today the majority of the residents live in luxury condominium towers.  Many of the old mansions still remain although some are used for commercial purposes or as foreign embassies.

I discovered that there was more to see in Parque Lincoln than I expected... but that will wait for my next entries.