Cacti on the Plaza

If you have been reading this blog for a while and have a good memory, you might recall that last year, to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the founding of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (present day Mexico City) there were scores of fiberglass figures of "nopales" (prickly pear cacti) along the Paseo de la Reforma.  Each one was painted by a different local artist.  The connection between the "nopales" and the founding of the city was that, according to legend, the Aztecs had been told by their god to establish their city where they saw an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus.

I read that the city's main plaza, the Zócalo, is currently decorated with cacti figures.  I assumed that they were the same ones that had been displayed along the Paseo de la Reforma last year.  I was downtown last week and passed through the Zócalo.  It's been a while, but I really could not recognize any of the painted figures from last year.  So, I think that this is a whole new crop of cacti on display.

I did not take the time to photograph all of them, but here are a few of the "nopales"...

This one included a quote from José Guadalupe Posada, the 19th century engraver who created "La Catrina", the elegantly dressed skeleton that has become an icon of the "Day of the Dead".

"Not even death can erase art and culture."