EFE.- The Government of Mexico City concluded on Thursday the works started in 2019 to restore the emblematic monument of the Angel of Independence, damaged by the 2017 earthquake and worn by inclement weather.
“Total, 22.4 million pesos were invested; of these, 14.4 correspond to the structural part and the rest was for rehabilitation, cleaning and architectural lighting ”, explained the capital’s Secretary of Works, Jesús Antonio Esteva, during a tour of the monument.
The Angel is a 45-meter high monument composed of a golden winged victory on top of a commemorative column and a mausoleum, which was inaugurated on the Paseo de la Reforma by the dictator Porfirio Díaz in 1910, when the 100 years of the beginning of the war of independence.
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The official explained that eThe interior of the column was reinforced by a steel cylinder that “had cracks” and “was deformed” by the powerful earthquake of September 19, 2017.
El Ángel, which has a gazebo at its top, was closed a little over two years ago to tension it with cables and then reinforce it with concrete and steel plates.
Once the structural work was completed, about 40 restorers worked along the shaft of the column, full of sculptures worn by rain and wind, using the original quarry brought from the neighboring State of Mexico.
“In addition to that, restoration and cleaning work was carried out in the lower part, floors were polished, about 90 to 80 steps were leveled and 48 artistic lighting lamps were also rehabilitated,” explained the secretary.
In the entire process, 100 employees participated, including architects, restorers and workers, who also worked “throughout the pandemic” of Covid-19.
The work began in August 2019, shortly after a large feminist march that left more than 500 graffiti on the base of the monument, which have been erased during the restoration.
The scaffolding was removed last August so that the Angel would be visible on the bicentennial of Mexico, celebrated in September, and a few days ago the fences that prevented access to its staircase were removed.
The official announced that the orange marigold flower, typical of the Day of the Dead, has already begun to be sown at the base of the monument and along the Paseo de la Reforma.
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