"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
06/13/2020 at 18:33 • Filed to: None
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"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
06/13/2020 at 18:33 • Filed to: None | 4
| 9 |
A few months ago, I found a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! marking the starting point of all of Spain’s radial highways, I didn’t think about it until a couple of days ago when I was prompted an article “The starting point of Mexican highways.” It just happens to be this statue to Mexican-German engineer Enrico Martinez next to the Metropolitan cathedral.
Vandalized because of the recent protests against police brutality, this statue celebrates an important engineer of the Porfirian era. Unlike Spain’s conspicuous plaque, this statue doesn’t have any reference to the zero kilometer point of Mexican highways, and for good reason.... Because it isn’t.
You see, no one really knew where the zero kilometer should be. When Hernan Cortez was the ruler of New Spain, the marker was supposed to be placed behind the cathedral. But then, the ever illustrious President Santa-Ana said it should be exactly 11.85 meters west from the main door of the national palace. This was a controversial topic in 2016 of which I had no clue until today when I arrived to that statue. I then walked up to the national palace looking for the bronze plaque supposedly ordered placed by INEGI four years ago.
You see, Mexicans are a bit like the French in the sense that we love protesting, and because of that the National Palace was blocked by some protestors, I say some because each tent was full of protestors protesting different things. The entire road in front of the palace was closed, but pedestrians could access.
By the Secretariat of Communications and transportation own admission, Mexican highways do not have a standardized origin and end point like other systems do, meaning the kilometer markers on highways are absolutely arbitrary. When the project to place a zero kilometer began in 2014, states were also asked to place a marker in their capital cities for their local road network’s own bearings.
I got as near as possible to the National Palace’s main entrance, but I did not see the bronze plaque 11.85 meters west of it. Since I was in the neighborhood, I paid a visit to the Vasconcelos super-library. Not surprisingly, it was shut. Still an incredible place.
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I also went to the Biblioteca de Mexico, a library made inside an old fort. It was also closed, but I got a picture of the outside. Confoundingly, the full name of this library is “Biblioteca de Mexico Jose Vasconcelos.” People often confuse it, the Vasconcelos super library, and UNAM’s library because of the name...
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On my way back I also took some pictures of the graffiti and vandalism left behind by the protestors.
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Tis all for today.
For Sweden
> Spanfeller is a twat
06/13/2020 at 18:41 |
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Also like the French in having a history of fighting a monarchist French army.
ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
> Spanfeller is a twat
06/13/2020 at 18:43 |
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Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> Spanfeller is a twat
06/13/2020 at 18:45 |
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It’s a shame all that incredible history was vandalized by the protests. I always enjoy these insider looks into Mexico City. Thank you.
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Spanfeller is a twat
> ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
06/13/2020 at 18:46 |
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I might need new ones for my bike soon....
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Spanfeller is a twat
> Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
06/13/2020 at 18:47 |
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They’ll fix em up. The downtown conservation authority is pretty agressive. Reforma is a whole different story since that avenue is filled with “anti-monuments”, so erasing the graffitti is a bit more controversial for conservationists and activists alike.
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Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> Spanfeller is a twat
06/13/2020 at 18:49 |
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What exactly is an anti monument?
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Spanfeller is a twat
> Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
06/13/2020 at 18:55 |
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Anti-monuments are meant to mark catastrophes. Reforma has one to the victims of the Guarderia ABC fire, to the state-sponsored kidnapping and murder of teachers in Guerrero,a mine fire in Coahuila , etc. So some activists are claiming that other monuments and statues in Reforma avenue should play a double role; celebrating the figures and movements they represent while also portraying the current protests and strikes. In particular, the feminists ones that have oc curred in the last couple of years.
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Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> Spanfeller is a twat
06/13/2020 at 19:07 |
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I would argue repurposing a monument to reflect the whims of the current political climate dilutes the importance of their original intent. New monuments can be effected, but you can't just take over an existing statue and expect its original meaning to stay intact.
This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
> Spanfeller is a twat
06/13/2020 at 20:10 |
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I would but I'm bushed.