El Ángel Maya

The Ángel Maya, in Campeche

The Ángel Maya is a monumental sculpture erected on the Malecón of Campeche, a striking landmark of the maritime promenade. The Campeche audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this work of the sculptor Jorge Marín, inaugurated in 2019 for the five hundred years of the encounter between the Mesoamerican civilisations and the Europeans, that represents a winged Maya man holding an infant, symbol of the founding mestizaje of Mexico.

History

On the coast of Campeche stands a monumental sculpture often called the Ángel Maya, whose official name is much longer: Columna Conmemorativa del V Centenario, Encuentro de Dos Culturas. It was inaugurated in 2019 to commemorate the five hundred years of the encounter between the Mesoamerican civilisations and the Europeans. The work represents a Maya man with great deployed wings, holding an infant in his arms, and bears several meanings: the Maya man evokes the power and the legacy of this civilisation, the wings suggest elevation and the spiritual dimension, and the child symbolises the mestizaje, that is the birth of a new society born of the encounter between indigenous and Spanish cultures. The ensemble thus illustrates the cultural fusion that shaped modern Mexico. It is the work of the Mexican sculptor Jorge Marín, known for his winged human figures. The sculpture measures about seven metres high and rises at the top of a column of some twenty metres, for a total height of about twenty-seven metres. It has become a striking landmark of the Malecón, the maritime promenade of Campeche, very frequented, where there are paths to walk or cycle, benches facing the sea and the great coloured letters "Campeche".

What to see

Here you admire, on the Malecón, a monumental sculpture of about twenty-seven metres signed Jorge Marín, inaugurated in 2019 for the five hundred years of the encounter of cultures; it figures a winged Maya man holding a child, symbol of the mestizaje that shaped Mexico. A landmark of the waterfront, the Ángel Maya is one of the finest points of the promenade at sunset. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Ángel Maya stands on the Malecón of Campeche, the maritime promenade facing the gulf of Mexico, reachable on foot. It is a monument in free access in the public space, particularly beautiful at sunset, that you discover during a walk along the water.

What does the Ángel Maya of Campeche represent?

This sculpture by Jorge Marín, inaugurated in 2019 for the five hundred years of the encounter between Mesoamerica and Europe, represents a winged Maya man holding an infant: the man evokes the Maya legacy, the wings the spiritual dimension, and the child the mestizaje, birth of a new society born of the encounter of the indigenous and Spanish cultures, that shaped modern Mexico.

Where is the Ángel Maya in Campeche?

On the Malecón of Campeche, the maritime promenade facing the gulf of Mexico, in Mexico.