An antimonumenta was installed next to the Fuente de las Tarascas, along Francisco I. Madero Avenue in Morelia, Michoacán, on 8 March 2021, the date commemorating International Women's Day, during the annual march of women protesting against gender violence. The sculpture, symbolically named Antimonumenta, was inspired by other similar anti-monuments like the one in Mexico City. The erection of an antimonumenta symbolizes the demand for justice for women who suffer from violence in the country.[1]
 Location | |
| 19°42′10.4″N 101°10′57.2″W / 19.702889°N 101.182556°W | |
| Location | Mexico City, Mexico |
|---|---|
| Designer | Feminists |
| Type | Antimonumenta |
| Material | Metal |
| Opening date | 8 March 2021 |
| Dedicated to | Violence against women in Mexico |
The original work was destroyed a few hours after its installation. A replica was installed the following month.[2]
History and installation
The Antimonumenta was erected by approximately 70 feminists, during the morning of 8 March 2021 on Francisco I. Madero Avenue, next to the Fuente de las Tarascas, in Morelia, Michoacán during the annual International Women's Day march of women protesting against gender violence.[3] The installation of the structure lasted around 30 minutes.[4]
During the night following its installation, the anti-monument was destroyed by unidentified females. The following morning, the installers went to the site to pick up the twisted metal and left flowers in its place,[4] and on their social networks they said: "They took down the Antimonumenta in Michoacán, but today an altar was born in its place".[5]
On the afternoon of 25 April of the same year, the collective installed a replica and commented that they will place it "as many times as necessary until women in Michoacán live free, happy and safe".[6][2]
During the demonstrations on 2 October, in honor of the Tlatelolco massacre, two unidentified men vandalized the Antimonumenta and Las Tarascas Fountain with slogans referring to the 2014 Iguala mass kidnapping.[7]
Description and meaning
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The original Antimonumenta was painted completely in purple and it was represented with the symbol of the feminist struggle, which is based on the symbol of Venus with a raised fist in the center. In feminism, the color represents "loyalty, constancy towards a purpose [and] unwavering firmness towards a cause".[4][8] It was a metal sculpture whose upper part had written in Spanish, in violet capital letters: "Alive, free and happy", while on the arm of the cross it was written, "Not one more!".[4] According to the installers, it represents the victims of femicide,[9] as well as a method to invoke compassion, empathy and solidarity towards their cause.[10]
