Countermonumentality and memory: the case of the Glorieta de Colón monument in Mexico City

Abstract

The Christopher Columbus monument on Reforma Avenue in Mexico City stood for over one hundred years. However, since the turn of the twenty-first century, the monument has become the target of countermonumental actions. This research project questions the entanglement between countermonumentality, collective memory, and heritage through the analysis of the materiality at the site of the monument. Themes of feminism, anti-monumentality, public space appropriation, and the use of archaeological artifacts to construct a state-sanctioned history arose via this study.