Simón Bolívar Monument, Reforma, Col Guerrero

The Simón Bolívar Monument on Paseo de la Reforma is one of the least visited of the Glorietas along the avenue. It’s entirely within the neighborhood of Guerrero, and just southwest of the Santa Maria la Redonda church. The neighborhood, however traditional, is among the City’s most rapidly changing.

The glorieta resulted from an eastward extension of the Paseo de la Reforma which began in 1964. Though it took 12 years to complete, the result here was the creation of a second monument to the famed Venezuelan liberator. A first is far to the west. After nearly all of the other Reforma Glorietas (save one), you’ll find the original obelisk and fountain to Simón Bolívar. Facing the Campo Marte military installation, just north of the Paseo de la Reforma, it’s in the Polanco neighborhood.

The Glorieta de Simón Bolívar is at the intersections of Reforma with the streets of Violeta, Pedro Moreno,  Valerio Trujano, and  the Calle Lerdo directly to the north.

The Simón Bolívar Monument itself was cast in 1962 at the Bruni Foundry, under Francesco Bruni in Rome, Italy. It’s identical to the model by the acclaimed Pietro Canonica, completed in 1934. That statue still stands in Rome in front of the British Academy. The statue was a gift from the Venezuelan government to the people of Mexico. The statue was moved here in 1976 under the architect, Joaquín Álvarez Ordoñez. He was the head of Public Works for the city at the time.