La Equis

I was curious about a giant, red, X-shaped monument we drove by on our trip to Los Angeles. Situated on the Mexican side of the border near El Paso/Juarez, the construction easily grabbed our gaze. I spent some time researching the monument, but couldn’t find much information beyond that it was made by Sebastián and controversial for its excessive costs. It’s apparently named ‘La Equis’ or simply ‘Monument X’, and the artistic statement behind the monument is almost impossible to establish through the internet. Some say the ‘X’ symbolizes the creation myth of the Five Suns. Some say it’s a reference to the diverse genetic background of the Mexican people. Sebastián himself is said to have said it’s a reference to many things, but also that it refers to president Benito Juárez, who changed the official spelling of Méjico to Mexico.

That last notion fascinated me, because I’ve been told both spellings are still being used today across the planet. Searching for that just gave me a whole lot of ‘Mexico o Méjico’, and the Wikipedia page for Benito Juárez warns me that a lot of his life’s story might have been exaggerated by the then-ruling elite.

Was this helpful?

Consider subscribing to Levelling The Playing Field! Every article will always be free-to-read, but subscribing helps me gauge interest in the effort & ensure that I'm using my limited time to help the most developers possible. After subscribing, you'll get every new post of game development advice delivered to your inbox as soon as it goes live. If you can afford it & want to support LTPF, please consider supporting the newsletter with a fully-optional Paid membership to help make useful industry knowledge available for free.