4 Lovingly called 'El Ángel', the independence monument was completed on September 16, 1910 and subsequently restored in 1958. The 36 metre (118 foot) high column is topped by a 6.7 metre (22 foot) statue of Nike, the Greek goddess of Victory and stands as a commemoration to the centennial of the beginning of Mexico's War of Independence, which ended the rule of Spain in 1821.
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7 A little know fact is that within the base of the monument is a tiny mausoleum with the remains of Mexico’s greatest generals and instigators who were active during the fight for independence. Ignacio Allende, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Juan Aldama and Don Nicolas Bravo all lie here among others, including the remains of one woman, Leona Vicario, one of Mexico’s first female journalists, activist and funder of the independence movement.
