Picture of the Day: The Don Juan de Onate Monument In El Paso

This is a statue of the Spanish Conquistador Don Juan de Onate that was constructed at the entrance of the El Paso International Airport in Texas.  It took six years to create the statue by sculptors in Mexico City, Mexico.  In 2003 approximately 500 molds were sent in various shipments from Mexico City to a foundry in Tesuque, New Mexico where they were cast with bronze.  These pieces were then shipped to Lander, Wyoming where the final statue was assembled before being shipped to El Paso.  The monument is 36 feet tall and weights 34,000 pounds.  It is believed to be the largest bronze equestrian statue in the world.

There was plenty of controversy about the statue though when it was protested by Native-Americans from the Acoma Indian Reservation.  You can read more about this issue at this prior On Walkabout posting:

• On Walkabout At: Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico