Focus on Fuente de las Tarascas and explore the History and description.
The original fountain was installed next to the city's aqueduct in October 1931 and featured a colorful concrete sculpture. It was a work by Antonio Silva Díaz and Benigno Lara. It featured three bare-chested kneeling women holding a basket of fruits. They wore blue rebozos on their heads and skirts of the same color. The meaning of the work was never explained and they never received an official name. Citizens commonly referred to them as "Fuente de las Indias" (Indians Fountain), but the government later promoted them as the "Fuente de las Tarascas" (Tarascans Fountain) after the indigenous group found in the state of Michoacán. The sculptures received criticism for being naked. On 25 August 1965, the sculptures were removed and were transported to the offices of the State Treasury, 800 m (2,600 ft) away from their original location. They were removed as the municipal president, Fernando Ochoa Ponce, considered them to be out of harmony with the area and lacked any value or meaning. They were replaced by a fountain named El Huarache by Ángel Díaz. Since 1967, the original sculpture is located at Expo Feria Morelia. At some point, the fair changed its location and the sculpture was moved to the new site. However, the fruit bowl was permanently damaged. It was replaced with a smaller version.Due to the unpopularity of El Huarache, between 1983 and 1984, José Luis Padilla Retana was requested to sculpt statues similar to the originals. They feature three bare-chested women speculated to represent the Purépecha princesses Atzimba, Eréndira and Tzetzangari. According to the legends, Atzimba was exiled after she fell in love with a Spaniard explorer; Eréndira was a leader and a heroine that fought against the Spanish conquistadors; Tzetzangari filled Lake Zirahuén with her tears. Their faces are based on that of a woman from Yunuén Island, Michoacán, while their bodies were invented by Padilla Retana. They hold a basket of regional fruits (including apples, maize and avocados) which they raise to the sky as a sign of prosperity, abundance, and fertility of the earth and mankind. The statues were installed on 18 May 1984. The replacement was paid for with people's donations. El Huarache was moved instead to a garden in the colonia of Lomas Hidalgo, in Morelia.
conquistador rebozo maize Zirahuén Purépecha José Luis Padilla Retana Morelia Yunuén Eréndira avocado Tarascan colonia Michoacán Tarascans