Jose Antonio Pérez and Shandra Keesecker-Rivero
If you’ve missed the sailfish at the intersection of Calle 13 and Blvd. Benito Juarez, you’re in luck as preparations are underway to reinstall a monument at the same location though with a new more traffic-friendly base.
José Luis Montijo Torres, Director of Municipal Public Works, reported the new fish monument will be installed within a period of around three weeks. He noted the new base is about 50% complete, while the new metal sculpture represents an investment of approximately 70,000 pesos (approx. $3700 USD). He stressed this was not a matter of eliminating the iconic 6 x 2.5 meter sailfish near the railroad tracks, but rather doing what was necessary to ensure overall traffic safety.
The “El Pescado” statue was inaugurated at the intersection of Calle 13 and Blvd. Benito Juárez on February 17, 2014, by then mayor Gerardo Figueroa Zazueta. The sailfish, built with the goal of offering both the local community and tourists a representative figure of the history and roots of the port, was made out of fiberglass and mounted on a concrete base covered with piñón cantera and river rock.
In June 2022, a technical opinion found that given its overall structure, the “Pescado” monument as it stood represented growing risks in the high-traffic area. The monument was removed this past December from the foot of Calle 13 so the area could be rehabilitated for the new base and structure.