Puertas al Viento; Helen Escobedo

Puertas al Viento (Doors of the Wind) is a monumental sculpture in the south of Mexico City. The 1968 work is by Helen Escobedo and was created for the Ruta de la Amistad, a sort of Cultural Olympiad that accompanied the 1968 Olympic Games. The work was originally station #19 of the Route.

• Helen Escobedo Fulda (1934–2010), was a sculptor, visual artist, and arts and museum professional. She was an early student of Germán Cueto. She’s arguably best known for the giant sculpture Coatl in the Sculpture Space of the UNAM University Cultural Center. Escobedo produced public sculptures for permanent display in Cuba, England, New Zealand, Israel, and the United States. She worked for many years in Hamburg and Berlin, as well as in Mexico City.

Made of reinforced concrete, the work stands at some 18 meters in height. The central medallion suspended between the two vertical walls reflects the alfalfa seeds growing, at the time, in the area of the sculpture’s original placement in Granjas Coapa. It’s the northern boundary of the Cuemanco area where athletes competed in aquatic sports during the ’68 Olympics.

Puertas al Viento was moved from its original site (shown in the photo above) in 2020. The work has been restored several times.