Coyote en Ayuno

When Mexican sculptor Enrique Carbajal (Sebastián) was commissioned to design a monumental statue marking the 45th anniversary of the municipality of Nezahualcóyotl, he took rather literal inspiration from its name. The city's name comes from that of an Aztec chief whose name means "Fasting Coyote" in Nahuatl (Coyote en Ayuno in Spanish). Although there is a smaller statue of the chief himself in the same plaza, it is the giant red coyote itself that visually dominates the working-class suburb of Neza. It is so positioned that on April 23, the founding date of the city, the first ray of sunlight shines through its eye and onto a commemorative plaque.

Like many abstracted works of modern art, however, the sculpture has not been without controversy. As was the case with some of Sebastián's other sculptures, such as the Guerrero Chimalli in neighboring Chimalhuacán, Coyote en Ayuno has been criticized as being out-of-scale with the surrounding area. In addition, the project faced construction cost and time overruns when first built, causing controversy for the mayor who commissioned it.

Regardless, this gargantuan statue has since then become a landmark of Nezahualcóyotl.