MACHINE-GUNNER UPDATE - HANDZ UP GRINGOS

Surely this is an alternative universe where April Fool's Day is now April Fool's Month and this is a complete photo-shop creation. The statue is so graphically violent, unwelcoming and unpleasant. Public art doesn't need to be all sweetness and light but this is a very key position in town. Whether it's "greeting" visitors at the pier, also where younger people practice their band music, or even were to be moved to La Cancha as an example for children playing games or practicing art, it is ill-advised. It reminds me of those horrible carvings in Merida of the conquistador stomping on the heads of the Indian natives, or of a bunch of statues in Spain of Santiago graphically murdering the Moor. Those are centuries old art/propaganda. Have we come no further than brutality and weaponry? Who are the decision-makers??! Do the locally born people like this statue and it only seems offensive mostly to gringos? It's incomprehensible to me that this is being placed where tourists from anywhere first enter a town! Mind boggling. Zih is much better than this. It seems like some of the public art in Zih "wears out" or disappears after some period of time, hopefully this one will go away very quickly.
Susan

I wish this were some joke, but it looks like the joke's on us thanks once again to our unresponsive unrepresentative unprofessional municipal government.

Of course when my wife made the mistake of commenting to a Mexican Navy Admiral who was there, telling him the statue was offensive, he looked at her quizzically as I expected any military man would do and smiled politely, asked if we were locals and suggested we communicate with the municipal authorities, which of course we've done numerous times as have dozens of other concerned local citizens. It has been a major topic of discussion among locals, and so far every person I know who has commented on the matter has agreed. We are tired of glorifying weapons and violence. We especially abhor violence here in our region and we completely comprehend the unwelcome appearance it gives to our tourists and visitors, especially if they were arriving by cruise ship and hadn't a clue about Mexican history.

It's truly a shame the public was never consulted on this and that so much money was wasted to create this statue and install it in such an inappropriate location, apparently threatening arriving visitors to our pier. Just another reflection of the poor judgement endemic in our local municipal authorities.

"Gracias compadre pero no me ayudes!"

https://youtu.be/xRLq6Y3oAWM