Benito Juárez Sculpture

Sculpture of Mexican President Benito Juárez is a complement to Abraham Lincoln statue in Cd. Juárez

Quick Facts

Location:

Esplanade in front of Cultural Center

Significance:

Commemorative sculpture

Amenities

4 listed

Cellular Signal, Pets Allowed, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Wheelchair Accessible

This sculpture titled Benito Juárez-Child to Man is of former Mexican President Benito Juárez. It was created by sculptor Ethan Houser and donated to Chamizal National Memorial by the nonprofit XII Travelers Memorial of the Southwest.

In 1964, Mexico erected a statue of Abraham Lincoln in Ciudad Juárez as a symbol of goodwill in a friendship with the United States. This sculpture of Benito Juárez is the complement that has long been intended for the Lincoln statue. The two statues face in the other's direction. Though these men never met, their lives and ideals were connected. Browse our virtual exhibit about Lincoln and Juárez and their connection to Chamizal history.

Benito Juárez-Child to Man was dedicated on September 25, 2022. On that date in 1964, US President Lyndon B. Johnson and Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos spoke at a ceremony held at the former Bowie High School campus in El Paso to commemorate the ratification of the Chamizal Treaty.

The XII Travelers describes the sculpture as, "...two figures. One is the young Benito, a 12 year old Zapotec sheepherder with a lamb at his feet. The other represents President Juárez in El Paso del Norte, during the winter of 1865, with a book in his hands, Notes to My Children, that he wrote, expressing his love of family and his nation."