Unlike many great metropolises, Mexico City, lacking much recognizable iconography, resists visual definition. The Angel of Independence, on Paseo de la Reforma, is its most famous landmark. Built in 1910 to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Independence, it is notably similar to the Victory Column in Berlin, which was built in 1866. The pillar is thirty-six meters high. The Winged Victory, which weighs seven tons, is of bronze and covered with twenty-four karat gold.

These days, in the evenings, the Angel is a popular spot for trysting young Mexico City lovers, and tourists stop by day and night to have their pictures taken. Raucous crowds gather here each time a Mexico City soccer team wins an important match. However, such celebrations are apparently purely nationalistic. In February 2002, after a triumphant eighteen-year-old Spanish matador called El Juli went to the Angel with a crowd to celebrate his victory, he was arrested, taken to the police station, and coerced to return to la madre tierra.