Did the giant cultural sculpture get a makeover with its new white paint job?

No, the current white paint is just primer - turns out The X is getting maintenance done, before getting repainted its familiar red color.

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According to BorderReport, for the next three months, La Equis is getting renovated thanks to private donors who have invested half a million dollars.

La Equis, which is also known as The X, sits at the Mexican-American border and was designed by Mexican sculpture artist Sebastián Enrique Carbajal Gonzáles. The gigantic sculpture stands nearly 200-feet-tall and is located across the border in the Plaza de la Mexicanidad, with an observation deck that overlooks both the cities of El Paso and Juárez.

Although most folks think that the X is one of many letters constructed to spell out MEXICO across border towns, that notion was dispelled by Sebastián himself during an interview.

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The X represents many cultural aspects such as Benito Juárez’s decision to change the spelling of the J in “Mejico” to an X during his presidential term. The X also represents the image at the center of the Aztec calendar, including the side bulbs (jaguar claws) that are located on each side at the intersection of the letter. The actual intersection of the letter also represents the cultural mixture between the Mestizos and Spaniards.

Seven years later, La Equis, which cost our neighbor city more than $6 million to construct has become part of our everyday skyline and commute while heading East or West on I-10.

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While its current white paint job has us doing a double-take, we can’t wait for La Equis to shine bright red once again against our awesome El Paso and Juárez skylines.

 

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