Torch of Friendship, San Antonio

Standing in the middle of a traffic rotary (at the intersection of Losoya, Commerce, Market, and Alamo Streets) in downtown San Antonio, an area known to international tourists as the location for the San Antonio River Walk (or Paseo del Rio) and the Alamo, the Torch of Friendship (La Antorcha de la Amistad) is a monumental abstract sculpture created by Mexican sculptor Sebastián. This monument was a gift from the Mexican government to the City of San Antonio, and was commissioned by a group of Mexican businessmen living in the United States and friends of Mexico. A symbol of cooperation and shared culture between the country and the city, it was unveiled on June 27, 2002.

The sculpture stands at nearly 65 ft (20 m), and weighs more than 45 tons (40,800 kg). It has two posts that rise at non-parallel angles. They appear to rise straightly until individually curl and twist before meeting at the highest point of the sculpture. The latter is lit constantly and with varying colors and light patterns at different periods of the year. From each angle surrounding the sculpture, the shape at the top appears differently.

Though many of the large public sculptures by Sebastián provoke mixed reactions, a particular controversy arose regarding this one's location (on a rotary island in a busy traffic intersection). At the time of its erection, citizens of San Antonio complained to the City Council about the sculpture's clash with the surrounding features. Controversy subsided as the sculpture proceeded to receive kind reviews, in part also because it turned out that the tax money for its maintenance proved to be not too high (only about $5,000).