Obelisco, Independence monument in center district, Guatemala City, Guatemala

The Obelisco is an 18-metre, 221-ton stone monument on the Plaza del Obelisco roundabout, where Avenida Reforma, Boulevard Los Próceres, Avenida Las Américas and Boulevard Liberación meet. The plaza has four pergolas, brick mosaics, five flagpoles for Central American flags and a water fountain. The Altar a la Patria holds a copper brazier with a flame and a bronze plaque.

The monument was erected in 1935 during Jorge Ubico's presidency as a tribute to Central American independence from Spanish rule. This construction took place when the nation was consolidating its republican foundations.

Every 14 September, Guatemalans gather at the Altar a la Patria beside the obelisk to light torches from the flame in the copper brazier during independence celebrations. The altar also holds the original text of the Central American Independence Act cast in bronze.

The monument sits at a busy intersection, making it easy to reach by public transportation from various parts of the city. It remains accessible year-round and can be approached from all sides along the surrounding avenues.

The flame burns in a copper brazier on a wrought-iron filigree pedestal, part of an Altar to the Fatherland added in 1950 for the Central American Games. Every 14 September, Guatemalans come to light their torches from it during independence celebrations. A bronze plaque and a bronze casting of the original Central American independence act sit above it.