Here Come the Letters

As you come into Troncones, Majahua and La Saladita right now, you’ll see smooth grey rectangular concrete boxes at the entrance to each village. Those boxes currently stand alone, bare, like they’re waiting for something. And that’s exactly what they’re doing. Those boxes are bases built for letras monumentales, part of a federal government tourism program meant to create a sense of place as well as a feeling of connection, belonging and inclusion across the country.

Victor Santana, a Troncones resident, who’s the director of tourism for the municipality of La Unión, said this week, “Within the next month or so, Troncones, Majahua and Saladita will be spelled out on those boxes, allowing our coast to join a visual language shared by towns and cities all across Mexico. For visitors, they’ll be a photo spot. For residents, they’ll be something else entirely: a marker of identity, visibility and community pride.”

If you’ve traveled anywhere in Mexico, you’ve likely seen other letras monumentales—brightly painted letters spelling out the town’s name. They’re usually installed in a central plaza, along a waterfront or on a scenic overlook. They are designed to be photographed. A picture taken in front of them instantly captures a location, making them recognizable landmarks, and easy to share with friends and family, with or without social media.

But their appeal isn’t only for visitors. In many places, the installation of letras monumentales marks a civic milestone. It signals that a town has reached a certain level of recognition, that it’s been selected to be worthy of investment and effort.

Mexico is known for investing in public monuments and symbolic structures conveying national pride. For example, in the 1990s, the government championed Banderas Monumentales, massive flags placed in large cities throughout the country. The widespread adoption of town-name letters is a more popular, and smaller-scale, 21st-century phenomenon. It’s grown alongside national tourism campaigns that highlight the country’s regional diversity and strengthen local identity.

Even with the letter format being consistent, their artwork varies widely. Some letters are simple and bold. Others are highly detailed, with each letter decorated to tell part of the town’s story. In Valladolid, Yucatán, the letters include imagery of Mayan heritage, colonial architecture and local wildlife. In Puerto Vallarta, they reference the area’s artistic traditions and coastal life. In the neighborhoods of Mexico City, the letters incorporate symbols tied to local trades and culture. In that way, the letters have become a form of public art that compresses a town’s identity into a visually expansive framework.

The letters can also be entirely symbolic. In Cuidad Juárez, across from El Paso, a single 197-foot-tall red X can be seen from both sides of the border. That X represents the intersection and blending of cultures—the European and the Indigenous. It’s also a tribute to President Benito Juárez, who changed the spelling of the country’s name from “Méjico” to “México” in 1857, a shift made to honor an Indigenous spelling over the Spanish “J”.

Regardless of their message, the letters are placed where people already gather or frequently pass by. Their purpose is practical. They beautify public space, create a recognizable landmark, and encourage people to stop, linger and interact with the environment. The surrounding landscape becomes part of the composition—ocean, sand, sky and mountain frame the installation, and the letters in turn frame the place. Over time, they become part of the scenery, part of the place they stand.

Victor Santana says, “The arrival of monumental letters in Troncones, Majahua and La Saladita marks a particular moment for this region. Our towns have grown steadily in visibility over the past decade. More visitors arrive each season. More people choose to stay longer, or to live here part-time or full-time. Yet the area has retained a strong sense of local character. The letters acknowledge both realities: a place that welcomes visitors and a place that is, first and foremost, a community.”

The letras monumentales carry a layered meaning here. Troncones, Majahua and La Saladita are distinct but interconnected. Residents move between them daily. Visitors often experience them as a continuum of villages and, after they leave, they’ll refer to the entire area by the village they were staying in. The three installations within the same month will reflect that connection, signaling how this stretch of the coast functions as a whole. At the same time, the artwork on the letters will allow each village to tell its own story, in its own way, with its own signature look.

There’s no doubt that, in time, the letters will gather their own layers of meaning. They’ll appear in countless photos. They’ll witness sudden gatherings and daily routines. They’ll weather sun, salt air and the occasional repainting. Eventually, they’ll feel as if they’ve always been here. And slowly, almost without noticing, the letters will become part of the everyday scenery—as well as a welcome sign you’ve made it “home”.

NOTE: The beachside T-R-O-N-C-O-N-E-S, near the bridge and across from Café Cuattro, is not part of the federal or municipal tourism program. Those letters were donated by Desarrollo Riviera Troncones when that group realized Troncones didn’t have any letters. The government letters spelling Troncones will be placed at the entrance to Troncones, near the bus stop, just off Federal Highway 200.

The Saladita letters will be placed across from Hacienda Plaza, at the gateway to Playa Saladita. The Majahua letters will be placed across from Antonio’s Bar and Grill and Punta Majahua, at the entrance to the village.

For the curious: the letters are sometimes made of fiberglass and sometimes made of galvanized sheet metal. The ones coming are the galvanized kind. The design for the painting will be worked out once the letters are in place.

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