Bella Vista in Santa Ana in Orange County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Cóyotl - Coyote
Larry Gonzalez Rivas
| — | 2022 | — |
Photographed by Liam Williams, August 27, 2026
1. Cóyotl - Coyote Marker
The English and Spanish word "coyote" comes from the Nahuatl-language word "cóyotl". The sculpture was inspired by the life and poetry of Nezahualcóyotl (1402-1472), a great ruler of the city-state of Texcoco in pre-Columbian Mexico, whose name is commonly translated as "coyote with a fasting collar." Originally composed in Nahuatl, his poems are universal meditations on the meaning of life and death. The two poems below are attributed to this king, who was an engineer, philosopher, and above all, a poet.
Used by the Mexicas (Aztecs) of central Mexico, Nahuatl is still spoken today by over a million people. David Vazquez (1955-2021) was a Santa Ana resident who devoted his life to preserving, translating, and teaching his native Nahuatl language and culture. Having created his own Nahuatl alphabet, Mr. Vazquez taught the language at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah starting in 1996.
A Memory that I leave
How should I go?
Will I not leave anything of me on earth?
How should my heart act?
Do we come to live in vain,
to sprout on the earth?
Let us leave at least flowers
Let us leave at least songs
¿Cómo he de irme?
¿No dejaré nada de mi en la tierra?
¿Cómo ha de actuar mi corazón?
¿Solo venimos a vivir,
a crecer?
Dejemos al menos flores.
Dejemos al menos cantos.
I love the song of the mockingbird,
bird of four hundred voices,
I love the color of jade
and the joyful fragrance of flowers,
But more than all, I love my fellow human beings.
Yo amo el canto del cenzontle,
pájaro de cuatrocientas voces,
amo el color del jade,
y amo la fragancia agradable de las flores;
Pero amo más a mi hermano el hombre.
¿Ica tein tapania?
¿Zan cahuaqui nicampa Talpa?
¿Quenin ca yelianoyolotli?
¿Cuix zan tlapic tehuantin yolia,
cana cueponi ihuicpa cemtlaltipac?
Cahua nencan xochimeh.
Cahua nencan cuictal.
Nehuati nictlazotla in contzontototl icuicauh
Nehuatl nictlazotla in contzontototl icuicauh
Nehuatl nictlazotla in chalchihuitl tlapaliz
Ihuan in ahuiacmeh xochimeh;
Zan oc cenca noicniuhtzin in tlacatl,
Nehuatl nictlazotla
Erected by City
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1402.
Location. 33° 44.395′ N, 117° 54.147′ W. Marker is in Santa Ana, California, in Orange County. It is in Bella Vista. It is at the intersection of Willits Street and S Sullivan Street, on the right when traveling east on Willits Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2430 Willits Street, Santa Ana CA 92703, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Los Angeles and in the Peninsular Ranges. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexico’s Alta California.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Santa Ana's Birthplace (approx. 2 miles away); Orange County Courthouse (approx. 2 miles away);
Photographed by Liam Williams, August 27, 2026
2. Cóyotl - Coyote (Larry Gonzalez Rivas, 2022) with marker
Also see . . . Santa Ana unveils new sculpture, part of a neighborhood beautification effort. OC Register article on the unveiling of the sculpture (with an older version of the marker)<blockquote>Excerpt: "Santa Ana leaders unveiled the first public art sculpture commissioned by the city’s Arts & Culture Office on Saturday, Jan. 22.
The piece is also part of efforts to beautify the corner of Willits and Sullivan streets, across from Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, where neighbors had complained about crime and graffiti. Lights to better illuminate the open triangular patch at the corner have already been installed, along with new landscaping." (Submitted on August 28, 2026, by Liam Williams of Irvine, California.)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 28, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 28, 2026, by Liam Williams of Irvine, California. This page has been viewed 14 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 28, 2026, by Liam Williams of Irvine, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
