Anyone who wonders around in urban areas of Mexico is likely to see signs like the one above in the most unlikely places.

It is a symbol for a “meeting point,” and it appears everywhere. I saw the one in the photo early this morning on a sidewalk in the Roma district of Mexico City.

A few weeks ago, I saw a “meeting point” sign in the middle of a barren field near the Queretaro airport. I’ve seen them in traffic lanes in parking garages, along roads, and other places where one would only send one’s worst enemy for a “meeting.”

This has been in the back of my mind for a while. At first, I thought it was some sort of practical joke or a bizarre region-wide performance art exhibition. On looking around the internet, I see that in fact there might be a logic to it. Rather than a “meeting point” in a U.S. sense, where you go if lost or separated from your party, these points are gathering spots in case of natural disaster. At least that’s what this Spanish-language answer website says. Another explanation says that in case of fire or earthquake, citizens are to gather at the sites to let relief officials know they are okay.

Aw, I kinda preferred believing this was a work of art, or some unknown symbol that had appeared with shades of Roswell, N.M.