Esclavo libertado

Esclavo libertado
Esclavo liberado
Location of the statue within Puerto Rico
Artist Victor Cott
Year 1956
Type Bronze
Medium Bronze sculpture
Subject Freed slave man
Condition Pristine
Location Ponce, Puerto Rico
Coordinates 18°0′21.276″N 66°36′45.864″W / 18.00591000°N 66.61274000°W / 18.00591000; -66.61274000Coordinates: 18°0′21.276″N 66°36′45.864″W / 18.00591000°N 66.61274000°W / 18.00591000; -66.61274000
Owner Municipality of Ponce, PR

Esclavo libertado (English: Freed slave) is a bronze statue by Victor Cott that commemorates the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico. It is located on Avenida Hostos at the fork of Calle Salud and Calle Marina streets, in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Background

Slaves were brought to Puerto Rico from Africa starting in 1513 and through the 18th century to replace the local native "Indian" slaves who had been decimated.[1] The new slaves worked the coffee, sugar cane, and gold mining industries in Puerto Rico. During the 18th century, as gold mining ceased to be one of the major industries in Puerto Rico, slaves worked mostly in coffee plantations and sugar cane fields. By Royal proclamation slavery was abolished on 22 March 1873.

In 1874, a group of citizens built a small park in Ponce in memory of the historic event. In 1880 Olimpio Otero, Juan Mayoral Barnés, and Román Baldorioty de Castro were instrumental in creating the concept for a park dedicated to the commemorating the abolition of slavery, the only such memorial in the Caribbean.[2] Juan Mayoral Barnés brought the idea for the creation of the park to the Ponce Municipal Assembly on 14 March 1880. It was unanimously approved by the Assembly, ratified by the Central Government, and confirmed by Royal Decree on 1 March 1881.[3]

Obelisco a la libertad (Obelisk to freedom) shown behind the sculpture

In 1956, under the administration of Ponce mayor Andrés Grillasca Salas, the park was renovated and enlarged to include an obelisk and the statue.[4]

Description

Built in 1956 to be part of the renovation and enlargement of the park that had stood there since the 1890s, Esclavo liberado was designed by Victor Cott and is forged in bronze.[5] Victor Cott himself modeled for the statue on its knees and the bronze statue was subsequently forged in the United States.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Puerto Rico | Colonial Genocides | Genocide Studies Program". Yale University. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  2. ↑ Parque de la Abolición - Commemorating the End of an Era. New Media Holdings, Inc. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  3. ↑ Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. By Dr. Eduardo Neumann. 1913. (In Spanish) Reprinted by the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (1987). Pages 99-100.
  4. ↑ Parque y Obelisco de la abolición de la esclavitud y concha acústica. Archived 2012-03-05 at the Wayback Machine. Ponce, Ciudad Señorial: Walking Tour. Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Tourist Attractions: Enjoy Ponce, Southern Experience. Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Office of Tourism Development. August 2010.
  6. ↑ Nilin Tristani. 20ma. Exaltacion a la Inmortalidad. In, Jardin Juanadino de la Cultura y el Deporte. Government of the Municipality of Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. 11 December 2005. Page 32.
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