El cristo de la habana emilito - panoramio

The ''Christ of Havana'' (Spanish: ''Cristo de La Habana'') is a large sculpture representing

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

, on a hilltop overlooking the bay in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. It is the work of the Cuban sculptor

Jilma Madera Jilma Madera (September 18, 1915 – February 21, 2000) was a well-known Cuban sculptor. Her two most famous works are the Christ of Havana and the bust of José Martí at the Pico Turquino. Born in La Victoria, Pinar del Río, Cuba, she studied ...

, who won the commission for it in 1953.

Overview

The statue was carved out of white

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

, the same material used for many of the monuments of the Colon Cemetery. The statue is about high including a base. It weighs approximately 320 tons. The statue was built from 67 blocks of marble that had been brought from Italy after being personally blessed by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

. The figure of Christ is standing with the right hand held near the chin and the left hand near his chest. Facing the city, the statue was left with empty eyes to give the impression of looking at all, from anywhere to be seen. The sculpture, located in the Havana suburb of

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, in the municipality of

Regla Regla () is one of the 15 municipalities or boroughs (''municipios'' in Spanish) in the city of Havana, Cuba. It comprises the town of Regla, located at the bottom of Havana Bay in a former aborigine settlement named ''Guaicanamar'', Loma Modelo ...

, was inaugurated on

La Cabaña ''Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña'' (Fort of Saint Charles), colloquially known as La Cabaña, is an 18th-century fortress complex, the third-largest in the Americas, located on the elevated eastern side of the harbor entrance in Havana, C ...

hill on December 24, 1958. Just fifteen days after its inauguration, on January 8, 1959,

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

entered Havana during the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...

. The sculpture is located above sea level, rising to a height of , allowing the locals to see it from many points of the city. There is a panoramic viewpoint at the site of the sculpture. Locals say that the statue is intended to depict Christ holding an imaginary cigar in the right hand, and a mojito in his left, honoring popular Cuban culture. Madera has said that the statue's facial features are intended to reflect the racial diversity of Cuba, and that its shoes were modelled on the

flip-flops Flip-flops are a type of light sandal, typically worn as a form of casual footwear. They consist of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap known as a toe thong that passes between the first and second toes and around both side ...

she wore while working in Italy.

References

Buildings and structures in Havana Tourist attractions in Havana Colossal statues of Jesus 1958 sculptures {{Cuba-stub

Overview

See also

References