''El Hombre Redimido'' (English: Man redeemed) is a
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
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
Barrio Cuarto
Cuarto (''Barrio Cuarto'') is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Together with Primero (Ponce), Primero, Segundo (Ponce), Segundo, Tercero (Ponce), Tercero, Quinto (Ponce), Quinto, and Sexto (Ponce), Sexto, Cuarto ...
,
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. 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
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. 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.
In 1956, under the administration of Ponce mayor
Andrés Grillasca Salas
Andrés Grillasca Salas (6 January 1888 – 19 December 1973) was a Puerto Rican farmer from Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, and Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 2 January 1941 to 9 May 1956. Until the 1990s administration of Rafael Cordero Santiago, ...
, the park was renovated and enlarged to include an obelisk and the statue.
Description
Built in 1956 to be part of the renovation and enlargement of the park that had stood there since the 1890s, ''El Hombre Redimido'' was designed by Victor M. Cott (b. 1898,
Collores, Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico) and is forged in
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
. Victor Cott himself modeled for the statue on its knees and the bronze statue was subsequently forged in the United States. It is approximately four feet high. It was restored in 2006.
''De San Juan a Ponce por la Carretera Central''.
José A. Mari Mut. 2011. p. 131. Accessed 31 July 2020.
See also
* Afro-Puerto Ricans
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:El Hombre Redimido
1956 sculptures
Statues in Ponce, Puerto Rico
1956 establishments in Puerto Rico
Buildings and structures in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Sculptures of men in Puerto Rico
Public art in Puerto Rico
Monuments and memorials in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Slavery memorials
Cultural depictions of Puerto Rican people