Jilma Madera (September 18, 1915 – February 21, 2000) was a well-known Cuban sculptor. Her two most famous works are the

Christ of Havana The ''Christ of Havana'' (Spanish: ''Cristo de La Habana'') is a large sculpture representing Jesus of Nazareth, on a hilltop overlooking the bay in Havana, Cuba. It is the work of the Cuban sculptor Jilma Madera, who won the commission for it in ...

and the bust of

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...

at the

Pico Turquino Pico Turquino (), sometimes erroneously spelled as Pico Torquino, is the highest point in Cuba. It is located in the southeast part of the island, in the Sierra Maestra mountain range in the municipality of Guamá, Santiago de Cuba Province. Etym ...

. Born in La Victoria,

Pinar del Río Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 139,336 (2004) in a municipality of 190,332, it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños'' ...

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 ...

, she studied painting and sculpture at the

Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes "San Alejandro" Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro, is the oldest and most prestigious fine arts school in Cuba. It is also known as Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes "San Alejandro", Academia San Alejandro, or San Alejandro Academy. The school is lo ...

under the tutelage of Juan José Sicre (the sculptor of the

José Martí Memorial The José Martí Memorial ( es, Monumento a José Martí) is a memorial to José Martí, a national hero of Cuba, located on the northern side of the Plaza de la Revolución in the Vedado area of Havana. It consists of a star-shaped tower, a stat ...

). Her statue of the Christ of Havana was a commission she won in 1953 during the government of

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...

. It was done in

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 ...

and is 60 feet tall and weighs 320 tons. It is composed of 67 pieces that were brought from Italy, where Madera carved the statue and was blessed there 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 ...

. It was inaugurated on December 24, 1958, just two weeks before the fall of the Batista government. She worked and made some exhibitions at New York's Sculpture Center, in USA, and exhibited other works at the City of Havana Local Council (Ayuntamiento de la Habana), the

Lyceum and Lawn Tennis Club Lyceum and Lawn Tennis Club (1929–39: Lyceum) was a Cuban women's cultural, social, and physical fitness organization. Founded in 1929 in Havana, its first president was the journalist, suffragist and feminist, Berta Arocena de Martínez Már ...

, and some painting and sculpture national exhibition halls, in Cuba. Her bust of José Martí was done in 1953 and placed at the Pico Turquino during the centennial celebrations of Martí's birth in 1963 by

Celia Sanchez Celia may refer to: General *Celia (given name) *''Celia'', a subgenus of carabid beetles of the genus '' Amara'' *Celia, the last natural-born Pyrenean Ibex * Celia (virtual assistant), AI virtual assistant by Huawei *, a number of ships with ...

. The history of why this statue was created was told to be that Batitisa's wife prayed so hard that her husband would not be killed in the violent beginning of the revolution, that she commissioned this monument to show her gratitude for her answered prayers, however this may be an urban legend.

References

*Gretel Báez Padrón; Lic: Mayra Isabel Sajión Sánchez, Lic: Felina González Hernández. "Lilia Gilma Madera Valiente, escultora" (in Spanish). Modern sculptors 1915 births 2000 deaths Cuban sculptors 20th-century sculptors {{Cuba-sculptor-stub