''The Monument to Effort'' or Monumento al Esfuerzo is a large sculpture realized by Colombian artist Rodrigo Arenas Betancur in the department of Quindío (

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

) as a memorial for the foundation of the city and the antioquian colonisation that made it possible. This monument is inspired by the painting ''Horizontes'' of antioquian artist Francisco Antonio Cano, that depicts a couple of

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

s who point to unknown lands in the horizon, where they hope to

colonize Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

. The monument represents the strong will of the first inhabitants of the area who arrived to this selvatic location to start a settlement with their families, looking for news options of survival and escaping the civil wars that affected the northern areas of the country during the 19th century. It is a 28-meter high

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 ...

sculpture and was dedicated in 1978. Its current location is in the main square of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

References

*http://www.colarte.com/recuentos/Colecciones/Armenia/recuento.htm?nomartista=Armenia%20Ciudad?idartista=7525 *https://web.archive.org/web/20070928013429/http://www.fondomixtoculturaquindio.gov.co/vercontenido.php?id=35 Monuments and memorials in Colombia Landmarks in Colombia Outdoor sculptures 1978 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Colombia Buildings and structures in Quindío Department Tourist attractions in Quindío Department {{Colombia-stub