The Monument to José Martí is an instance of public art in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain. A gift from the

Republic of 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 Caribbean ...

to Madrid, the monument is dedicated to

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 ...

, a Cuban writer and activist noted for his struggle in favour of the independence from Spain.

History and description

Gifted by the

to Madrid, the monument was authored by José Villa (sculptor) and Rómulo Fernández (architect). Standing 7.90 metre high, the monument consists of a

cuboid In geometry, a cuboid is a hexahedron, a six-faced solid. Its faces are quadrilaterals. Cuboid means "like a cube", in the sense that by adjusting the length of the edges or the angles between edges and faces a cuboid can be transformed into a cub ...

with a (1.80 x 1.80) m base, bifurcating in two bodies upon its upper part. Weighing 15 tonnes, it is made of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

and

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

. It is ornamented by the star from the

flag of Cuba The national flag of Cuba ( es, link=yes, Bandera de Cuba) consists of five alternating stripes (three blue and two white) and a red equilateral triangle at the hoist, within which is a white five-pointed star. It was designed in 1849 and offici ...

. The front side displays a relief depicting the bust of José Martí. The right and left flanks feature two inscriptions respectively reading ("Madrid to José Martí (1853–1895) National Hero of Cuba") and (let's put around the star in the new flag this formula of triumphant love with all and for the good of all"). It was unveiled in October 1986 during a ceremony attended by

Juan Barranco ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

(Mayor of Madrid) and

Armando Hart Armando may refer to: * Armando (given name) * Armando (artist) (1929–2018), the name used by Dutch artist Herman Dirk van Dodeweerd * Armando (producer) Armando Gallop (sometimes written as Armando Gallup) (February 12, 1970 – December 17, ...

(Cuban Minister of Culture). It is located at the plaza de Quito, a widening of the consisting of an open space with two fountains,

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

es, and hybrid planes.

In popular culture

The monument is featured in the 1995 film ''

El día de la bestia ''The Day of the Beast'' ( es, El día de la bestia, links=no) is a 1995 Spanish-Italian black comedy film with horror elements co-written and directed by Álex de la Iglesia and starring Álex Angulo, Armando De Razza and Santiago Segura. The p ...

'' (''The Day of the Beast'').

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * {{Cite journal, title=Homenaje a José Martí, pages=28–29, journal=Villa de Madrid. Informativo Quincenal, date=1 November 1986, last=M.J.C, url=http://www.memoriademadrid.es/buscador.php?accion=VerFicha&id=45917, via=memoriademadrid.es, issn=2486-9929 Stone sculptures in Spain Steel sculptures in Spain Outdoor sculptures in Madrid Monuments and memorials in Madrid Buildings and structures in El Viso neighborhood, Madrid Cuba–Spain relations