''Ponce Honra a su Maestra: Lolita Tizol'' is a
marble statue to the memory of
Puerto Rican music schoolteacher
Lolita Tizol
Lolita Tizol was an early twentieth-century Puerto Rican violinist and music educator from Ponce.
Early years
Dolores "Lolita" Tizol Laguardia was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on 19 June 1890. Her parents were Cosme Tizol and Saturnina Laguar ...
. It is located on
Bolevar Miguel Pou, at the fork of Isabel and Lolita Tizol streets, in
Ponce, Puerto Rico. The statue has abundant visibility as it is located in an open area of
Tricentennial Park.
Background
Lolita Tizol Laguardia
(1890 – 1933) was a
Puerto Rican music
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
from
Ponce. When she was 10 years old she started taking music classes with his father who, seeing her musical aptitude, started teaching her to play the violin. She was a student of
Domingo Cruz ("Cocolía")
Domingo Cruz (3 July 1864 – 20 October 1934), a.k.a., "Cocolía", was a late 19th-century Puerto Rican musician, and director of the Ponce Firefighters' Band (now the Ponce Municipal Band).
Early years
Domingo Cruz was born in Ponce, Puerto ...
and Aberrano Colón. As her musical abilities were further recognized, Lolita was offered a scholarship to study music in
Boston. Her father, however, counseled her that in Puerto Rico music was not given the recognition that it deserved, and sent her to
Alabama to study education and prepare herself as a teacher. Returning to Puerto Rico she taught in
Juana Diaz
Juana is a Spanish female first name. It is the feminine form of Juan (English John), and thus corresponds to the English names Jane, Janet, Jean, Joan, and Joanna. Juanita is a common variant. The name Juana may refer to:
People
*Juana I (14 ...
Coamo, and Ponce. In Ponce, she became principal at the Segundo Ruiz Belvis, Horace Mann, and Rafael Pujals schools. Tizol spent her life educating children at a time when most people in Ponce, as most of Puerto Rico, did not know how to read and write, and when teachers were paid only $50
USD per month, even in the large cities. Under these circumstances, Tizol, "overcoming all challenges, gave of herself to help others". As a principal, Tizol Laguardia was the first principal to institute a school lunch program and, later, a breakfast program for undernourished children. She was also a member of the
Ponce Symphony Orchestra, and toured the island giving concerts. She died in Ponce on 25 April 1933, at age 42.
Description
The statue consists of three subjects: Lolita Tizol herself (center figure) plus two schoolchildren. To her left (from the viewer's point of view) is a school boy playing a violin and to her right is a schoolgirl reading a school book. The also-marble pedestal base of the monument has a carved message that reads: ''Ponce Honra a su Maestra'' (Ponce Honors Its Teacher
The statue was donated by Lolita Tizol's family to the municipality of Ponce on 19 November 1937. There is controversy as to who the sculptor of the statue is, and so far it is officially "unknown".
''Monumento a Lolita Tizol en Ponce.''
Esculturas y Monumentos en Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico Art News. 22 July 2016. Accessed 21 July 2017.
Notes
References
External links
''Estructuras y Monumentos en Puerto Rico.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponce Honra a su Maestra: Lolita Tizol
1937 sculptures
Statues in Ponce, Puerto Rico
1937 establishments in Puerto Rico
Buildings and structures in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Sculptures of women in Puerto Rico
Public art in Puerto Rico
Monuments and memorials in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Cultural depictions of educators
Cultural depictions of Puerto Rican people