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

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain. A gift from the

Republic of Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

to Madrid, the monument is dedicated to

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

, 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 with quadrilateral faces, meaning it is a polyhedron with six Face (geometry), faces; it has eight Vertex (geometry), vertices and twelve Edge (geometry), edges. A ''rectangular cuboid'' (sometimes also calle ...

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 of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

and

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

. It is ornamented by the star from the

flag of Cuba The national flag of Cuba () consists of five alternating stripes (three navy blue and two white) and a cherry red Chevron (insignia), chevron at the hoist, within which is a white five-pointed star. It was designed in 1849 and officially adopted ...

. 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 (Mayor of Madrid) and Armando Hart (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. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

es, and London planes.

In popular culture

The monument is featured in the 1995 film '' El día de la bestia'' (''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