Monument to Hernán Cortés (Medellín)
stone | |
| Opening date | 2 December 1890 |
|---|---|
| Dedicated to | Hernán Cortés |
The Monument to Hernán Cortés is an instance of public art dedicated to Hernán Cortés, conqueror of the Aztec Empire, erected in his native town of Medellín, Spain. It consists of a bronze rendition of Cortés designed by Eduardo Barrón on top of a stone pedestal this made him famous.
History and description
The first one to come up with the idea of erecting a monument to Cortés in Medellín was Carolina Coronado, formulating it as early as 1845,[1] predating a 1858 public petition.[2] However the realization of such plans would take decades. The project was eventually awarded to Eduardo Barrón.[3] The model of the statue was sculpted in Rome, although the bronze was cast in Barcelona.[4] It was funded by the Provincial Deputation of Badajoz and the Spanish State.[2] Meanwhile, the bronze, obtained from cannons, was financed by Carlos Groizard y Coronado.[2]
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The bronze statue of Cortés is depicted wearing armor, stepping on some
The monument was vandalised in August 2010, a day after a friendly football fixture between the national teams of Mexico and Spain on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the independence of Mexico; the statue was tagged in red paint, while vandals also left some leaflets nearby deriding the statue as "the cruel and arrogant glorification of genocide and an insult to the people of Mexico".[6][7] The Mayor of Medellín, a municipality with barely 2,000 inhabitants,[3] commented that everyone "is defined by their actions" concluding that the perpetrators "have put themselves the label of tyranny and that of caciques because of their disrespect".[7]
References
- Citations
- ^ Fernández-Daza Álvarez 2013, p. 16.
- ^ a b c Fernández-Daza Álvarez 2013, p. 12.
- ^ Europa Press. 12 August 2010.
- ^ a b c Fernández Bremón 1890, p. 338.
- ^ Fernández-Daza Álvarez 2013, p. 13.
- ^ Paredes 2010.
- ^ a b Carvajal 2010.
- Bibliography
- Carvajal, Álvaro (12 August 2010). "Manchan con pintura roja una estatua de Hernán Cortés por ser un 'insulto a México'". El Mundo.
- Fernández Bremón, José (8 December 1890). "Crónica general". ISSN 1889-8394.
- Fernández-Daza Álvarez, Carmen (2013). Medellín y Hernán Cortés en la obra de dos escritoras extremeñas del siglo XIX: Carolina Coronado y Vicenta García Miranda (PDF). Almendralejo: PROINES. Dialnet.
- Paredes, Cristina (12 August 2010). "Hernán Cortés, bañado en sangre". El Periódico Extremadura.