Monumento a la Raza (Neiva)

Monumento a la Raza
The monument before its relocation
Map
Final location
2°56′33.3″N 75°18′09.7″W / 2.942583°N 75.302694°W / 2.942583; -75.302694
LocationNeiva, Colombia
DesignerCarlos Rojas Niño
MaterialConcrete and steel
Opening date24 May 1978 (1978-05-24)
Dedicated dateFoundation of Neiva
Dedicated toLa Raza and Mestizaje
Dismantled date18 May 2021 (2021-05-18) (42 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 3 days)

The Monumento a la Raza y al Mestizaje (lit. 'Monument to the Race and to Mestizo-ship'),[1] simply known as the Monumento a la Raza, was a concrete-and-steel outdoor sculpture and monument in the city of Neiva, Huila, Colombia. It featured a Spanish conquistador, an indigenous woman, and their mixed-race infant, all of whom were partially naked.

Olmo Guillermo Liévano, the city's mayor, unveiled it on a roundabout at the South Colombian University on 24 May 1978, to commemorate the 366th year of the city's founding. It was a sculpture by Colombian artist Carlos Rojas Niño.[2][3]

The monument was moved in May 2018 to make room for renovations to the El Tizón Bridge road junction. The sculpture was scheduled to receive restoration as well.[4] Demonstrators toppled it on 18 May 2021, citing decolonization and feminist arguments.[5] Rojas Niño said that the monument depicted the cynicism of the conquistadors during the colonization of the Americas.[6]

  1. ^ Medina Pineda, Medófilo; Celis Ospina, Juan Carlos (2023). Estallido Social 2021: Expresiones de vida y resistencias (in Spanish). Bogotá: Siglo del Hombre Editores. OCLC 1388491103.[page needed]
  2. ^ "Monumento a La Raza en Neiva será reubicado y restaurado" [Monumento a La Raza in Neiva to be relocated and restored]. RCN Radio (in Spanish). 16 May 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  3. ^ Herrera, Alejandra (19 May 2021). "Monumento a la 'Raza' fue derribado por sujetos encapuchados en Neiva" [Monumento a la 'Raza' was demolished by hooded subjects in Neiva]. RCN Radio (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Así será el traslado del Monumento a la Raza" [This is how the Monumento a la Raza will be relocated]. La Nación (in Spanish). 11 May 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference infobae was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference rojas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).