Nomination and description of Montesino's statue in Santo Domingo, which has been selected as a Valued Image:
I am nominating this image because it is the best representation of an important figure in history. This picture captures the image of a 15 meters tall statue carved in stone and made with bronze of Antonio de Montesinos designed and built by Mexican sculptor Antonio Castellanos Basich (his most famous work too). The image reveals the size of the imposing figure, and invokes the words that made him famous: "Tell me by what right of justice do you hold these Indians in such a cruel and horrible servitude?" The picture was taken in the Dominican Republic, whose laws allows for Freedom of Panorama, which means that this pic is within WP acceptable license.
English: This huge statue is the most remarkable work of art representing Antonio de Montesinos. Montesinos is widely recognized by scholars as the first Human Rights leader in the Americas ("Protector of the American Indigenous People") and for sparking a crisis that created the first set of international laws concerning universal humanity. The statue portrays him as if shouting the words that made him famous: "Tell me by what right of justice do you hold these Indians in such a cruel and horrible servitude?" This statement was part of two homilies he gave in the colony of Santo Domingo on December 21, and 28, 1511, to a congregation full of encomenderos and conquistadors who were responsible for the massacre of millions of indigenous people of the Caribbean. Bartolomé de las Casas, another well-known Human Rights activist was present there, and it was this sermon that prodded him to a career as a defender of the American Indigenous People. The conspicuous statue is about 50 foot tall (15 meters) and is the most famous work of the celebrated sculptor Antonio Castellanos Basich. The Mexican government donated it to the Dominican People in 1982, and it stands today near to the site wherein 1511 the fearless Montesinos called out evil by its name in two earth-shattering speeches. Montesinos later moved to other regions of the Americas (even to Virginia) on his Human Rights crusade.
Español: Es una estatua hecha en piedra y bronce que tiene una altura de 15 m, fue realizada por el escultor mexicano , y donada por el gobierno de México al pueblo de la . Inaugurada el año 1982, se halla ubicada en el paseo marítimo Malecón de la ciudad de Santo Domingo. Antonio de Montesinos, el fraile Dominico aquí representado, ayudó a empujar la carrera de Bartolomé de las Casas, en favor de los indios americanos.
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