El Hombre Redimido facts for kids
Quick facts for kids El Hombre Redimido |
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| Artist | Victor Cott |
| Year | 1956 |
| Type | Bronze |
| Medium | Bronze sculpture |
| Subject | Freed slave man |
| Dimensions | 120 cm (48 in) |
| Condition | Pristine |
| Location | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| 18°0′21.276″N 66°36′45.864″W / 18.00591000°N 66.61274000°W | |
| Owner | Municipality of Ponce, PR |
El Hombre Redimido (meaning "The Redeemed Man" in English) is a bronze statue. It was created by Victor Cott. This statue celebrates the end of slavery in Puerto Rico. You can find it in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where Avenida Hostos meets Calle Salud and Calle Marina streets.
The Story Behind the Statue
People were brought from Africa to Puerto Rico as slaves starting in 1513. This continued through the 1700s. They replaced the local native workers. These enslaved people worked on farms growing coffee and sugar cane. They also worked in gold mining.
By the 1700s, gold mining was less important. Most enslaved people worked on coffee and sugar cane plantations. Slavery was officially ended by a special rule on March 22, 1873.
In 1874, some citizens in Ponce built a small park. It was made to remember this important day. In 1880, Olimpio Otero, Juan Mayoral Barnés, and Román Baldorioty de Castro had an idea. They wanted a bigger park to honor the end of slavery. This park was special. It was the only one like it in the entire Caribbean region.
The idea for the park was approved by the Ponce city government. It was also approved by the main government. In 1956, the park was updated. The mayor of Ponce, Andrés Grillasca Salas, added a tall monument called an obelisk. He also added the El Hombre Redimido statue.
What the Statue Looks Like
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The statue El Hombre Redimido was made in 1956. It became part of the park's new look. The park had been there since the 1890s.
Victor M. Cott designed the statue. He was born in Collores, Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico, in 1898. The statue is made of bronze. Victor Cott himself posed for the statue. It shows a man on his knees. The bronze statue was made in the United States. It is about four feet tall. The statue was cleaned and fixed up in 2006.
