Statue of Gabriel García Márquez vandalized in Aracataca

The resident citizens of the municipality of Aracataca, in Magdalena, denounced, before the authorities, the acts of vandalism that were committed against the monument made in honor of the Colombian Nobel Prize winner for literature, Gabriel García Márquez. According to the complaint, and what was recorded in photographs, the statue’s left foot was removed. This, the witnesses of the event comment, is an aggression, not only for the municipality but also for the Caribbean and the country. The sculpture, now mutilated, is located in the Plaza de la Iglesia de Aracataca.

“This is a cultural work, a work of our Nobel Prize winner, the important thing is that a device has been activated and the whereabouts of the author of this fact have already been found, which is not in accordance with what we are, we will soon find the capture of this character who has not only done damage to Aracataca, but to the Colombian Caribbean. The police are already doing the corresponding investigations.”, said the mayor of Aracataca, Luis Emilio Correa.

“It is not possible for these things to happen in our municipality and we do not have a minimal sense of belonging (…) we must take care of what is ours, we are people of good customs, great culture and intelligence, and we are before the eyes of the world because of the legacy what Gabriel Garcia Marquez he left us”, commented a citizen in testimonies rescued by the newspaper El Heraldo.

As a Macondian fact has been cataloged the repair of some cataqueros with the statue of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquezwhich will be placed in the Plaza Bolívar in Aracataca.

The story has an additional ingredient, then, the current image of the writer is not the one that they would initially place on the public stage. Eight months ago the Cartagena Oscar Noriega He took to the municipality, by order of the Mayor on duty, an effigy that promised to stay in the town, but this has not been the case.

In July 2020, this work was constantly criticized for the alleged lack of similarity of his face with that of the author of ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’. The creation of the sculpture was in the hands by the plastic artist from La Guajira, Otto Arteta Bonivento. The work, initially, would be in the hands ofhe cartagenero Óscar Noriega, however, by not meeting the expectations of the auditor, the project was taken away from him.

“The other one had liked it a lot. We want to see the new one because it is said that they chose it to economize and we fear that what the saying says will come true: cheap is expensive”commented José Polo, social communicator of the population, to W Radio.

“I consider that the material of the work was not the most importantbecause I have the molds and I would have cast it in bronze, as requested. In my case, the Controller was the one who said that she did not like my sculpture. From the beginning there was no interest, it was noted that the economic factor prevailed”, highlighted Noriega.

“When I saw the sculpture I said that did not agree, because the value did not correspond to the material used, fiberglass, which seemed dangerous to us. I ordered new bronze proposals so that people could interact with it. This was where we met the work of Otto Arteta”, added the engineer Ingrid Fernández. As detailed by the expert, there were four sketches of the same work, however, the one by Arteta Bonivento won.

While what happened with the robbery of the structure made in honor of Gabo is clarified, what happened in the middle of last year is remembered. In July 2021, another statue in honor of the writer, located in Santa Marta, was also vandalized. This monument, erected by the sculptor Óscar Noriega, It is valued at 300 million pesos and, at that time, they were attacked by alleged protesters who were marching through the area. According to street vendors who witnessed the events, the attackers hit the structure repeatedly.

“The day of the march, one of the protesters knocked her down and hit her. What we have done is roll it where no one will trip over it and clean it. We installed the fairs 15 days ago but the damage could have occurred at the end of May”, said Alime Ruidiaz, representative of the merchants, before the press.

“I am constantly overwhelmed by a slight sadness for what happened and more so for what this character represents for world literature (…) I must highlight the attitude that the community took with the boy who harmed her, it was because of them that things were not worse “said, for those days, the sculptor behind the work.

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