A 20-year-old statue of Christopher Columbus twice the height of the Statue of Liberty may have finally found a home on the shores of an uninhabited Puerto Rican island after first being shunned by several U.S. cities.

New York, Miami and Baltimore are among the cities that rejected the statue, which depicts Columbus with three billowing sails at his back and waving with unusually long arms in a way that has critics calling it “silly” and disproportionate.

The statue has been in storage in the Puerto Rican city of Mayaguez for most of its existence, a dusty, overgrown relic of what is no longer PC in America. But what U.S. cities have deemed expensive and just downright goofy, our island neighbor sees as a draw for tourism dollars. –BF

The Associated Press in The Washington Post:

Rep. David Bonilla filed a resolution asking the government to study the viability of installing the roughly 600-ton bronze statue, which is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty without its pedestal, on the tiny island of Desecheo.

The statue began its ill-fated, two-decade journey in 1991, when it was built by controversial Russian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ 1492 arrival in the Western Hemisphere.

It was rejected by New York, Miami, Baltimore and other cities for reasons ranging from cost to appearance before finally being accepted by Puerto Rico.

Read more

 Your support matters…

Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.

You can help level the playing field. Become a member.

Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.

Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG
In this Article:
#christopher columbus#puerto rico