Birth of the New World

The Birth of the New World (colloquially known as La Estatua de Colón; literally meaning "The Statue of Colón") is a colossal sculpture located in the Atlantic coastline of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. It is now the tallest statue within United States territory, surpassing the Statue of Liberty.

Design and construction

Construction in Russia, declined offers

Originally conceived by Georgian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli as a monument to conmemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's first voyage, Birth of the New World was constructed locally in 1991. The statue prominently depicts Columbus controlling an anachronic depiction of a steering wheel, with a backdrop featuring the Niña, Pinta and Santa María traversing the Atlantic Ocean.^[1] Made of 2,750 bronze and steel pieces and weighting more than 600 tonnes, the monument's 110 m (362 ft) height would had made it the tallest in the entire Western Hemisphere during the last decade of the 20th century, dwarfing the Statue of Liberty and Monumento a la Paz (also known as Virgen de la Paz). Tsereteli initially offered Birth of the New World to the cities of Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, New York City and Columbus, Ohio, but neither of those cities accepted it, considering it an eyesore due to its disproportionate features or because its size would affect their skylines.^[2] The statue reportedly gathered the derogatory nicknames of "Chris Kong" and "From Russia with Ugh" while searching for a base. This, combined with the magnitude of undertaking such a project, kept the monument drifting for several years. Despite the hindrances, the monument was featured in a stamp. A smaller and modified version named Birth of a New Man, meant to be the European link of a two-part composition along Birth of the New World, was adopted by Seville and dedicated there in 1995.^[3]

Arrival to Puerto Rico, delay and relocation

After years of inactivity, Edwin Rivera Sierra, mayor of the municipality of Cataño in Puerto Rico decided to acquire the monument in 1998. Despite being donated by Tsereteli, the cost of importing the statue ascended to 2.4 million dollars, all of which were taken from the public treasury with the approval of governor Pedro Rosselló.^[4] Rivera Sierra insisted that the municipal treasure would not lose a single cent for the project and planned to erect the monument near the entrance of the Cataño Bay, with the unassembled pieces of the statue being relocated to an adjacent recreational park upon arriving on November 12, 1998. In its original plan, construction would have begun in 1999, with the dedication taking place in October 2000. However, the project raised immediate controversy. The size of the monument implied that several residences would have to be expropriated to make way for it. The cost of its assembly was also deemed excessive, with only the statue's base being estimated to be worth around 150 million dollars. The Oficina del Contralor, an independent auditor that supervises the use of public funds by political institutions, opened an investigation regarding the transaction. The functionary determined that when being imported the statue failed to pay 1.6 million dollars in taxes upon entering port, and inquired the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury's Port Control Bureau to determine if it had been misclassified. The auditor also investigated the use of public funds to cover the travel expenses of Rivera Sierra when personally meeting Tseretelli in Russia.

The height of the monument raised concerns that it would interfere with the air routes leading into the adjacent Luis Muñoz Marín Airport. Of the three places proposed, two were rejected and the third one required a modification to the planned structure of the pedestal. Ultimately, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority denied Cataño the permits required to advance, citing "security concerns". The central government decided to stop providing any funding for the project. The unassembled pieces remained stored near the Cataño Bay for several years. Matters were complicated when Rivera Soto lost the position of mayor in 2004 and its successor, Wilson Soto, expressed that the municipality would not invest any public funds in the project. By this time, some of the pieces were beginning to show signs of rusting and storing it was costing $1.6 millions in taxes every year, excluding the salaries of several security guards.^[5] The municipality also lost an estimate income of $200,000 that the recreational park provided while open. The total cost of the project was re-estimated due to the necessity of replacing several parts and some of the supporting steel structures, fixing exposure damage and the additional need for a sandblasting procedure. In early 2005, Tseretelli began searching for developers that would take over the project. However, these efforts were interrupted by Soto, who considered that simply assembling the statue was not enough to attract tourism, noting his belief that the entire area would need to be developed.^[6] The implications led to the disinterest of potential developers.

In 2006, Rivera Sierra attempted to regain the office of mayor, using the monument as its main campaign hook. On August 16, 2008, the municipality confirmed that Birth of a New World had been trespassed to Holland Group Port Investment, a private group that was involved in the development of the Mayagüez port. Soto justified the action by claiming that simply storing the pieces was costing the public treasury 4 million dollars, and that Cataño could not afford to assemble a project that would exceed a 100 millions.^[7] The private entity transferred the pieces to its facilities in Mayagüez, announcing its intention to assemble it near the coastline in time for the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games that were being held in that municipality. HGPI devised a plan to attract its estimate of 500,000 tourists to invest in the port, with Birth of a New World as its cornerstone. A regional plan would include the establishment of a museum of history near the statue. The possibility of establishing a cruise route between Mayagüez and Seville was also explored. Once there, a Russian team examined the condition of the pieces and ensured that it could still be assembled.

Assembly and construction in Arecibo

However, HGPI was unable to fulfill this plan in time citing disinterest by the municipal government and the statue was instead reassigned for a different project. Arecibo became a frontrunner, and mayor Lemuel Soto began the permit process required in a project that would boost tourist interest and would be combined with other attractions, such as the Arecibo Observatory. However, the municipality faced competition, with legislator David Bonilla requesting that it was instead assembled in the desolate Desecheo Island and the newly elected mayor of Cataño, José Rosario, making arrangements to reacquire it as part of a proposed eco park that would be constructed in the swampy region of Ciénaga las Cucharillas.^[8] San Juan also tentatively considered the project, but limited it interest to the condition of the pieces.^[9] Ultimately, Tseretelli decided that it was "too late" to consider other venues and settled for Arecibo. However, once there the monument faced more controversy, this time by figures that condemned Columbus' role in opening the door to the Spanish genocide of indigenous peoples and by groups that opposed its impact in the maritime-terrestrial zone.^[10] Eventually, the Luis Fortuño administration began processing the respective permits.

In 2012, Soto's successor as mayor of Cataño, José Rosario Meléndez, denounced that the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury imposed nearly 3 million dollars in retroactive taxes for the original transaction and unfinished projects related to it, resulting in an embargo of the municipality's income.^[11] The following year, the amount was estimated at 2.5 millions.^[12] In June 2012, the first pieces began arriving to Barrio Islote in Arecibo.^[13] Once there, Birth of the New World became the main attraction of a tourist project called Columbus Theme Park developed by Panamerican Grain, which the administration expected would produce 4.6 million dollars in income per year and recruit 900 new employees. The assembly investment was now estimated at 98 millions, with only the reclassification of the zone preventing the project's advance. This process was completed by January 2013.^[14] On February 11, 2014, a contemporary-Taíno movement named del Movimiento Indígena Jíbaro Boricua joined other anti-Columbus factions in protest for the impending assembly of the monument.^[15]

Economic impact

Initial projections

Prior to the inauguration, the administration of Arecibo commissioned a study to economic and planning consulting firm Estudios Técnicos, Inc., with the results being published during July 2015.^[16] According to this document, the statue itself was expected to attract at least 300,000 tourists per year to the municipality.^[16] Mayor Molina also expected additional income from taxes collected from the businesses and new infrastructure relevant to the project.^[16]

See also

• List of the tallest statues in the United States
• Peter the Great Statue a similar statue in Moscow
• The Birth of a New Man in Seville, Spain. One of the two Columbus statues created by Zurab Tsereteli, one for Europe and one for the Americas.

References