“In our country there are many Camilos”, with that phrase from Fidel the artist José Villa Soberón titled the sculpture that since 2013 has been erected at the intersection of Finlay Avenue with the northern beltway in Camagüey city, to pay tribute to the hero of Yaguajay.
Several years before the sculpture’s inauguration, there was already a project to honor Camilo in that precise place, on the way to the airport, the place where he passed before his fateful trip to the capital; but it had not yet materialized, however, the intention to settle that debt of the Agramonte’s people with the Lord of the Vanguard was latent.
This is how, a few months in advance, the request for this work arrives at the José Villa Soberón National Prize for Plastic Arts.
“This request removed the possibility of using a traditional solution for the sculpture, it forced in some way to look for more contemporary resources. I do not remember that in Cuba or in another part of the world a sculpture of that scale had been created in such a short time, “José Villa Soberón told the communication group of the Office of the Historian of Camagüey city.
Several were the institutions that, under the general coordination of the Office of the Historian, made the sculpture possible: the Restoration Company, the Ignacio Agramonte Mechanical Plant, companies of the Ministry of Construction and the Technical Indistrial Services Company were some of them.
In the same way, the support of the government authorities and the then first Secretary of the Party in the territory, Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca, was transcendental for the materialization of the project.
“It seemed to me that the symbol of the star was an appropriate symbol to look for a large scale and to be able to directly communicate the theme of the sculpture. Inside each star a different face of Camilo was placed, alluding to that phrase of Fidel that in the town there are many Camilos. It is on a water mirror to symbolize that beautiful tradition of the Cuban people of throwing flowers to Camilo every October 28th. I think those are the main conceptual elements of the sculpture, “added the artist.
Visible from any point at a 360 degree angle, this sculpture since 2013 has become a place of worship for Camilo Cienfuegos. Near it, a fence symbolizes the hero’s bond with Camagüey through the iconic phrase he pronounced after visiting the province in October, 1959.
Every October 28th, the water mirror at the base of the sculpture turns into a sea of flowers, a sign of the love and gratitude of the people of Camagüey to the revolutionary leader.
Camilo physically disappeared, but he went on to live in each Cuban. For 8 years he has been there, with his eternal smile, watching how the city receives the first light of dawn every day and prepares to defend its sovereignty.
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
