Friday, October 7, 2016

Day 99 - The Madre India


The Madre India

I wanted to start sharing with you some of the tidbits of history that make a place come alive.  In Santa Cruz that means the statues.  I have no idea how many statues are in this city.  Every plaza has one and the rotundas on the rings have them too.  Some are in front of churches or in quiet little parks or shady avenues.  They are everywhere.  As I talk to people I discover they have histories behind them.  So if I am going to discover the wealth of knowledge of this beautiful city, I need to seek out the statues. 

One of my favorite statues in Santa Cruz is the Madre India.  To me it looks like a giant waking up with her child in her arms and suddenly seeing the raging traffic of Santa Cruz.  It is so fittingly placed!

With a little research I found the story behind the statue.  There are really two stories.

First, during the War of Independence, the women of Cochabamba defended their city and homes on San Sebastian Hill.  Wars often only talk about heroes, but wars invade the private lives of ordinary people, like the brave women of Cochabamba, who died for their home. 

The Santa Cruz mayor, Fernando Sattori, in 1978 decided to pay homage to these women by commissioning the building of a statue.  A young sculptor, David Paz Ramos, was commissioned to complete the statue.  But he was not sure how to express the emotions of the women defending their homes.

One day he was riding his noisy motorcycle past the Cathedral.  Lately Ayore migrants had been living along the side of the Cathedral, unable to find any other place to live.  As he sped by, he noticed one woman, protectively, and angrily, holding her child who was scared by the noise of the unfamiliar motorcycle.  She would fight to the death to protect her child.  The image shocked the sculptor, but he realized this was his statue.

Four months later, the image was unveiled on the intersection of the Second Ring and Avenida Argentina.  She is still there and still protecting her child.


It is stories like this that make Santa Cruz come alive for me.

Translated and adapted from an article on stcrzysustradiciones.blogspot.com

If you haven't read my first novel yet, I invite you to give it a try.  I'd love your feedback.
Spartan Sisters



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