Statue of Christopher Columbus, Aguada, Puerto Rico

Description

This statue of Christopher Columbus can be found in the municipality of Aguada’s main town square and was sculpted by Luis Heriberto Vega. Columbus stands on a rocky pedestal surrounded by a small fountain. His blade is sheathed on his right hip and in his left arm he holds a spear. In his right hand he grasps an Indigenous vase, most likely of Taíno origin.

Context

This statue was erected as part of the quincentenary celebration of the “discovery” of Puerto Rico in 1993. According to the plaque found in the plaza, the town square originally had three busts dedicated to Eugenio González, Cayetano Coll y Toste, and Salvador Brau, intellectuals who “defended the thesis of discovery on the beaches” of Aguada.

Critique

This statue of Columbus, one of 5 on the island, stands out because of the Indigenous vase he holds in his hand. This representation of Taíno culture alludes to the toponymy of Aguada, where, allegedly, the Spaniards first set foot on the island in search of water. Aguadilla, Aguada, and Mayagüez have quarreled for over a century over the right to lay claim to Puerto Rico’s first doorway into Western civilization, yet Columbus never set foot on the island and in the end, where they disembarked is inconsequential as the ramifications were inevitable. The Taínos were predominantly wiped out because of war, disease, and the encomienda system. The irony of Columbus holding a Taíno vase in his hand, the very same culture and people he contributed to exterminating, is undeniable. The vase, a container of water and consequently life, is held by a man whose very search for water, consequently, meant death for millions.

The fact that the square was originally dedicated to three local intellectuals who defended Aguada’s claim as the entry point of Spanish and Christian civilization, reveals the town’s obsession, or at least its leaders, with their Spanish roots. Its claim to fame commemorates colonial conquest and violence and conceals it behind a benign depiction of the Admiral. The Taíno vase in his hands suggests cultural exchange, but a deeper dive into Aguada’s local history reveals a different story. Aguada is officially considered to be The Vatican of Puerto Rico and the capital of Catholicism on the Island for two reasons. First, in 1525 eight Franciscan monks arrived on the Island under the leadership of Fray Alonso de Espinar and erected the Ermita de la Concepción in what today constitutes Aguada. They proceeded to Christianize the Taínos in the region and in 1529 they were attacked presumably by the Caribs. The five Franciscan friars who died during these attacks are considered to be the first Christian martyrs in Puerto Rico. Second, in 1960 a new political party formed on the Island called the Christian Action Party (Partido Acción Cristiana, PAC). The party had a mixture of pro-independence, pro-statehood, and pro-commonwealth constituents who shared a common Catholic zeal. The municipality of Aguada is where the PAC obtained the greatest number of votes and came closest to challenging the Popular Democratic Party’s hegemony, thus establishing it as The Vatican of Puerto Rico and the capital of Catholicism on the Island.

Aguada’s commemoration of Spanish civilization and Christianity privileges whiteness and Catholicism while obfuscating the violence of colonialism. The trivial obsession with being the entry point of Spanish conquistadors and Christianity reveals the town leadership’s failure to highlight authentic and autonomous manifestations of its people’s accomplishments and cultures. The town square’s evident abandonment is a reflection of this static remembrance, a town stuck in a Spanish past disconnected from present day realities.

Referencias y lecturas sugeridas / References and suggested readings

https://issuu.com/municipiodeaguada/docs/historia-de-aguada/26

Dorna Pesquera, S. M. (1998). ¿Por qué a tu pueblo le dicen…?. Revista Cultura, 2(4): p. 45.