A larger-than-life bronze statue of the Latina heroine Juana Azurduy stands at the Plaza del Correo.
Juana Azurduy (1780-1862) was a guerrilla military leader who fought at the Bolivian War of Independence and was a leader of the indigenous people of Upper Peru for independence. She fought along with her husband till he was captured and killed by the Spanish. Together they had five kids. After the Spanish withdrawal, she retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Some people say she is the Latina Joan of Arc.
She got her recognition only 100 years after her death. Her remains moved to a mausoleum in Sucre, and her birthday, July 12, was declared the Day of Argentine-Bolivian Fellowship.
In 2013, Argentina’s then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner decided to replace the statue of Cristopher Columbus, which was donated by the Argentine Italian community for the 1910 centennial of Argentine independence, with the indigenous heroine Juana Azurduy. It was a symbol of celebrating the contribution of the less-represented history of the nation’s indigenous populations.
The Argentine sculptor and indigenous rights activist Andrés Zerneri created the 25-ton, 52-foot-high statue, depicting Azurduy holding a sword in her left hand as a symbol of liberation, carrying her baby on her back. Her right hand protects the baby and the people behind her.
On July 15, 2015, the statue was dedicated to a special ceremony attended by Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and the Bolivian president Evo Morales, who also funded the statue.
Few months after its inauguration, it suffered from weather damage. For its repair (and maybe for political reasons) it relocated to its current location.
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