Pre-Colombian Statues

Close to the Cementerio Central in Bogota, it is district known as Localidad de Los Mártires. It was here during the Spanish Reconquista that revolutionaries like Policarpa Salvarrieta, Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Mercedes Abrego, Camilo Torres Tenorio, and Francisco José de Caldas were executed.

In the middle of the district, at a point where many streets meet, is a little park called Parque de los Tallados en Piedra de los Martires where the stone carvers of Los Martires loosely recreated famous Pre-Colombian statues found at Parque Arqueológico de San Agustín.

They are not exact replicas. For example, Carlos Cortes’ small statue of Chaman (Shaman) shows a man bonded with his spirit animal while holding a gold talisman. The association between man and animal is a common Pre-Colombian theme where the jaguar, birds, reptiles, and parrots are commonly associated with people.

Other statues include Andres Suarez’s Tempiente, Angelmiro Guerrero Ceron’s Ofrendario, Jorge Leacoott’s Replica de San Agustín, and Daniel Contreras’ La Pelota. It’s no surprise that this community contains a lot of stonemasons. It’s here that many of the headstones and statues are carved for the Cementerio Central.

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