Artists, Misak indigenous people and young people gathered in the center of Bogotá, at the point where the Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada statue used to be, to erect a monument in honor of Dilan Cruz.
On May 7, indigenous people from the Misak community knocked down the statue of Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, in the framework of the protests of the national strike. In a symbolic act, within the peaceful demonstrations that continue in Colombia, artistic groups, indigenous people and citizens gathered in the plaza of the Universidad del Rosario, where the image of the conqueror was formerly, to put in its place a statue of Dilan Cross.
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“Comrade Dilan Cruz: present, present, present. Lucas Villa: present, present, present. The youth of the CAI of Soacha: present, present, present. For all the murdered young people, for the students who fight for the truth: present, present, present ”, are some of the songs that were heard in the center of Bogotá, before raising the statue of Cruz, as seen in a video published by Caracol Televisión.
John Fitzgerald, remembered for being the artist who last year sewed up his mouth in protest, right at the place where Cruz was mortally wounded in 2019, asked for guarantees, at that time, for artists, merchants and victims of the conflict. In the context of the national strike, which has brought together the disagreements of different social sectors, the sculptor was in charge of executing the work in homage to Cruz, who has become a benchmark throughout the protests. “I don’t know if my work is worth being here. The work was made for Dilan Cruz, for Doña Alejandra (his mother), and we hope it lasts, as long as it can last, as a symbol of resistance ”, said the artist.
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Calling for the construction of peace and for joint work between authorities, young people and other social agents, the artist invited the marches to continue, but also to participate in the dialogue tables that have been built to think about solutions. “We artists are peace, and you young people accompany me and teach me that,” he added.
Members of the Misak community helped raise the statue, which the protesters called a “historical monument.” Between the sound of bubucelas, applause, shouts, and raising a portrait of Cruz, the center of Bogotá was the scene of a tribute to the resistance of young people in Colombia.
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