''Monument to the Bandeiras'' is a large-scale granite sculpture by the

Italian-Brazilian Italian Brazilians ( it, italo-brasiliani, pt, ítalo-brasileiros) are Brazilians of full or partial Italian descent. Italian Brazilians are the largest number of people with full or partial Italian ancestry outside Italy, with São Paulo bei ...

sculptor Victor Brecheret (1894-1955) at the entrance of

Ibirapuera Park Ibirapuera Park ( pt, Parque Ibirapuera) is an urban park in São Paulo. It comprises 158 hectares between Av. República do Líbano, Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral, and Av. IV Centenário, and is the most visited park in South America, with 14.4 milli ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It was commissioned by the government of São Paulo in 1921 and completed in 1954. It commemorates the 17th-century ''

bandeiras The ''Bandeirantes'' (), literally "flag-carriers", were slavers, explorers, adventurers, and fortune hunters in early Colonial Brazil. They are largely responsible for Brazil's great expansion westward, far beyond the Tordesillas Line of 149 ...

'', or settling expeditions into the interior of Brazil, and the ''bandeirantes'' that participated in them. The monument is huge and in a prominent location, making it an easily identifiable part of the landscape of São Paulo. The monument was erected in the south-central area of the city in the Praça Armando de Salles Oliveira (Armando de Salles Oliveira Square), opposite the Palácio 9 de Julho, headquarters of the

Legislative Assembly of São Paulo The Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo ( pt, Assembleia Legislativa do Estado de São Paulo) is the unicameral legislative branch of São Paulo state in Brazil. The building where the legislative assembly is located, right by the ...

Controversy

The monument has been the subject of criticism for neglecting the darker side of the bandeirantes, who killed and enslaved members of the indigenous peoples of Brazil. The monument regularly attracts vandalism, such as red paint symbolizing blood. Others have noted the high cost of a day to maintain and clean the monument of graffiti. In the wake of the global protests which erupted after the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit tw ...

, the monument has come under renewed criticism for its celebration of slavers and demands for its removal.Latin America’s Controversial Statues: Will They Fall?
/ref>

Gallery

File:Monumento a las Banderas, São Paulo, Brasil.jpg, ''Monumento às Bandeiras''

References

{{Coord, 23.5800, S, 46.6607, W, source:wikidata, display=title Monuments and memorials in São Paulo Public art in Brazil Tourist attractions in São Paulo Equestrian statues in Brazil Ships in art