A series of Statues of the Liberators of western-hemisphere countries from colonial rule is found along

Virginia Avenue Virginia Avenue is a street in the Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast quadrants of Washington, D.C. Like other state-named streets in Washington, it diagonally crosses the grid pattern formed by lettered (east-west) and numbered (north-south) ...

, N.W., in Washington, D.C. (which has been referred to as a Washington version of New York City's

Avenue of the Americas Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

). Several statues have been erected on Virginia Avenue, N.W., between 18th and 25th Streets, by various Latin American countries honoring their liberators and other national figures. The statues are maintained by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

. The location on Virginia Avenue was chosen because of its proximity to the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS), which is located at Virginia Avenue and 18th Street, and to the

Pan American Health Organization The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for ...

(PAHO), which is located at Virginia Avenue and 23rd Street. Ordered going from East to West: The statue of Gálvez was given by

Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

to the United States in celebration of the Bicentennial of American Independence in 1976. Galvez was selected as the subject of the statue because Spain was an ally of the American colonies in the Revolutionary War against the British. Galvez led an army that waged a successful campaign against the British along the Gulf Coast during the war. The statue of Benito Juarez relates to the reforms made by him to control power from the Church in México. The Libertator of México is actually Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. México was the first country to fight against the Spanish Kingdom. Hidalgo was the first one to start the Liberty movement in Latin America. In the year 1972, the statue of San Martín was removed to its present location from Judiciary Square (roughly E Street between 4th and 5th Streets, NW), where it had been erected in 1925 at a ceremony including President Calvin Coolidge. This move was necessitated by the construction of the Washington Metro station at

Judiciary Square Judiciary Square is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., the vast majority of which is occupied by various federal and municipal courthouses and office buildings. Judiciary Square is located roughly between Pennsylvania Avenue to the s ...

. The statue is a copy of the statue of San Martín that stands in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

' Plaza San Martín (sculpted in 1862 by French artist

Louis-Joseph Daumas Louis-Joseph Daumas (1801–1887) was a French sculptor and medallist. Born in Toulon, Daumas was admitted into the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 1826, and entered the ''atelier'' of David d'Angers.American architect and archit ...

). Another related statue is of

Don Quixote de La Mancha is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Western ...

, which is located on the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. It was sculpted by Aurelio Teno, the ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

'' statue was also presented by

, along with the Gálvez statue, on his 1976 visit to the United States.

External links

National Park Service's Cell Phone Tour
* ttp://www.cr.nps.gov/latino/2012HISP.pdf National Park Service's Report on American Latino Heritage Initiative (see p. 31)br>Self-guided walking tour of statues published by the National Park ServiceArt Museum of the Americas (part of OAS)Speech given by President Coolidge at Presentation of ''San Martín'' statue in 1925
* ttp://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!324775!0#focus Smithsonian Institution inventory entry for the ''Don Quixote'' statue at the Kennedy Center.br>Smithsonian Institution inventory entry for the ''Jose de San Martin'' statue.
{{Public art in Washington, D.C. Outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. Sculpture gardens, trails and parks in the United States Statues of people of the Spanish American wars of independence Northwest (Washington, D.C.)

See also

External links