They order to reinstall the statue of Sebastian de Belalcázar in Cali

The mayor's office of Santiago de Cali ordered, through a decree issued on April 1, that the monument of Sebastián de Belalcázar, located northwest of the capital of Vallecaucana, be reinstalled. It should be noted that this statue was demolished by indigenous Misak in 2021, in the context of the national strike due to the tax reform. The new statue must be erected even though there are several detractors to the imposition of it, since it is configured as a historical symbol for the city, because it is its conqueror

According to the decree issued by the Caleña governance, the secretariats of Security and Justice, Finance, Infrastructure, Culture and the Special Administrative Unit for the Management of Goods and Services, will be responsible for this project, however, it should be noted that this work will have important modifications to assert the position of the Protestant communities.

Likewise, a public competition is opened for the presentation of different multicultural proposals, which must highlight languages, values and Caleña's identity for the monument. In this case, the proposal must include documentation of the intangible heritage of Santiago de Cali highlighting the citizen and social character of this capital. In addition, the statue must have a plaque highlighting both the positive and negative contribution of Belalcázar in the region, this in order to clarify the reality of this character of the era of the conquest.

The decree reads: “Order the erection of the monument to Sebastián de Belalcázar again in its place of origin, in the heritage space identified with the BIC-PGE-5 code called Mirador Belalcázar, in accordance with ordinance number 021 of 1934. The land use plan contained in agreement 0373 of 2014, in the provisions regulating patrimonial assets of the national and territorial order”.

Likewise, it is required that this sculpture must have an impartial position before the spectators, with the implementation of an explanatory plaque, regarding this ordinance, the decree states: “The pedestal of the monument must bear a plaque that incorporates the context of the positive and negative historical circumstances of the character, which of in such a way as to reveal the true truth of its historical being. The narrative must make palpable the historical evolution of the conqueror; that is, his temporary existence in history, as well as his mark that transcends the aesthetic consciousness of the monument, commits itself to reality and recognizes the victims of the Spanish conquest until the time of independence”.

The secretary of the Movement of Indigenous Authorities in the southwest of the country, Edgar Alberto Velasco Tumiña, explained the motivations of the Misak people for the demolition of this monument. In the context of the national strike last year, he explained to El Tiempo: “We came to the place because of the convening and decision of our indigenous peoples, to claim the historical memory of the Misak people in the Pubén Valley, to claim the historical memory of Chief Petecuy, who was killed by the Spanish crown, the genocide of Sebastián de Belalcázar that we just knocked him down.”

Velasco Tumiña, pointed out that the perception of this conqueror is negative, noting that “the trial that took place on September 16, 2020, is a historic trial against Sebastián de Belalcázar for crimes such as genocide, dispossession of land and mass rape, when he arrived from Quito, this violent action leaves how product of the origin of miscegenation in the country. We propose new symbols in these public spaces throughout Colombia, there are symbols that apologize violence, therefore, we must look for symbols that reconcile us with all the actors that exist here.”

The reconstruction of history will be carried out by the academy and various organizations that seek to provide a contribution of contextualization and cultural approach, in which an organizational framework is highlighted from the social aspect of the city, in turn, it seeks to ponder actions for the conservation and permanence of monuments, in order to promote respect and coexistence in relation to artistic manifestations by the community itself, and the meaning that these works give to public spaces.

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