Secretary of Culture of Cali gave details about the reinstallation of the statue of Sebastián de Belalcázar

The Secretary of Culture of the city of Santiago de Cali, Ronald Mayorga, explained the main details of the reinstallation of the monument to Sebastián de Belalcázar, a statue that was demolished the previous year by the indigenous people of the Misak community, in the context of the national strike that took place throughout the country. It is important to note that this re-education process follows a decree issued last week, where the location of this important representative of the capital of Valle del Cauca is ordered again.

The newspaper El País questioned the secretary about the date on which this infrastructure operation will be carried out, although, so far no such detail has been agreed, Mayorga explained that the work is being done jointly between the different competent bodies convened by the mayor's office of Jorge Iván Ospina, no However, he stressed that the monument is now ready.

Regarding the repair process and the security scheme for the new process, Mayorga said: “Given the damage to the statue at its base, the pedestal has also been restored since January. After many rumors about the cost of this restoration, we come to the moment where Belalcázar is already restored. There are currently several entities linked in this process, and for now, there is no definite date. The table has already begun to meet to define this date among all, and to anticipate any situation, preventing it from being knocked down again.”

In the same way, he pointed out that one year after the social outbreak that shook Colombia, the reinstatement of Belalcázar was an important event, however, he argued that the demolition of it in the previous year was not an isolated event, since in different countries of the world this action was repetitive with other symbols representatives, the secretary stressed: “It has been a very complex situation, let's say that what happened in April almost a year ago must be read, this, also in the light of the fact that there is a phenomenon that occurred in the world, Sebastian de Cali was not the only statue demolished, this is a global phenomenon”.

It should be noted that, according to the decree, the vindication of history is also invited; for this purpose, both the negative and positive aspects that this conqueror had in the city and in the region must be told, because, although he is viewed with pleasure by some Caleños, others point out that the Spaniard in the passage of his conquering campaign, violated the rights of many native inhabitants of this region.

Secretary Mayorga gave his word on the readjustment based on the decree issued, in this case he explained the process of calling for the new incorporation that the pedestal will have. In this case, he said: “Sebastian is going to return, there is already a decree where the mayor calls us to start designing this protection plan and security; it must be said that Sebastian will return with a plaque that allows us to tell the full story of Sebastián de Belalcázar, also then, the exercise of convening historians and academics for the construction of that plaque that will carry the monument”.

Ordinance 4112.010.20.0146 of April 2022, issued by the mayor's office of Santiago de Cali, in accordance with the Territorial Planning Plan, declares: “order the erection of the monument to Sebastián de Belalcázar again in its place of origin, in the heritage space identified with the code BIC-PGE-5 called Mirador Belalcázar, of 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”.

The pedestal must make palpable, the historical tracing of the mark that Sebastián de Belalcázar left on the city, in addition to this, the initiative to adapt a monument that pays tribute to both indigenous communities and the different populations that have been considered minorities throughout history is added, Mayorga indicated that the opinions are divided, as some have spoken of going beyond a monument, in order to claim these rights, through spaces that highlight history and give it life in the present of the city.

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