César Vallejo's historic monument disappeared from plazuela in downtown Lima

Members of the National Association of Writers, Artists and Intellectuals of Peru (ANEA) denounced that the current administration of the Municipality of Lima has removed the monument of César Vallejo from the theater square and they do not give them details of its whereabouts.

This would have happened for months, but recently they approached the Culture Department of the MML, on the occasion of the Day of the Peruvian Poet (April 15). However, they were unable to tell them where the statue, which has been in the place for 40 to 50 years, had moved.

“This is a crime against culture. It is not possible that we will not have the opportunity, as we always did every April 15, the day of the Peruvian poet, (to pay) tribute,” Reinaldo Cervantes, one of the members of this association, told RPP Noticias.

There are 2,500 writers, artists and intellectuals who make up ANEA and denounce that the remodeling work has been carried out since October 2021 and there is no end to it. Mayor Jorge Muñoz is held responsible for the disappearance of the monument and the unfinished work.

He also denounced that the Sala Alzedo and Teatro Segura theaters have been closed for three years and have not served the public, which denied that it could be due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Mayor Muñoz is absolutely not interested in culture, he has committed an outrage and they don't tell us where the Cesar Vallejo monument went,” he said.

They demand that the monument be restored or indicated where it is located, since it holds great significance to them. In addition, it has historical significance, since it represents the highest exponent of letters in the country and one of the greatest innovators of universal poetry of the 20th century.

“It is a historical monument, all the poets of Peru and Lima always came to pay tribute to it. Now we don't know exactly what they've done with this monument. Surely they have placed it in a warehouse where it is powdering, maybe they have donated it, maybe they have given it away, and this is not possible, Mr. Mayor”, he said.

“Give us an audience in your office or in the Council meeting room so that our board of directors will tell you how outraged we are,” Mr. Cervantes demanded again.

On the other hand, workers in the area, block 2 of the Huancavelica jirón, have also denounced that the unfinished work harms their business. This is because the whole street has more than one optics.

Mr. Elmer Mendoza Carrasco pointed out that Mayor Jorge Muñoz had personally promised them that the work would be completed before the end of March. However, it is completely paralyzed. He even pointed out that the workers had stopped coming to work.

“The workers have abandoned it due to non-payment (...). The company that has had a contract left and last time they made a police statement of abandonment,” he said.

He also denounced that the unbuilt work has increased insecurity. This is because, according to him, people come to smoke in these corners, which makes merchants and neighbors uncomfortable.

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