Forest of Heroes Sculptural Ensemble.
Cuban monumental and environmental sculpture. First monument built in Cuba to pay homage to Che Guevara and his fallen companions in Bolivia.
Unveiled on October 15 , 1973 within the framework of the activities for the VI anniversary of the fall in combat of Ché and his internationalist guerrilla, at the initiative of the Commander of the Revolution Juan Almeida Bosque . The execution was under the general direction of the sculptor Rita Longa , who used natural artistic elements to represent the war scene.
Located on a small elevation of Avenida de las Américas , one of the main arteries of the city of Santiago de Cuba , between M and Casero streets in Reparto Terraza.
Seventy-three pieces of white marble of different sizes are placed on a stepped granite platform, in which the images and positions of those men and the position they occupied within the organizational structure created by Commander Ernesto Guevara de La Serna in the guerrilla: Centre or General Staff, Vanguard and Rear.
In fifteen of the upper panels are engraved the images, guerrilla pseudonyms, date and place where they fell fighting; in another four, texts appear that reveal the human qualities inherent to them, as well as the objectives of the fight. A guide or orientation plaque contains the military ranks that each one of them reached, names and surnames, war pseudonyms, date of birth and political organization to which they belonged.
Among these marble pieces stand two cypresses that symbolize immortality, in addition the presence of bamboos suggests the Bolivian jungle; From the bottom of the monument emerges a pebble carpet (chinas pelonas) that symbolizes the basins of the Grande , Ñacahuasú and other rivers that were crossed by the guerrillas on their constant pilgrimage. The royal palm means the nobility and Cubanness of the ideas of these men, and the carob tree the historical continuity of the epic.
