Jilma Madera

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Jilma Madera
Born	September 18, 1915 La Victoria, Pinar del Rio, Cuba
Died	February 21, 2000 Havana, Cuba

Jilma Madera (La Victoria, Pinar del Rio, Cuba in September 18, 1915 - February 21, 2000 in Havana, Cuba) was a well-known Cuban sculptor. Her two most famous works are the Christ of Havana and the bust of Jose Marti at the Pico Turquino.

She studied painting and sculpture at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes "San Alejandro" under the tutelage of Juan Jose Sicre (the sculptor of the José Martí Memorial).

Her statue of the Christ of Havana was a commission she won in 1953 during the government of Fulgencio Batista. It was done in Carrara marble and is 60 feet tall and weighs 320 tons. It is composed of 67 pieces that were brought from Italy, where Ms. Madera carved the statue and was blessed there by Pope Pius XII. It was inaugurated on December 24, 1958, just two weeks before the fall of the government of Fulgencio Batista.

Her bust of Jose Marti was done in 1953 and placed at the Pico Turquino during the centennial celebrations of Marti’s birth in 1963 by Celia Sanchez.

[edit] References

• Mujeres article] (Spanish)
• Spanish Wikipedia (Spanish)
• Vitral magizene article (Spanish)