Baruta, Venezuela Unveils Gabriel García Márquez Sculpture

Why this is here: Gabriel García Márquez lived in Caracas between 1957 and 1959, during which time he wrote chronicles and reports that would become the book When I Was Happy and Undocumented.

In Baruta, Venezuela, the local government unveiled a sculpture of Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. Venezuelan artist Carlos Jairran created the work with support from the CAF development bank and the Colombian Embassy. The sculpture now resides in Baruta’s Park of Writers, alongside pieces honoring Gallegos, Cadenas, Borges, and Lorca.

Jairran designed the piece to reflect the spirit of García Márquez’s magical realism. He incorporated elements from One Hundred Years of Solitude, focusing on themes of history, love, and memory. Colombian Ambassador Milton Rengifo Hernández noted García Márquez lived in Caracas from 1957 to 1959, writing chronicles and reports later published as When I Was Happy and Undocumented.

CAF plans to support Jairran’s next sculpture in the park, with a request that it depict a woman to promote gender equity. The park also hosts a writing contest, “Macondo sí tiene quien le escriba,” organized with the Gabo Foundation, but the long-term maintenance of the sculpture remains unaddressed.