Originally designed by
Georgian sculptor
Zurab Tsereteli as a monument to commemorate the 500th anniversary of
Christopher Columbus's
first voyage,
Birth of the New World was constructed in 1991. The statue prominently depicts Columbus controlling an
anachronistic depiction of a steering wheel, with a backdrop featuring the
Niña,
Pinta and
Santa María traversing the Atlantic Ocean. Made of 2,750 bronze and steel pieces and weighing more than , the monument's height made it the tallest in the
Western Hemisphere during the last decade of the 20th century, dwarfing the
Statue of Liberty and the
Monumento a la Virgen de la Paz. Tsereteli offered
Birth of the New World to the cities of
Baltimore,
Fort Lauderdale,
Miami Beach,
New York City and
Columbus, Ohio, but none of those cities accepted it, considering it an eyesore due to its disproportionate features or because its size would affect their skylines. Despite the hindrances, the monument was featured on a Russian stamp. A smaller and modified version, named
The Birth of a New Man and meant to be the European link of a two-part composition along with
Birth of the New World, was adopted by
Seville, Spain, and dedicated there in 1995.
Search for a location New York City In 1991,
New York City was the first to be offered the statue. Tseretali proposed erecting the statue on
Roosevelt Island. However, this plan was met with concerns of its size, as it would visually dwarf the Statue of Liberty, and would itself be dwarfed itself by the skyscrapers of the city's skyline that sat in close proximity to Roosevelt Island.
Miami Beach In 1992, the
Miami area was offered the statue, after financier and investor
Bennett S. LeBow sought to see it erected at
South Pointe in Miami Beach, near the
Government Cut entrance of the
Port of Miami. Supporters argued that it had the potential to become an icon for the City of Miami. Despite his support for the statue, Governor Voinovich stated that no state money was available to erect the statue. Locations floated for the statue to be located in the Inner Harbor included
Fort Carroll and the site of a former
Allied Chemical plant on the east side of the Inner Harbor. Rivera Sierra insisted that the municipal treasury would not lose a single cent on the project, and planned to erect the monument near the entrance of Cataño Bay. The unassembled pieces of the statue were relocated to an adjacent recreational park upon arriving on 12 November 1998. In its original plan, construction would have begun in 1999, with the dedication taking place in October 2000. However, the project caused immediate controversy; several homes would have to be destroyed to make way for it and the cost of its assembly was deemed excessive. The
Oficina del Contralor (Office of the Comptroller) opened an investigation into the transaction and found that the 1.6 million dollars in taxes that were due when the statue entered the port were not paid. The auditor also investigated the use of public funds to cover the travel expenses of Rivera Sierra when personally meeting Tseretelli in Russia. The monument also would have been high enough that concerns were raised that it would interfere with air traffic to nearby
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. The municipality also lost an estimated income of $200,000 that the recreational park would have provided were it open to the public. The total cost of the project was re-estimated due to the necessity of replacing several parts and some of the supporting steel structures, fixing exposure damage and the additional need for a sandblasting procedure. In early 2005, Tseretelli began searching for developers that would take over the project. However, these efforts were interrupted by Soto, who considered that simply assembling the statue was not enough to attract tourism. He suggested that the entire area would need to be developed. The size of the project caused potential developers to lose interest. On 16 August 2008, the municipality confirmed that
Birth of a New World had been transferred to Holland Group Port Investment (HGPI), a private group that was involved in the development of the
Mayagüez port. Soto justified the action by claiming that simply storing the pieces was costing the public treasury 4 million dollars, and that Cataño could not afford a project that would exceed $100 million. The private entity transferred the pieces to its facilities in Mayagüez, announcing its intention to assemble the statue near the coastline in time for the
2010 Central American and Caribbean Games that were being held in that municipality. HGPI devised a plan to attract an estimated 500,000 tourists to with
Birth of a New World as its cornerstone. A regional plan would include the establishment of a museum of history near the statue. The possibility of establishing a cruise route between Mayagüez and Seville was also explored. Once there, a Russian team examined the condition of the pieces and ensured that it could still be assembled.
Finding a home in Arecibo, Puerto Rico HGPI was unable to fulfill its plan in time, citing disinterest by the municipal government, and the statue was reassigned for a different project.
Arecibo became a frontrunner, and Mayor
Lemuel Soto began the permit process for a project that would combine the statue with other attractions, such as the
Arecibo Observatory. However, the municipality faced competition; Representative
David Bonilla Cortés requested that the statue be assembled on
Desecheo Island San Juan also tentatively considered the project, but lost interest due to the condition of the pieces. Ultimately, Tseretelli decided that it was "too late" to consider other venues and settled for Arecibo. However, once there the monument faced more controversy, this time by activists that condemned Columbus' role in opening the door to the European
genocide of indigenous peoples and by groups that opposed its impact in the maritime-terrestrial zone. Eventually, the
Luis Fortuño administration began processing the respective permits. In 2012, Rosario denounced the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury for imposing nearly $3 million in retroactive taxes for the original transaction and unfinished projects related to it, resulting in an embargo of the municipality's income. In June 2012, the first pieces began arriving at Barrio
Islote in Arecibo.
Birth of the New World became the main attraction of a tourist project called Columbus Theme Park (later renamed Terravista ParkLand) developed by Pan American Grain, which the administration expected would produce 4.6 million dollars in income per year and recruit 900 new employees. The assembly investment was now estimated at $98 million, with only the reclassification of the zone preventing the project's advance. This process was completed by January 2013. On 11 February 2014, a contemporary-
Taíno movement, named Movimiento Indígena Jíbaro Boricua, joined other anti-Columbus factions in protest the impending assembly of the monument. The monument survived the passing of Cat. 5
hurricane Maria in September 2017 without structural damage. However, the adjacent infrastructure was heavily affected. This conflict prevented plans from fully opening to the public and prompted the municipality to change dates for the formal inauguration on multiple occasions. Tsereteli was stated to be content with the visibility gained by the monument and unconcerned by the possibility of it remaining closed off for the time being. However, González Freyre claims that Tsereteli did not discuss the matter again until he issued a warning in late 2018, after more than a year of no communication, and that the Russian artist did not heed attempts to mediate. ==Economic impact==