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The story behind the Hispanic heroes statues in New Orleans [1]
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Date: 2024-10-09
Until recently, three statues of Hispanic heroes stood on the Basin Street neutral ground.
Simón Bolívar helped several countries gain independence from Spain in the early 19th century.
Benito Juárez served as president of Mexico from 1858-1872.
Francisco Morazán served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830-1839.
These men had minimal connection to New Orleans. So why were they honored with statues?
The answer dates back to the late 1950s.
“In 1957, the mayor of New Orleans announced that the grassy median on Basin Street would become known as the ‘Garden of the Americas,’ ” the Monumentous states. “Mayor ‘Chep’ Morrison envisioned this initiative as part of his administration’s city-wide beautification project, which would also represent the city’s strong connection with Latin America.”
The statues were erected between 1957 and 1966. Venezuela gave the city the 12-foot, 7-ton Bolívar statue, installed with great fanfare.
“It was a big affair,” a 2019 Times-Picayune article states, “the kind of weekend-long to-do that included a special Mass at St. Louis Cathedral, a luncheon for visiting Venezuelan dignitaries … and a pre-unveiling military parade down Canal Street.”
Last month, the Bolívar statue was placed in storage “in advance of right-of-way safety work.” according to a city statement.
Juarez’s statue was a gift from the Mexican government, according to the Monumentous. He twice fled Mexico to live in New Orleans. Honduras and El Salvador gave the Morazán statue to the city to recognize it as the “gateway of the Americas.”
“I think a lot of people don’t know about this because that mid-20th century history of collaboration with Latin America is forgotten,” Tulane professor Marilynn Miller told WGNO in 2022. “A lot of port traffic started to go to Houston and Miami, changing the sense of New Orleans as a very Pan-American city,”
For more tales from New Orleans history, visit the Back in the Day archives.
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