Even on a windless day the cape swirls around this hero of three revolutionary wars. As a young man, Francisco de Miranda (1750-1816) commanded Spanish forces in support of the American Revolution. Later the native Venezuelan led troops in the French Revolution. He is especially famous, though, for his efforts to free Latin America from Spain. Briefly he led an independent Venezuela until Spain counterattacked. He died in Spanish prison.
The Venezuelan government commissioned this bronze sculpture as a gift to the City of Philadelphia.
Voices heard in the Museum Without Walls: AUDIO program: Emilio Buitrago is the President of Casa de Venezuela, an organization dedicated to promoting the culture and traditions of Venezuela in the greater Philadelphia region. Karen Racine is Associate Professor of History at University of Guelph in Toronto. Her research centers on the history and culture of the revolutionary independence period throughout Latin America and the Atlantic World. Dr. Angelo Rivero Santos was the Charge d’Affaires of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United States of America. | Segment Producer: Kimberly Haas
Museum Without Walls: AUDIO is the Association for Public Art’s award-winning audio program for Philadelphia’s outdoor sculpture. Available for free by phone, mobile app, or online, the program features more than 150 voices from all walks of life – artists, educators, civic leaders, historians, and those with personal connections to the artworks.
This artwork is part of the Along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway tour
