In the middle of a Chilean desert called Atacama, a giant hand comes out of the earth, which is a modern sculpture called Mano del Desierto (Desert Hand) in honor of the victims of injustice and torture during the military regime in this country. It is made of iron and cement, with a height of 11 meters.
It is located 70 kilometers south of the city of Antofagasta and 350 meters from Route 5 that crosses the Atacama Desert plateau from north to south in Chile. Since its inauguration in 1992 it has become a point of interest for tourists, but as the sculpture is unfortunately subject to continuous acts of vandalism, it requires frequent maintenance and cleaning.
However, the author of this sculpture Mario Irarrázabal has several gigantic sculptures of hands similar to the Atacama around the world. For example, one of them can be found on a beach in Uruguay, which receives other names such as Man emerging to life, Monument to the fingers or Monument to the drowned. Another can be seen in a park in Spain, which was installed in 1987.
Personally, this symbolic monument has left me very impressed. The author of these works has left a mark of him and a message about injustice in the world, being something impressive and interesting. I have to point out that I had no knowledge of these great places, pity that in some of them they use vandalism in great works that have a lot to tell. I really hope to visit all those places where this gigantic hand is located!
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Tell me, what did you think and what is your opinion about it?