In Honor to General Jose Gervasio Artigas

Located on Spring street and 6th Ave. in Manhattan. In fact, the building behind the statue is my old High School. In 1810 José Gervasio Artigas offered his services to the Buenos Aires junta that was leading an independence movement against Spain. After winning the battle at Las Piedras, he besieged Spanish-held Montevideo for a time. He then became the champion of federalism against the efforts of Buenos Aires to assert centralized control. From 1820 till his death in 1850 he lived in exile in Paraguay.

facts about the General Jose Gervasio Artigas found in Spanish on  : http://www.elhistoriador.com.ar/biografias/a/artigas.php

Statue in Honor to Juan Pablo Duarte. Located on 6th ave. and Canal street.

Located in canal street, this monument commemorates one of the founding fathers of Dominican Republic. He was born in Santo Domingo, on January 26, 1813. At 15 years old, his parents sent him to New York, USA,  and then to London, England to finish his studies.

Along Francisco del Rosario Sanchez, and Ramon Matias Mella, he fought to bring peace and terminate the power that Jean Pierre Boyer ( president of Haiti ) had over the Dominicans. He formed a secret society called ” La trinitaria,” whose main purpose was to gather as many people as possible without the government knowing, to counter attack the Haitian Army. Unfortunately, in 1842 the government found out, and he was going to be executed, but instead, he was condemned to exile, and moved to Venezuela.

With the supposed “success” of the Haitian government eradicating the secret society “La Trinitaria”, they didn’t think they would have to deal with the trinitarians ever again. They were wrong. From Venezuela, Duarte was commanding the secret society to attack the Haitian government, and successfully, 2 years later on February 27th, 1844. Duarte ( from Venezuela ), Sanchez, and Mella declaired the independence of Dominican Republic successfully.

Duarte was very passionate about freeing the country he was born in. He would spend weeks without eating or sleeping. He suffered and died of tuberculosis in 1876 at 63 years of age. In Dominican Republic, we were told as kids that the only thing he regretted was dying on exile.

Today he is commemorated in Dominican Republic with a holiday, and the highest mountain in the Caribbean is named ” Pico Duarte ” on his honor. He is also commemorated in London, as well as in New York.