A bronze bust of Bolivian guerrilla Juana Azurduy de Padilla sits on a sandstone plinth.
Artist: Victor Zapana
Artwork description
This bust of Juana Azurduy de Padilla is made from bronze and mounted on a striated sandstone plinth. She wears a high-collared coat with patterns around the collar. The surface of the bust appears quite rough and fabrication marks can be seen.
It is one of a series of busts of famous Latin American heroes displayed at Ibero American Plaza. The series on Chalmers Street commemorates the contribution of Spanish and Portuguese speaking people to the history of Australia.
Juana Azurduy de Padilla (1781–1862) fought in the Bolivian wars for independence. When Bolivia declared its independence in 1809, along with her husband she raised a small army to fight for an independent republic. Her husband was killed early in the war, but Azurduy continued to fight against royalist forces until Bolivia became an independent republic in 1826 when Spanish forces were finally overthrown.
Azurduy managed to form a small ‘republiqueta’ (little republic) in the territory her small army held. This republiqueta was basically under siege from 1810 until 1825 when other republican armies under Simon Bolivar were able to join her remote forces.
Artist
The bust was sculptured by Victor Zapana from La Paz, Bolivia, whose name is engraved on the lower right side of the bust.
Commission
The bust is believed to have been installed in the Ibero American Plaza around 1994/95. It is associated with the Bolivian community in Australia.
Inscription
An inscription on the plinth reads:
Juana Azurduy de Padilla 12/07/1780-25/05/1862
Guerilla fighter for the independence of Bolivia from Spanish rule.
Guerilla fighter for the independence of Bolivia from Spanish rule.
