With the purpose of preserving the sculptural heritage of Puerto Vallarta, the Municipal Government chaired by Arturo Dávalos Peña, through the Vallartense Institute of Culture (IVC), has been carrying out the restoration project of sculptures throughout the city.
Marina de los Santos Álvarez, head of the IVC, indicated that by instruction of the mayor to undertake these actions, specialists in the field were sought to begin with the maintenance of these works, so at the beginning of the year the sculptor Fernando Baños was contacted, who made a diagnosis of the state in which each of the pieces were, as well as the type of work or restoration they required.
The intention is having a sculptural catalog and the complete and correct documentation of donation or transfer of rights to the City Council, since it is important that the municipality also legally has all the documents and the signatures of the authors so that they can intervene.
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The sculptures that have been restored so far are that of “John Huston” by Carlos Ramírez; “Isidro the Fisherman” by sculptor Ramiz Barquet; “Don Agustín Flores Contreras”, by Jiménez; “Tritón y Sirena” by Carlos Espino; “Fuente de la Amistad. Los Delfines”, by Bud Bottoms; “Lorena Ochoa” and “La Ballena” by Octavio González Gutiérrez, “Un Niño. Un Libro. Un Futuro” by Ramiz Barquet, among others.
The total investment of these works in its first stage, in ten sculptures, is around 300 thousand pesos, and in the specific case of the sculpture of La Ballena, an agreement was made with the president of the Association of Colonists of Marina Vallarta for the neighbors to contribute 50 percent of the cost of restoration. The association also agreed to repair the fountain surrounding the sculpture to prevent water runoff, as well as the lighting system.
Marina de los Santos said that by 2020 and 2021, efforts will be redoubled to restore 20 more sculptures each year, in order to be able to have a restored 90 percent sculptural heritage.