Birth of the New World

The Birth of the New World (Nacimiento del Nuevo Mundo, colloquially known as La estatua de Colón, lit. Columbus's Statue) is a 361 foot (110 m) bronze sculpture located on the Atlantic coastline of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. When completed in 2016, it became the tallest sculpture in North America, (as well as the tallest not only in the United States, but in the Western Hemisphere in general) surpassing Mexico's Guerrero Chimalli (which measures 197 feet or 60 meters in height including its base), and the fourth tallest worldwide, after the Statue of Unity in India (597 ft, 182 m), the Spring Temple Buddha in China (420 ft, 130 m), and the Laykyun Sekkya in Myanmar (380 ft, 120 m). After being imported to Puerto Rico, there were plans for it to be erected in Cataño. After being moved to Mayagüez and facing further delays, Birth of the New World was assembled at its current location.

Originally designed by Georgian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli as a monument to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's first voyage, Birth of the New World was constructed in 1991. Known for his monumental statues, Tsereteli passed away at the age of 91 on April 22, 2025 in his home outside of Moscow. The statue prominently depicts Columbus controlling an anachronistic depiction of a steering wheel, with a backdrop featuring the Niña, Pinta and Santa María traversing the Atlantic Ocean. Made of 2,750 bronze and steel pieces and weighing more than 1,300,000 pounds (650 short tons, 590 tonnes), the monument's 360 ft (110 m) height made it the tallest in the Western Hemisphere during the last decade of the 20th century, dwarfing the Statue of Liberty and the Monumento a la Virgen de la Paz. Tsereteli offered Birth of the New World to the cities of Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, New York City and Columbus, Ohio, but none of those cities accepted it, considering it an eyesore due to its disproportionate features or because its size would affect their skylines. Amid its long search for a home, the statue gathered the derisive nicknames of "Chris Kong", "Robo-Columbus", and "From Russia with Ugh" while searching for a base. Despite the hindranc

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