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On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, causing incredible damage that the island is still dealing with today.
On the first anniversary of the catastrophe, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo set up the Hurricane Maria Memorial Commission to "solicit designs for a memorial honoring the victims and to stand as an international symbol of the resilience of the Puerto Rican community."
After reviewing 120 submissions, the state selected Puerto Rico-based architect Segundo Cardona and artist Antonio Martorell to design and build the memorial, which is now standing tall in Battery Park City.
Located at the Chambers Street Overlook, near Chambers Street and North End Avenue, the piece is a colorful, ascending glass spiral that is evocative of both a hurricane and a shell, the latter a "symbol of protection for living organisms against a hostile environment such as extreme weather." The rotating star emblematic of the Puerto Rican flag tops the spiral while the glass panels that make up the structure are painted by Martorell himself and include the poem "Farewell from Welfare Island," written by renowned Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos.
Visitors are invited to sit inside the memorial, where benches are built, and take a look at the inscribed dedication from the people of New York.
"Our proposal for the creation of a memorial in New York City to remember the victims of the hurricane arose from a shared vision that one can always transform the sad memory of adverse circumstances into something positive and poetic that can bring solace to all," Cardona and Martorell said in an official press release announcing the unveiling of the sculpture. "The poem Farewell from Welfare Island, by one of Puerto Rico's greatest poets, Julia de Burgos, is interpreted as organic shapes of calligraphy resulting in a boisterous expression of color, letters, and shapes. Its message, both timeless and specific, is sensitive to New Yorkers and to the Puerto Rican community of any gender and age. A message intended to involve passersby, invite curiosity, provoke thought and invoke contemplation."
Feel free to listen to an audio tour of the piece right here.
Given that New York is actually home to over a million Puerto Ricans—the largest diaspora—the state's decision to mount an honorary piece in solidarity with the victims of the hurricane should come as no surprise. We're all in this together.
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