CubaPLUS Magazine

There is no definitive explanation for this, but it exists. Both the statue of the so-called Boy of the Boot and his legend have given rise to one of the most dear traditions to the people of the central city of Santa Clara, capital of the province of Villa Clara.

The current sculpture of the casual Boy in the Boot is located since 1989 in the Leoncio Vidal Caro Central Park and is the work of prominent Cuban sculptor José Delarra. Being part of a beautiful environment and privileged part of the city, since it is in the company of monuments to Marta Abreu, the benefactor of the city, a fountain, gazebo, a kind of group that makes that place a unique cultural and architectural complex.

And the strangest thing is that this Child or urchin incarnated by the bronze of the statue does not clash at all in that place of joy and peace, perhaps because it symbolizes the love of passers-by for the helpless childhood that after all, it represents that innocent. It is, in addition to the image of an unfortunate child, the embodiment of the smart and intelligent and mischievous person that almost all of us want to be in this life, as free and flying if necessary as Peter Pan.

Or am I mistaken? It should be noted that the myth and the statue of the Child... are older than the date indicated for its current small monument. They say that the first sculpture, made with a calamine alloy, was of Italian origin and was placed in a central square in 1925 before the popularity acquired in the city by certain ornamental figurines coming from an American manufacturing industry they sold successfully.

That ornament reproduced a drummer boy, a street urchin, who according to history used to accompany the North American troops during the Civil War and with his old boots in hand. They provided drinking water or something like that, to the thirsty soldiers in the middle of the battle. A hard and terrible role for those infants without family and protection, that they assumed to survive. Even without knowing well the origin of such statuettes, oblivious to their reality, such figurines were accepted with sympathy and sensitivity.

Time and a little hook, as a popular phrase in these parts says, put together the Villa Clara legend, today considered as genuine as any. So much so that there is a cultural distinction, intended for outstanding creators and artists named with the heart ¨The Boy in the Boot¨.

Ah, the old statue from 1925 was removed for many years, since around 1940. Then after January 1959, it was relocated again to a very visible place, on the basis of a kind of small granite boat created with such purpose. Then it was vandalized, with the theft of its famous shoes and the destruction of its feet, with a blunt weapon. The people were outraged, because at that point the symbol was already quite an icon. Until Delarra's work was done.

There is no doubt, urchin or Peter Pan revived, telling us about his dreams and pranks, the ¨Boy in the Boot¨ seems to be eternal in Villa Clara and in our rich popular culture, many times cosmopolitan roots.