Miguel Hidalgo Y Costilla (1988) José Esteban Ramírez Guareño

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Plaza Hidalgo, Puerto Vallarta

On Plaza Hidalgo, just some 50 yards from Hotel Rosita, you’ll find the sculpture of a famous hero from Mexico’s Independence War, created by a very well known artist.

This bronze sculpture of the Mexican Independence hero is located at Plaza Hidalgo a block north off the northern end of the Malecon.

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Jose Esteban Ramirez Guareño, 1988

The sculpture depicts a hero any Mexican schoolboy can recognize at the blink of an eye, Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo-Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor, better known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or just plain Miguel Hidalgo, a Mexican priest and leader of the Mexican War of Independence.

The park itself was built to honor this National hero, the original concrete sculpture by artist José Esteban Ramírez Guareño, was replaced by the current bronze version sculpted by the same artist and was unveiled in 1988.

José Esteban Ramírez is also well known for the Stations of the Cross (Viacrucis) modeled in plaster and added to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish decoration in the years between 1953 and 1955, and is also the sculptor of the original 1965 crown placed on the main tower of the church.

Author: M. A. Gallardo