[NYTr] Casting of Che's Statue Begins in Argentina

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

Casting of Che's Statue Begins in Argentina

Buenos Aires, Dec 19 (Prensa Latina) The creator of the first monument
to Ernesto Che Guevara in Argentina, Andres Zerneri, confirmed on
Tuesday that the plaster mold and bronze collected for that purpose
will be taken to the foundry on Thursday.

The self-taught artist told Prensa Latina that it would be a very
important day, because it marks the beginning of a four-month process
to prepare the molds to cast the statue.

More than two years ago, Zerneri let his imagination fly on a way to
pay tribute to the Heroic Guerrilla Fighter, born in Argentina in 1928
and murdered in Bolivia in 1967, and called people to contribute to the
statue.

That way, he launched a campaign to collect keys and small bronze
objects voluntarily donated. He also carried out a survey for
contributors to choose the place where the monument will be erected.

Over the past two years, 14,454 people from all over the world have
contributed more than 3,000 kilograms of bronze to cast the
four-meter-tall statue, which will be erected in Rosario, Che's
birthplace.

Visibly excited, Zerneri invited everyone to visit his workshop in the
neighborhood of Palermo Viejo on Thursday and to take photo and video
cameras to capture images of that moment.

After the statue is cast, a popular caravan will be organized to carry
it to Rosario, more than 186 miles from Buenos Aires, where it will be
unveiled on June 14, 2008, on Che's 80th birthday.

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