Statue of Simón Bolívar

Before you stands the equestrian statue of Simón Bolívar, inaugurated in 1974 as a gift from Venezuela to Cádiz to honour the historic ties linking both sides of the Atlantic. From the eighteenth to the early nineteenth century, Cádiz was Spain’s main port to the Americas, with hundreds of ships sailing from here to Caracas, Bogotá or Lima, making the city the gateway for all colonial trade. Bolívar, born in Caracas in 1783, is the central figure of Latin American independence. Known as “El Libertador,” he led the campaigns that freed several countries from Spanish rule and is celebrated as a hero throughout Latin America, though his legacy is sometimes seen differently in Spain, as the independence wars were extremely violent and he ordered the execution of thousands of Spaniards. In 2022, a Spanish military association even called for the statue’s removal, though nothing came of it. For now, the monument remains here, standing not far from the seafront, which we’ll reach in just a few minutes.