Giant statue of Columbus finds home in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is working discretely on the installation of a monumental likeness of Christopher Columbus that will stand as high as the Statue of Liberty . The enclave selected for the historic project is the municipality of Arecibo, on the island's northern coast. The statue - which is 90 meters (295 feet) high, weighs 600 tons and was crafted by Russian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli - will be erected on one of the beaches there. Businessman Jose Gonzalez Freire, the owner of the land, has taken the reins of the project with which he intends to attract one million visitors a year to the site, which possesses great natural beauty but is far removed from the island's normal tourist areas. The start of the phase in which the pieces of the statue - constructed of bronze in 1991 - will be assembled, which has not received any publicity to date, brings to an end the statue's years of moving all around the territory of Puerto Rico searching for a suitable site. Tsereteli tried to