Mano del Desierto
Encyclopedia
The Mano de Desierto is a large-scale sculpture of a hand located in the Atacama Desert in Chile
, 75 km to the south of the city of Antofagasta
, on the Panamerican Highway. The nearest point of reference is the "Ciudad Empresarial La Negra" (La Negra Business City).
and cement
, and stands 11 metres (36.1 ft) tall. Funded by Corporación Pro Antofagasta, a local booster organization, the sculpture was inaugurated on March 28, 1992.
It has since become a point of interest for tourists traveling Route 5, which forms part of the Pan-American Highway
. It is an easy victim of graffiti
and is therefore cleaned occasionally.
From Antofagasta, one can take Route 26 or Route 28, both of which connect to Route 5.
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Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 75 km to the south of the city of Antofagasta
Antofagasta
Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 296,905...
, on the Panamerican Highway. The nearest point of reference is the "Ciudad Empresarial La Negra" (La Negra Business City).
Description
The sculpture was constructed by the Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal at an altitude of 1,100 meters above sea level. Irarrázabal used the human figure to express emotions like injustice loneliness, sorrow and torture. Its exaggerated size of is said to emphasize human vulnerability and helplessness. The work has a base of ironIron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
, and stands 11 metres (36.1 ft) tall. Funded by Corporación Pro Antofagasta, a local booster organization, the sculpture was inaugurated on March 28, 1992.
It has since become a point of interest for tourists traveling Route 5, which forms part of the Pan-American Highway
Pan-American Highway
The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring about in total length. Except for an rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's...
. It is an easy victim of graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
and is therefore cleaned occasionally.
From Antofagasta, one can take Route 26 or Route 28, both of which connect to Route 5.