The board of directors of the Castillo San Antonio de la Eminencia Foundation has increased security measures to prevent the intrusion of people seeking to vandalize the facilities.
Cumaná. The torrential downpours have not only put on alert to the communities located in areas vulnerable to the imminent passage of natural phenomena such as tropical waves. State security forces were also activated to protect historical and tourist sites such as the Museum of Contemporary Art and the San Antonio de la Eminencia fortress, known as El Castillo de Cumaná.
Several communities are settled on the Quetepe hill. Neighbors say that groups of young people walk through its streets, without any reason. the main door of the Castle was broken into San Antonio de la Eminencia, in addition to breaking the windows of the museum that is also located in the area.
Georgina Lunar, known as “Yoya” in the world of plastic arts, has 25 years of service as a civil servant public inside the museum. It highlights the importance of these spaces for the historical development of Sucre art and culture.
“My life is here in the museum. As a visual artist, it hurts me because lately, when it rains or the power goes out, young people come to throw stones. They have tried to break the door of the central courtyard of the Castle and the windows of the museum,” said Lunar, who works as director of the Castillo San Antonio de la Eminencia Foundation.
The Castle of San Antonio de la Eminencia It is a fortification ofthe 17th century near Cumaná. It was built by the governor of the Province of Nueva Andalucía and Paria to protect the city from constant pirate raids.
The fortress is located on the Pan de Azúcar hill, from where it dominates the city and the Gulf of Cariaco and the Araya Peninsula can also be seen. However, sand extraction from the surrounding areas has been repeatedly reported.
Awareness
Servando Marín, an architect from Sucre, says that several monuments in Cumaná have been further deteriorated by human action and carelessness, due to natural phenomena such as earthquakes that occurred in the entity.
Architect believes that human action contributes to the deterioration of monuments Photo: Crónica.Uno
He referred to cases such as the recent one rappelling practice at the Castle facilities and to this was added the lack of specialized maintenance.
The fortress of San Antonio de la Eminencia is a key reference for opening the way to the coherent development of the city, and this criterion must be respected and consolidated,” he said.
He cited the seismic movements of 1797, 1853 and 1929 that caused serious damage and deterioration the structure.
Marín recalled that during the 90s it was Authorized a restoration of the structure.
An anonymous person, lacking technical training, was in charge of making repairs and to exhaust the budget he came up with the idea of plastering the walls of the fortress,” he said.
The expert stressed that There is a lack of citizen awareness regarding the meaning of belonging, not only of the fortress, but of all works of a historical nature.
He advocated for those who have the responsibility of running the city recognize the importance of construction and use politics as an instrument of transformation.
Work in progress
The foundation chaired by Araceli Gordon de Pinto, first lady of the state of Sucre, manages the Museum of Art Contemporary. Likewise, the castle and the Antonio José de Sucre House Museum, which is currently under construction. The old Plazoleta and later the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Amphitheater were located there.
“I am very happy because the museum has been given the opportunity to work hard, as it is a very large space. The president of the Foundation has put love into the facilities and the spaces are being fixed up with work such as waterproofing the roof,” explained Georgina Lunar.
With this, he invited the community in general to visit and care for the facilities.
I invite tourists and foreigners to visit the museum’s exhibitions, the castle and the entire hill, because we all deserve to see the sunsets that invite us to fall in love,” he added.
For the celebration of the founding of Cumaná next November 27th The exhibition “Margariteñerías” from La Asuncion, Nueva Esparta state, will be inaugurated.
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