Mano del Desierto

Coordinates: 24°09′30.01″S 70°09′23.56″W / 24.1583361°S 70.1565444°W / -24.1583361; -70.1565444

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).

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.^[1] Its exaggerated size of is said to emphasize human vulnerability and helplessness.^[2] The work has a base of iron and cement, and stands 11 metres (36 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.

Panorama around Mano del Desierto.

See also

• Monumento al Ahogado, another hand from the same artist

References

1. ^ http://www.elobservatodo.cl/noticia/cultura/keep-high-five-la-mano-del-desierto
2. ^ http://www.elobservatodo.cl/noticia/cultura/keep-high-five-la-mano-del-desierto

External links

• Corporación Pro Antofagasta
• The giant hand buried in the Atacama Desert
• Keep Up the High Five: "La Mano Del Desierto" in El Observatodo