THE SALVADOR OF THE WORLD

                                                                                                                                                                                                    Monument Divine Salvador OF Mundo English: Monument to the Divine Savior of the World) is a monument located on Plaza El Salvador del Mundo (The Savior of the World Plaza) in San Salvador City, El Salvador. It consists of a statue of Jesus Christ standing a global sphere of planet earth, placed on top of the tall four-sided concrete base pedestal it is a landmark located in the country's capital San Salvador. The monument is a national personification of El Salvador. It is a symbol that identifies and represents both El Salvador and Salvadorans throughout the world. The monument is 70 years old, however the statue of Christ itself is much older, a century old. In 2010, the entire monument and plaza was completely replenished anew. The monument is lighted up white during night. On international holidays, the monument is lightened up with special colors such as (pink) for International Day of the Girl Child, (red) for World Aids Day and (green for Earth Day. The plaza is also the site and point of reunions for religious holidays like Palm Sunday and national holidays like Independence Day, Christmas Eve, and New Years where people can enjoy firework displays. The monument is also a magnet for photographers especially during astronomical events such as solar and lunar eclipse.  

History

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The monument was built on a pedestal originally used to decorate the tomb of Manuel Enrique Araujo, the President of El Salvadorbetween 1911 and 1913.It was unveiled and presented by Araujo's family on November 26, 1942, in connection to the first Nationa lEucharistic Congress in San Salvador. The iconic statue of Christ on the globe sphere of planet earth is part of the Monument to Divino Salvador del Mundo on Plaza El Salvador del Mundo (The Savior of the World Plaza).

The statue was damaged in the 1986 San Salvador earthquake. It was rebuilt and put back in place months after the campaign "Lift up your soul Salvadoran". In front of the plaza, there is a statue lifted in memory of Oscar Arnulfo Romero. On the other side, from that area, it is customary to begin the march of floats during the celebration of the festivities of the city.

The plaza was completely retrofitted, remodeled and entirely upgraded in 2010. As part of the reorganization plan to improve the image of San Salvador, the mayor Norman Quijano made the remodeling and renaming the Plaza to Plaza Salvador del Mundo. The renovation work included the complete renovation of sidewalks, the stands and the area of the flags. The image of Christ, placed about 18 m high, was also revamped with new paint.