Domingo Cruz (Cocolía) (statue)

Domingo Cruz (Cocolía) is a statue to the memory of the Puerto Rican musician and Ponce Municipal Band director Domingo Cruz (Cocolía). It is located at Plaza Degetau in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The marble statue also has a marble pedestal.

Domingo Cruz (Cocolía)
Statue of Cocolia
Location of the statue within Puerto Rico
ArtistUnknown
Year1926
TypeMarble
MovementBeaux Arts
ConditionPristine
LocationPlaza Degetau
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Coordinates18°00′41.44″N 66°36′49.86″W
OwnerMunicipality of Ponce, PR

Background
Main article: Domingo Cruz ("Cocolía")

Domingo Cruz (3 July 1864 – 20 October 1934), a.k.a., "Cocolía", was a late 19th-century Puerto Rican musician, and director of the Ponce Firefighters' Band (now the Ponce Municipal Band).[1][2] He played the saxhorn with "La Lira Ponceña" orchestra (by 1919 also known as the Ponce Symphony Orchestra[3]) under the baton of Ponce's renowned composer Juan Morel Campos. Famous for his danceable tunes, Cocolía was also a music teacher and director of the Firefighters' Band, the Banda Municipal de Ponce. Upon the death of Juan Morel Campos, he became its director.[4] He directed it from 1896 until 1916.[5]

Description

The statue was lost for many years and was found during the transition to a new governmental administration.[6] It is located just steps the stage where Cocalia and Banda Municipal de Ponce used to play their tunes, at the southern edge of Parque de Bombas. For many years, Cocolia's statue stood in front of the Instituto de Musica Juan Morel Campos, which took over the space previously occupied by downtown Ponce fire station, next to Teatro La Perla.[7] Around 2010 it was moved to Plaza Degetau. It currently (2017) stands at Plaza Degetau.

References
  1. Ponceños Ilustres. Municipality of Ponce. Archived 4 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  2. In memory of tropical music great, “Cocolía” Juan A. Hernandez. Puerto Rico Daily Sun. 26 February 2010.
  3. Luis Fortuño Janeiro. "Album Historico de Ponce (1692–1963)". Page 405. Imprenta Fortuño. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 1963.
  4. Las Retretas. Municipality of Ponce. Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Don Domingo Cruz (Cocolia). Museo del Paruqe de Bombas de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2 March 2011.
  6. Encontraron la estatua perdida. Carlos Paladín (as narrated by Gladys Esther Tormes González). Memoro: El banco de la Memoria. 1 December 2012. Accessed 24 July 2017.
  7. In memory of tropical music great, “Cocolía.” Juan A. Hernandez. Puerto Rico Daily Sun. 26 February 2010. Accessed 20 July 2017.

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