Francisco Pizarro defeated the Inca empire and founded a nation 465 years ago. He was unwelcome then and his larger-than-life likeness is unwelcome now.
The equestrian monument is an impressive sight, just off the capital's main plaza and beside the presidential palace.Two swirling feathers jut out from the warrior's helmet framing his bearded face. His right hand grips a sword while the other reins in his formidable steed, as fierce as its dark bronze rider.
That bellicose image is what's bothering city officials, who say it's time for Pizarro to come down from his high horse.
In cafes and art galleries, offices and street corners, Peruvians are debating a Feb. 28 city council decision to get rid of the 19-foot figure of the conquering invader who destroyed the greatest pre-Columbian empire in the Americas.
Officials say they want a less offensive image, one that doesn't remind them of their ancestors' humiliating defeat by the Spaniards. Instead, they'd prefer a more dignified, horseless Pizarro to recall the man who founded Lima in 1535.
Rubbish! says well-known Peruvian sculptor Victor Delfin. "There was nothing kind or peaceful about him. That's how he was! He was a very cruel man."
The Pizarro statue, created by American sculptor Charles Cary Rumsey of Buffalo, N.Y., was a gift to Lima to mark the city's 400th anniversary in 1935. An identical statue stands in Pizarro's hometown of Trujillo de Extremadura, Spain.
Peruvians, who are taught in school to respect their Indian rather than Spanish heritage, in general have little sympathy for Pizarro. They remember him as the plunderer who tricked and killed Inca ruler Atahualpa and shipped a fortune in Inca gold and silver back to Spain.
Councilor Santiago Agurto Calvo, who proposed replacing the monument, says Peruvians should remember Pizarro for bringing about the fusion of the Inca and Spanish cultures, which is what Peru represents today.
"What we're looking for is to recover our identity," Agurto said.
Substituting a tamer Pizarro would be good for the people's self-image, he said.
Delfin notes that the illiterate Pizarro founded the city during his bloody and insatiable quest for riches across Peru. Lima should remember him the way he really was, not in a sanitized way, he says.
Besides, Delfin says, the statue as sculpture is "fabulous," with plenty of character and strength.