New "Flora" sculpture presented to the City

The City received a new piece of art, donated by the estate of the late artist Cundo Bermudez, who passed away in 2008. The master Cuban artist created a 20-foot sculpture called "Flora la recogedora de Sueños," which was presented to the City and accepted by Mayor Tomas Regalado at a press conference at City Hall this morning. A video of Bermudez at work on the piece, played on monitors in the background throughout the presentation.

Bermudez did many commissions for public places including a glass mosaic mural for the Havana Hilton Hotel, two 20-story-tall murals for the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico and a monumental tile mural for the interior courtyard of the Organization of American States in Washington, DC.

He also designed a huge glass mosaic tile mural for the lobby of the Studio Theater at the Dolores and Sanford Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Performing Arts Center downtown.

The mayor said that it was requested that the Flora statue be exhibited near the water, so the City has chosen Bayfront Park downtown as it's new home. The statue has an estimated worth of $1 million.