Wolfgang Kiessling expressed his gratitude for the donation of the work “El Gorila” (The Gorilla), created by Diego Esquivel and donated by Rafael Plañiol, and highlighted its importance “as a symbol of the connection between Paraguay and Puerto de la Cruz,” assuring that it will be cared for and promoted as part of the neighborhood’s tourist attractions.
The mayor of the city emphasized the value of the statue located at one of the entrances to the Punta Brava neighborhood “as a reflection of the mutual commitment between the city and the institution, strengthening the ties that have united both entities for more than 50 years.”
The president and founder of the Loro Parque group, Wolgang Kiessling, accompanied by the mayor of Puerto de la Cruz, Leopoldo Afonso, presided over the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday for the statue “El Gorila” by Paraguayan artist Diego Esquivel, which will remain on permanent display at the entrance to the Punta Brava neighborhood. The work, made from ysypo, a tree vine, and standing over two meters tall, is a donation from Rafael Plañiol to Mr. Kiessling.
Also present at the ceremony were the vice president of the Loro Parque Group, Christoph Kiessling; Rafael Plañiol himself; the former mayor of Puerto de la Cruz, Salvador García; a representation of councilors from the municipal government group; executives from the Loro Parque group; the president of the municipality’s CIT, Juan José Hernández; members of the Punta Brava Fighting Club; as well as friends of the Kiessling family and neighbors from the area.
In his speech, the president of the Loro Parque Group began by thanking the Paraguayan artist responsible for the sculpture and Rafael Plañiol “for giving us this magnificent work, which we will care for and promote as much as we can,” adding that “Punta Brava has become a first-class tourist destination with the millions of visitors it has had over the years, and without a doubt, my duty to the neighborhood is to inaugurate this work in such a wonderful space as this.”
“With this inauguration, we want to bring Punta Brava, Puerto de la Cruz, and Loro Parque closer to Paraguay,” said Mr. Kiessling.
The mayor of the city, Leopoldo Afonso, highlighted the importance of the event held on Loro Parque Avenue, “as it reaffirms the commitment between the municipality and Loro Parque and is reflected in one of the best entrances to the Punta Brava neighborhood, with this wonderful work that will stand the test of time and strengthen the bonds of friendship between both institutions, as has been the case for the last 53 years.”
“Puerto de la Cruz is proud to have the best zoo in the world within its boundaries. Loro Parque cannot be understood without Puerto de la Cruz, and Puerto de la Cruz cannot be understood without Loro Parque,” Afonso concluded.
For his part, Rafael Plañiol explained that the statue was given to Mr. Kiessling in gratitude “for always being open to giving advice to people when they need it, and his help was invaluable when we started setting up the reserve in Paraguay.”
“The artist responsible for the work is Diego Esquivel, a very humble man, and when I told him that his statue was coming here, he cried on the phone and told me that none of his works had ever left Paraguay, let alone Europe,” explained Plañiol.
The statue “El Gorila” took a month and a half to complete, but between logistics and customs procedures, it took more than six months to bring it from central Paraguay to Tenerife.
Finally, in addition to beautifying the streets of the Punta Brava neighborhood, the work aims to send a message about protecting biodiversity through the figure of the gorilla, one of the most iconic and endangered species in the animal world.
