The Christ of the Mountains

At the inauguration of the Christ of the Sierras in 2014, the mayor expressed that "the future belongs to the beauty of dreams". The Christ is the dream of the people of Tandil and adds to its religious tourist circuit. The proposal of the sculpture integrates the idiosyncrasies of the locals, their religious expression, their serrano landscapes and their metallurgical activity.

A joint challenge of many tandilenses
From the roundabout of the Dique Del Fuerte, Av. Don Bosco leads to Papa Francisco Street. A few meters away is the parking lot of the base. Then the path is on a climb and requires about 30 minutes of walking. The climb can be somewhat demanding but each at your own pace can arrive and enjoy the whole road and the surroundings of the mountains. On the way there are benches to take a break.
As you go along, several typical walks are visible on the horizon, such as the lake and the Del Fuerte dam, Parque Independencia, La Movediza, Sierra del Tigre and the different hills that surround the town center. Wild flowers, cacti and colorful rocks mimic the sky.

The work is by the artist Fernando Pavolini, known as Tirso, in collaboration with many tandilenses hands and the Salesian order. It is 10 m high and weighs 13 t and is one of the tallest casting sculptures in Latin America. During the night it is illuminated, through solar panels and wind energy, which gives it a very unique mystical force.

The right palm of the Christ points to heaven, taking the celestial power, and the other, downwards, as the imposition of hands, transmitting all his blessing.

In a time of challenges, of lost values, of contradictory gazes, of unmerciful gestures, the Christ looks towards the city of Tandil with a new hope, a pious gaze, and whoever stands under the perhaps sculpture can feel that close energy, which transfers and engulfs, a Christ perhaps gaucho, of the Argentine pampas, generous and wise, who calls for reflection and tolerance.

Tandil is a religious tourism destination, especially at Easter, when Mount Calvary brings together thousands of faithful. Now the Christ of the Sierras joins the redemptive Christs of the country, with all the natural beauty that make Tandil a unique place.