Angelito/a

”almost like praying...” A memorial to the victims of Hurricane Maria, NYC  

The concept of this memorial honors the resilient spirit of Puerto Rico, it celebrates life and soars over adversity with love and grace. Like an angel, its wings spread in the skyline and comfort people in their embrace. From underneath, the diaphanous wings barely touch: the two convex arcs, like tremulous hands, reach up “softly, almost like praying”.

ANGELITO / A is inspired by “Almost like praying” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s homage to the victims of Hurricane Maria.

Music and dance inspire Puerto Rico and helped people in the island overcome grief and desolation after the Hurricane Maria. “Maria” the love song from West Side Story, inspired his love song to Puerto Rico; like an incantation, it repeats the refrain, as it recounts the 78 townships in Puerto Rico. His song has softly inspired our concept: the icon enacts the gesture of prayer, the lyrics will be inscribed on the site and we en-vision the song may be performed as a ritual of remembrance. Our solution also demarcates a dance floor along the Hudson esplanade, on axis with the monument, to welcome spontaneous and planned musical events, like the Puerto Rico Day Parade.

Miriam Gusevich, Nick Goldsmith. - 2019.

At the urban scale, the icon will be a focal point, highly visible from all directions and from the water. The corner of the site is a pivot of multiple axes Along Liberty Street, it links east to Pumphouse Park and beyond to the World Trade Center, 9-11 Memorial. The memorial will be a new beacon on the water’s edge. The tensile structure evokes sail boats and the sea. The icon turns at a slight angle to frame the Statue of Liberty in the horizon. The two beacons, large and small, visually link across the water and symbolically link values and aspirations.

Our ANGELITO/A is a gesture of friendship, linking Puerto Rico and New York with ties of affection and shared culture.