“El Alma del Ebro” is the name given to the impressive sculpture located in Plaza Lucas Miret, in front of the Palacio de Congresos. This huge figure of a seated man hugging his legs, and despite its dimensions, 12 m. high by 7.5 m. wide, it seems to be floating in the air.

The sculpturehas no face, an allusion to its anonymity, andits body is open, hollow, so that we can go inside to observe it, explore it, and discover it from other other points of view.

Its author, the internationally recognized Catalan artist, Jaume Plensa, explained at the opening ceremony of Expo 2008 that “the work represents a seated human being, looking inward , and it is an invitation to the viewer to share that recollection and that look into ourselves.”

The sculpture is made of intertwined and welded letters. Made of stainless steel lacquered with white polyurethane paint. Each letter has a size of 635 mm. and different thicknesses.

Due to the effect that light produces on the sculpture, we could say that it has two lives, during the day the shadows of the letters are reflected on the ground, while at night, the sculpture is illuminated from within, and it is the human figure that illuminates the exterior.

There are many dualisms

• The human body as an external armor protecting the most ethereal and delicate interior part that would represent the soul, the thoughts, values, beliefs... That is why the exterior of the figure is strong, made of steel, to protect that void in which we see nothing but the most important part of the human being.
• Each letter that makes up the figure would be like a cell, that isolated have no meaning, but when they are united they form words, phrases, texts... with total meaning. The same thing happens in life, where a single person“has no weight”, but when he unites with other people he forms societies, human groups.
• The soul of people is something ethereal that escapes our hands, but it is the most important thing because it is Life. The water that flows along the Ebro river also represents Life for the fields and cities where it flows. A reason to protect and respect him.

The sculpture “Alma del Ebro” is one of the most symbolic works of the venue where the Zaragoza-2008 International Exhibition. And the fact of being surrounded by buildings as impressive as The Congress Palace or the Water Tower, makes us look back at this figure to remind us that the human being is the most important and valuable thing, that it is necessary to take care of it so that it remains faithful to its ideals, its past and respect for Nature.

Come closer to this sculpture, get inside it, feel its shape and, above all…listen to the message of this human figure!