With four fingers on his left hand and two on his right mutilated, the sculpture of one of the legends of Colombian soccer, Jesús Alberto ‘Kiko’ Barrios, located in the sports center that bears his name in the 12 de Octubre neighborhood, dawned this Thursday. a few meters from the headquarters of the Institute of Sports, Recreation and Physical Activity of Valledupar.
Furthermore, it is about to fall and the plate that identified it has also disappeared. Some neighbors even stated that on several occasions they have tried to take it completely, since the base has been hit and is currently very unstable.
‘Kiko’ Barrios is the protagonist of the golden era of Colombian professional football, son of the municipality of La Paz, Cesar, and former player for Junior, Atlético Bucaramanga, Envigado and the Colombian National Team, with which he played in the Copa América.
Due to these achievements, the Mayor’s Office of Valledupar inaugurated the ‘Kiko’ Barrios Sports Center in 2019, where the sculpture rests, which today people unrelated to sports have destroyed.
“This situation is unfortunate, because it was done by people outside of sports who, without thinking about the damage to the public good of the municipality, caused this bad impression in the city. The sad thing is that it is a few meters from the Inder headquarters and no one noticed, so we need more attention from the authorities to this type of incident, since in Valledupar it has become routine to damage the sculptures, which are also a tourist attraction in the city,” said a sports manager in the area.
Furthermore, it is about to fall and the plate that identified it has also disappeared. Some neighbors even stated that on several occasions they have tried to take it completely, since the base has been hit and is currently very unstable.
