#11 CELEBRATING QUIRKY PEOPLE

There's a fine line between quirky, crazy, and just plain weird.  I guess it all depends on your definition.  But if someone is a "little" crazy and harmless, we tend to celebrate them.  Such it is with Charlotte's Gold Man, and Havana's Brass Man, both celebrated with public art.

WHERE I WENT AND WHY
I had already taken some pictures of Charlotte's Gold Man when he returned after a major make over due to a car crash and had planned an art blog about him.  Then when we were in Havana, we came across their version, called the Brass Man.


WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO...
Charlotte's Gold man is at the infamous corner of Queens, Providence and Selwyn Avenue across from the Harris Teeter and Myers Park Methodist.  Havana's Gold man is on San Francisco Square and is named El Caballero de Paris.

WHAT I SAW...

I was delighted to see that the statue of Hugh McManaway in Charlotte has returned and was reinforced with a pedestal. I took my granddaughters there to celebrate its return.

 
When we were in Old Havana, we passed by the statue of El Caballero de Paris several times, and each time folks were gathered around either posing for pictures or hearing his story from a guide.

WHAT I LEARNED...

CHARLOTTE'S GOLD MAN..

In the 60's and 70's Hugh McManaway would direct traffic despite the intersection having a stoplight.  It is just what he did.  He grew up in a Victorian mansion a few blocks away.  He was the quirky man in the affluent neighborhood and often spoke in rhyme.  "I work for Jesus and not for pay.  My name is Hugh Pharr McManaway."    When he died in 1998, 2 sisters from the neighborhood raised money for the statue.  Falling far short of the $65,000 needed for their design, they were rescued by the former CEO of Bank of America, Hugh McColl who put in the rest.  

While Mr. McManaway stood in the intersection off and on for over a decade and was never hurt, his statue has not fared as well.  It has been knocked over several times and the last time, the city kept it for a year, reinforcing it with steel and forming the substantial pedestal.

When Ella was in preschool, we had to drive past Charlotte's Gold Man everyday.  We always hoped that he was dressed for a special occasion.  When he was, I would have to drive around the block several times so that Ella could memorize every detail.

HAVANA'S BRASS MAN

The Caballero de Paris was actually a Spanish immigrant to Havana named Jose Maria Lopez Lledlin  who was imprisoned in the 20's for a crime he did not commit.  This left him mentally impaired. He had some restaurant jobs and a benefactor in a sugar plantation office. He was best known for riding the city buses and dressing as a "musketeer" in a long black silk cape.  He loved to stop and talk philosophy, politics, and current events and was well known as gentle and well respected.  He never begged for alms and would often give folks small gifts or change.  He would sometimes sleep on park benches. He and Mr. McManaway died just 10  years apart.

The statue of El Caballero is of him as pedestrian and it is said to bring luck to hold his hand and beard.  They have become polished over the years as folks continue to seek good luck from him.

THE CHEERLEADER OF MURALEANDO

We encountered another quirky and delightful man in Cuba in Muraleando (see future blogpost).  Victor teaches Russian, but most of his time is spent giving guided tours of Muraleando, a Cuban cultural center known for its murals, sculptures of found objects, and art classes.  His enthusiasm was contagious and I predict one day there will be a sculpture of him in Muraleando!