The Birth of the New World (Spanish: Nacimiento del Nuevo Mundo, colloquially known as La Estatua de Colón, lit.

Originally designed by Georgian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli as a monument to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's first voyage, Birth of the New World was constructed in 1991.

[13] Rivera Sierra insisted that the municipal treasury would not lose a single cent on the project, and planned to erect the monument near the entrance of Cataño Bay.

The Oficina del Contralor (Office of the Comptroller) opened an investigation into the transaction and found that the 1.6 million dollars in taxes that were due when the statue entered the port were not paid.

The auditor also investigated the use of public funds to cover the travel expenses of Rivera Sierra when personally meeting Tseretelli in Russia.

The height of the monument raised concerns that it would interfere with air traffic to nearby Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.

[13] Ultimately, the Puerto Rico Port Authority denied Cataño the permits required to advance, citing "security concerns".

The total cost of the project was re-estimated due to the necessity of replacing several parts and some of the supporting steel structures, fixing exposure damage and the additional need for a sandblasting procedure.

[16] The private entity transferred the pieces to its facilities in Mayagüez, announcing its intention to assemble the statue near the coastline in time for the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games that were being held in that municipality.

However, once there the monument faced more controversy, this time by activists that condemned Columbus' role in opening the door to the European genocide of indigenous peoples and by groups that opposed its impact in the maritime-terrestrial zone.

In 2012, Rosario denounced the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury for imposing nearly $3 million in retroactive taxes for the original transaction and unfinished projects related to it, resulting in an embargo of the municipality's income.

[21] Birth of the New World became the main attraction of a tourist project called Columbus Theme Park (later renamed Terravista ParkLand) developed by Pan American Grain, which the administration expected would produce 4.6 million dollars in income per year and recruit 900 new employees.

[22] On 11 February 2014, a contemporary-Taíno movement, named Movimiento Indígena Jíbaro Boricua, joined other anti-Columbus factions in protest the impending assembly of the monument.

[24] These developments forced architect Roberto Alsina to delay the timetable and reconsider strategies, this while working to undo the damage to the area that would host the Terravista ParkLand.

[25] This conflict prevented plans from fully opening to the public and prompted the municipality to change dates for the formal inauguration on multiple occasions.

[26] During a year, beginning when a contract was signed in November 2013, both sides discussed the transfer of between 766 and 866 yards (700 and 792 m) of the plot to an entity of the author's choosing.

[27] However, González Freyre claims that Tsereteli did not discuss the matter again until he issued a warning in late 2018, after more than a year of no communication, and that the Russian artist did not heed attempts to mediate.

[28] Prior to the inauguration, an economic study by consulting firm Estudios Técnicos, estimated that the statue would attract at least 300,000 tourists per year to the municipality, with additional income from taxes related to the project.

[29] Shortly after its assembly was completed, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company labelled Birth of the New World a potential anchor attraction for the north region.

[30] In 2019, then-mayor Carlos Molina stated that the increased traffic of people interested in seeing the monument had been the main motivator behind the opening of several new businesses in the municipality.

[32] The volume of people stopping along Puerto Rico Highway 22 (unsigned Interstate PR2) to see the monument motivated a legislative bill to build a lookout and rest area.