[1] In 1958, Batista was awarded a grant and studied sculpting at the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture under the direction of the Maestro Compostela.
In 1972, Batista spent a year in Spain, where he created the busts of Eugenio María de Hostos and Ramón Emeterio Betances.
In this monument Batista reflects the humbleness and hard working nature of the typical Puerto Rican farmer and his family.
[4] He received a second place prize in sculpture in "Concurso Esso para Artistas Jóvenes" held in San Juan in November 1964.
[citation needed] In 1987 Batista was awarded the "Medalla de la Orden del Quinto Centenario" ("Medal of the Order of the 5th Century"), during the commemoration of Puerto Rico's discovered by Christopher Columbus.