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A one and a half meter tall statue representing the figure of the minotaur, a mythical monster, surprised a young man who was sailing through Lake Mari Menuco in Neuquén. After knowing this finding, the two authors responsible for the work said that they wanted “be a motivation so that the adults and children can dive in the area”.
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After multiple speculations about its origin, the artists responsible for the work, who preferred not to reveal their identity arguing that “what is important here are the works”, appeared and said that the sculptures, (both that of the minotaur and another of a mask), they reached the bottom of the lake on February 19 of this year.
In dialogue with LMNeuquén, revealed that they are fans of freediving and that the idea was born motivated by the sculpture of Cantalicio Luna which has been at the bottom of the lake for years. In addition, they assured that to protect the work the exact location will remain a mystery.
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The young people revealed that everything originated in a lunch between friends. One of the group members “He put together in 3D and in a little while, how the raft should be to carry the works into the lake. That was confirmation that we were going to do it.” As the project had to be done before the third weekend of February, once the raft had been designed, the artists had to define which sculpture they were going to submerge.
The images that went viral.
The reason for choosing the works
By preserving its identity, the medium LMN He used fictitious names. Eduardo is the author of the minotaur and Adrián, the one with the mask. They are both friends since childhood.
“When we started debating what to do, we said we had to go the two of the same base and that each one gave it their focus”counted.
During one early morning, Adrián was inspired and began with the sketch. “I got home at night, half finished and with a lot of desire, and I started to make a sketch. The initial drawing, I loved it”, he recalled with LMN, but as soon as he took accounts of the material he was going to use, he noticed that it was going to be impossible to move. It was thus that he decided to transform the design so that his weight would not exceed 250 kilos.
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When it was Eduardo’s turn to choose a figure, he said that he thought of a “supernatural being that took care of the bottom of the water and that, at the same time, it was a motivation for adults and children to dive in the area”.
Among the elements that he found in the workshop to put it together, there was a mannequin. “Once I processed the data and saw it, I realized that my sculpture was going to be a minotaur”he expressed.
After speaking with a friend who belongs to the Mapuche community, Eduardo knew that this figure could be the gen ko del Mari Menuco. “When I told him about this figure, he responded with his worldview and the history of this energy. I had no doubt that my sculpture would be that minotaur”, he added.
In addition, by sharing the idea between the two, the artists concluded: “The works under the waterin addition to being an excuse for diving, They are a brand.”
operative immersion
Once the sculptures were made, they would have to travel 66 kilometers with more than 600 kilos between the two works, everything was a true odyssey.
“We put together the raft and it seemed that everything worked fine. But we had to try it”, they both assured. In this way, the first weekend of February they loaded her into a truck and took her to the Mari Menuco.
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“We went exclusively to see if it floated and it passed the test,” Edward said. “It was complex. We had to get all the elements, which were all borrowed, donated or scrap that we recovered and we wanted to hurry so that it was ready on D-day”, Adrián clarified.
“We needed hands so they could help us move the sculptures. Then the people were taking over, everyone collaborated and an epic day was formed, “added Adrián.
The expected day
The day of the presentation was going to be Sunday, February 20, but the plan was modified. “During the week, we realized that Sunday was going to be ugly. We thought first of moving the date to another weekend, but our friend was leaving, so it had to be yes or yes that weekend. So it was. So we advance the operation to Saturday 19”counted.
During, the minotaur suffered two wounds. “When we arrived, we had to go down to the beach closer to where we wanted to submerge it. We were about 10 people trying to get him down, but he weighed 250 kilos”, Eduardo started.
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When lowering it, they did not manage to support it well and fell, which caused the loss of one of its horns. When it was time to submerge it, the minotaur collided with one of the parts of the raft and the other horn broke.
Beyond those wounds, both sculptures reached the bottom of the lake. They submerged the minotaur first and then the mask. “They are near the sculpture of Cantalicio Luna”but both Eduardo and Adrián said: “We will not give more details of the place.”
With the aim of preserving his works and that the curious can dive and be surprised by them if they find them, the exact location will remain a mystery.
In Neuquén they are disconcerted. One of the issues that captured the attention of thousands of people in the Patagonian province is the appearance of a strange statue of a minotaur at the bottom of a lake and so far there are more questions than answers to such a sighting.
It is a one and a half meter tall figure made of metal and cement, with two horns on its head and a safe instead of a heart. Such a discovery made in Lake Mari Menuco upset all Neuquén people: “We went through various emotions. First the fear, the astonishment and then we remain expectant”, one of the residents of the area told the local press.
These words were pronounced by Cristian, a 23-year-old young man who was one of those who had the opportunity to bear witness to such an image at the bottom of the water. The young man spotted it when he was touring the mirror of water in his kayak, about 6 meters from the coast.
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As he told LMCipolletti, as soon as he saw the sculpture in the depth, he left the place at full speed. However, curiosity was stronger and he soon returned to investigate what it was.
“He was a minotaur. First I was scared. You saw that there are many myths about water and we all laugh, but I think there is something true. Or at least, at that moment, all the doubts I had about supernatural beings were confirmed. He was a minotaur ”, he affirmed in a testimony that went viral.
Cristian returned to the point of discovery 14 days after spotting the minotaur: he was accompanied by some friends and he wanted them to see with their own eyes what he had described to them in words.
Also, I had done a lot of research on minotaurs and needed to check what I had read: He came across the term “gen ko”, which in the Mapuche worldview refers to the protective energies of each place.
“Each element of nature has its own and that is why the Mapuche always ask permission to enter the water or to cut down a tree. They ask this gen ko for that permission”, detailed the young man.
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But the lake had another surprise in store that day that he returned accompanied: he wanted to get to the sculpture but he couldn’t. “That way whoever created it, devised it in this so that it can only be seen from above, without the need to go down”, Christian stated.
It was at that moment that one of the companions He managed to see at the bottom of the water –and near the statue- another sculpture. It was a kind of human face that measures from chin to forehead one meter forty and wide, one meter. It has an open mouth, marked lips and a word on each of the cheekbones: “Eternal journey”. “Imagine how we were. The new find was celebrated,” she assured.
They still do not have details about who deposited them at the bottom of the Mari Menuco, but They assured that when the cold passes they will return for answers.
