Vicente Rocafuerte Monument

The Vicente Rocafuerte Monument stands on the Avenida Homero in Polanco. A gift from the government of Ecuador in 1948, it recalls the area’s original dedication to the Pan Americanist Movement. Avenida Horacio, one block to the south, bore the name Paseo de las Americas at the time. Today’s Parque América was the centerpiece of that original neighborhood layout and is one of the strongest reminders left today.

• Vicente Rocafuerte y Bejarano (1783– 1847) was an important figure in the movement towards independence in Ecuador. He dedicated the early part of his life to freeing the country first from Spanish rule, and later from the Republic of Gran Colombia. After Ecuadorian independence, Rocafuerte became a legislative representative. But forced into exile, he took up fighting for his fellow citizens’ rights. Supporters felt so strongly for him that he returned and eventually took over the presidency. As such, he passed a new constitution in 1835.

Today, the Vicente Rocafuerte Monument holds reign over a quiet, long established section of Polanco. His back is to the south and the giant San Agustín Church. He faces, to the north, Calle A. Musset, named in honor of Alfred de Musset (1810–1857), the French dramatist, poet, and novelist. The street actually splits at the monument and continues along both sides of the San Agustín Church to the Avenida Horacio.