Julián Martínez Soto
Julián Martínez Soto, was a Spanish-born Mexican sculptor and painter. He created more than 200 sculptures in Spain, Italy, Mexico, and the United States. Soto left Spain and arrived in Mexico in June 1937 with the, a group of children of Spanish Republicans, intending to visit while the Spanish Civil War was ending. His family name is sometimes written as Soros, or Sotos due to journalistic and bibliographic errors.
Life and career
Julián Martínez Soto was born in 1921, in Valencia, Spain. He was the son of a Republican teacher. In his early childhood he enjoyed painting. He left Spain and arrived in Mexico in June 7, 1937, with the Niños de Morelia, a group of children of Spanish Republicans who came to Mexico to spend a "school vacation", or "school camp", while the Spanish Civil War was ending. The Children of Morelia were never officially recognized as exiles, instead, they were named "adopted children of the people of Mexico." He was 16 years old when he arrived. Soto received asylum from President Lázaro Cárdenas.Soto attended the Mexico-Spain Industrial School in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico; and studied art at the National School of Fine Arts in Mexico City.
He worked as a painter at the Estudios Churubusco movie studio in 1949. Soto created more than 200 sculptures; his most notable work is the statue of former President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río in Madrid, which he made as a token of gratitude to the Mexican leader who received the Children of Morelia. Soto's notable students included American sculptor John Sherrill Houser.
He died of a heart attack on May 23, 2000, in Mexico City.
List of works
Mexico
Baja California
Lázaro Cárdenas, EnsenadaMonument to the Mother, EnsenadaBenito Juárez, MexicaliMexico City
Statue of León Felipe,, Casa del Lago, Bosque de ChapultepecMonument to Mestizaje Parque Xicoténcatl, CoyoacánEquestrian statue of José María Morelos,, CoyoacánEquestrian statue of Pancho Villa,, Benito Juárez Don Pelayo, Parque AsturiasStatue of Heberto Castillo, General Archive of the NationSonora
Statue of the Fisherman, GuaymasStatue of Jesús García, HermosilloStatue of Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, Magdalena de KinoJuan Navarrete Guerrero, HermosilloJosé María Morelos, Boulevard Morelos, HermosilloBust of Luis Donaldo Colosio, HermosilloEquestrian statue of Juan Bautista de Anza, Hermosillo Presidents of the Republic, Boulevard Rodríguez, Hermosillo Plaza of the Three Presidents, Guaymas The Fisherman, GuaymasBust of Lázaro Cárdenas, Guaymas Statue dedicated to the Pioneers of Ciudad Obregón, Ciudad Obregón Statue of José María Leyva, Ciudad Obregón Bust of Luis Donaldo Colosio, Ciudad Obregón The Fisherman, Puerto PeñascoState of Mexico
Lázaro Cárdenas, Toluca Equestrian statue of Emiliano Zapata, Paseo Tollocan, entrance to TolucaUnited States
Arizona
Equestrian statue of Francisco Villa, TucsonFather Eusebio Franciasco Kino, Kino Parkway, TucsonCalifornia
Equestrian statue of Juan Bautista de Anza, Lake Merced, San FranciscoStatue of Martin Luther King Jr., 11ft tall, San Bernardino City Hall, San Bernardino- Equestrian statue of José María Morelos, El Parque de México in Lincoln Park, Los AngelesBust of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, University of California