Tito Lombana
Tito Lombana was a Colombian sculptor and brother of fellow sculptors Héctor Lombana and Marcel Lombana. His most recognised work was Zapatos viejos, which was demolished and later replicated by his brother Héctor.
Biography
Lombana came from a humble family and displayed artistic talent from an early age, carving human figures in wood and cement without formal training. He was mentored by artist Miguel Sebastián Guerrero, who welcomed him to his Mallorca estate near Cartagena. There he met artists such as Hernando Lemaitre and Darío Morales, and began gaining recognition as a sculptor.In 1952, he won first prize in sculpture at the IX National Exhibition of Artists of Colombia with San Sebastián, earning a four-year scholarship to study in Europe. He lived in Madrid, attending the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, and completed his training at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze in Florence.
In January 1957, he proposed and executed Zapatos viejos, a monument in Cartagena honouring the poet Luis Carlos López, referencing his poem A mi ciudad nativa. The sculpture was initially criticised as an "eyesore" and "disrespectful" for breaking with traditional monumental aesthetics, aligning it with anti-monuments such as those by Rodin and Rosso. Despite public disapproval, poet Héctor Rojas Herazo delivered a speech encouraging citizens to adopt a different perspective on the work. The work gained international recognition and appeared on the cover of Cuban magazine Bohemia. It remained in Cartagena until the mid-1990s, when it was demolished to make way for a bridge; his brother Héctor recreated it in bronze and installed it beside the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas.
He held a solo exhibition at the Luis Ángel Arango Library in Bogotá, presenting six sculptures in Carrara marble and red Callemandino marble inspired by marine animals.
In the 1970s, he moved to Medellín and became involved with the emerging criminal elite, designing luxury residences with hidden compartments for drug trafficking. Nicknamed "the magician of Medellín", he frequently travelled to Panama, Mexico, and the United States, expanding his contacts in illicit business. His European training helped shape the so-called "narco aesthetic" of the era.
On 17 November 1975, he was arrested in New York City during a DEA operation while attempting a cocaine transaction with his partner Pietro Tirasso. Initially prosecuted as the head of a drug trafficking network between Colombia and Arizona, he was released under the Speedy Trial Act and eventually only convicted for illegal entry into the United States. He served six months before being deported to Colombia. Upon returning, he abandoned artistic activity and lived discreetly, maintaining he was never a cartel leader though he admitted providing services to traffickers as an architect and decorator.