Christ of the Andes is a bronze statue of Jesus Christ on the Argentina-Chile border in the Andes Mountains. It was dedicated on March 13, 1904, as a symbol of perpetual peace between Argentina and Chile.
The two nations erected the statue to commemorate the settlement of a boundary dispute. The statue stands on the summit of Uspallata Pass, 12,674 feet (3,863 meters) above sea level, between Mendoza, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile. The Argentine sculptor Mateo Alonzo created the statue. It is made of metal from old Argentine cannons. The figure of Christ is 26 feet (7.9 meters) high. Jesus’s left hand holds a large cross. His right hand is raised in blessing. An inscription in Spanish at the base of the statue reads: “Sooner shall these mountains crumble into dust than Argentines and Chileans break the peace sworn at the feet of Christ the Redeemer.”
