This is a sculpture of the Santos de Palo. In Puerto Rican culture, santos are carved figures of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. It is speculated that the tradition of Santos de Palo is at least two centuries old. The Roman Catholic hierarchy played an important role in the island's development, as they would influence Puerto Rico's gatherings of family, tradition, and preservation of civilization. While many artists remain anonymous, their ambitions are one and the same: eloquently make artistic and spiritual statements. What makes these sculptures unique is that every artist has a different approach when carving the appearnce of the figures. No two sculptures look the same. The photograph above is a sculpture of The Three Kings (Los Tres Reyes). It is said that The Three Kings visited Christ after his birthday and offered gifts (the origins of the Christian holiday, Christmas). One of the more popular depictions of santos in Puerto Rican Culture is Our Lady Mount Carmel. She assisted Puerto Rican fishermen, and offered a scapular (Western Christian garnment) and promised to whoever wore it would go to heaven.
