PRESS staff report
Photos by Sergio Treviño
July 7 marked the 27th anniversary of the deaths of Gustavo de la Lastra and Jose Edwardo de la Lastra. Their family, who donated the Cristo de los Pescadores statue at Isla Blanca Park in their honor, gathered there to hold a memorial mass and celebration for the two men.
The memorial has become a yearly ritual for the family, and this year was no different. The memorial service included the playing of a corrido that tells the story of the two fishermen, as well as the release of dozens of balloons into the air in a symbolic gesture of the release of the spirits of fishermen who have lost their lives at sea.
The statue, which was donated to the Brownsville-Port Isabel Shrimp Producers Association, bears an inscription which reads, “Father! Receive the souls of these brave fishermen who have sailed through this pass and never returned.”
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2 comments
Dear Editor,
I purchased a bronze sculpture of “The Turtle Lady of South Padre Island” 1/30 by Joy Will or Joy Witt, can’t really read the small print. Wondering if anyone in the area has info on this sculpture or the one who did it.
If you have any info please share with me. Thanks,
Irma Reid
reidirma@earthlink.net
Does anyone have info on the bronze sculpture done by Joy Witt or Joy Will in 2002 of “The Turtle Lady of South Padre Island?” I bought one and would appreciate info. Irma Reid