Here;
SnapshotJourneys | Travel Photos Dominican Republic | Day Trip to Santiago Cigar Factory and Waterfalls
?Monument to Trujillo at Santiago
A statue of Rafael Trujillo (in power from 1930-1961) tops the monument now named Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration of the Republic. His legacy includes amassing a personal fortune at the Dominicans' expense.
Our guide explained that the tower was too difficult to get a crew to the top to replace it, so it's still there.
The monument is 67 metres (220 feet) high, and apparently affords wonderful views of the valley, and beyond from the observation area.
With the elevator out of order at the time I was there, and tour time short, we didn't get to climb up the eight storey stairway to the top. ?
Rick
Halfway down the page
Rick
Info on that web page is incorrect. I corresponded with Bernardo Vega a respected expert of the Dominican Republic who is a Senior Associate with the Center for Strategic & International Studies and writer of many books about the DR and relations with the US.
His answer to the question about the "Santiago enigma" is "It represents "peace" and was done by an Italian in the 1940's. The monument was called Monumento a la Paz de Trujilo. The statue of Trujillo was at ground level. Thus the joke whispered during the dictatorship was the monument meant Arriva la paz y abajo Trujillo".