The Madrid bear sculpture meant for a Miami roundabout that ended up inside a restaurant instead

Sometimes people count their chickens before they hatch. That’s what happened to the regional premier of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, in June 2022 during one of her trips to Miami, where she posed beside a large bear sculpture that she said would end up on a public roundabout in the southern Florida city. Meant to represent Madrid, the large, candy-like bear has instead been parked in the hallway of a well-known Miami restaurant, where it serves as a decorative item.It took place during one of Ayuso’s official visits to that U.S. city to strengthen economic and cultural ties. The “inauguration of the sculpture [a bear painted red with seven white stars, like the Madrid flag] that will pay tribute to the region” was announced ahead of the trip in a press release outlining the premier’s five-day agenda, from June 24 to June 28. On the second day, a Saturday, Ayuso visited the downtown restaurant Crazy About You for a meeting with hospitality industry entrepreneurs. The most notable moment of that event was the presentation of the bear, the animal that symbolizes the Madrid region.Two waiters carried the sculpture from the restaurant to the adjoining boardwalk and mounted it on a plinth, according to a video the restaurant posted on its social media accounts. Ayuso pulled aside a sheer black cloth and the attendees applauded. She was accompanied by two members of the Spanish pop rock band Hombres G, Javier Molina and David Summers; the Madrid-born restaurant owner, Carlos Galán; and the sculptor, Eladio Mora, known artistically as dEmo, who has become famous for these bears that decorate other parts of Madrid, including the Ifema convention center fairgrounds and a roundabout in Boadilla del Monte, on the capital’s outskirts. No local political authority appears in the photos or videos.Ayuso spoke to diners inside the restaurant from a lectern beside the bear and the flags of the Madrid region, Spain and the United States. “I am deeply, truly pleased that a roundabout will soon be named Comunidad de Madrid,” she said, “a symbol that will forever remind people of everything that Madrid, Miami and our citizens and businesspeople were able to achieve together at such a challenging time, and I am also excited to imagine the faces of Spaniards who come to Miami or anyone who visits and sees this iconic dEmo bear, dressed with the stars of the Community of Madrid flag, which in turn is a tribute to Ursa Major.”The regional government’s press release assumed Madrid would soon be getting a public spot in Miami: “A roundabout in the North American city will be dedicated to the Community of Madrid with a sculpture by the artist Eladio de Moro dEmo (sic).” The regional TV station Telemadrid covered it on its Saturday evening news with a live link to the reporter at the restaurant. According to the news outlet OkDiario, Ayuso even came up with a name for the future location: “Comunidad de Madrid Square.”Although Ayuso explicity announced it in her speech in Miami, her team is now seeking to distance itself from the project and blames the hospitality entrepreneurs: “[Ayuso] did not make any announcement; she simply learned about the project from representatives of Miami’s hospitality and restaurant industry during a meeting where she was being honored for her policies in favor of Madrid’s hospitality sector during the Covid crisis.”The entire initiative was surrounded by vagueness from the start. It was never disclosed in which area of Miami the bear would be placed. Some news stories talked about a square; others about a roundabout. Miami is a metropolitan area with multiple municipal governments, so it was possible the project would be installed in a different city altogether. However, a Miami-Dade County spokesperson says “this matter involves the City of Miami.”Nonetheless, the City of Miami has not responded to several requests for comment. When Ayuso unveiled the project, the city was governed by Francis Suárez, a Republican politician with whom she had a good relationship. Since December of last year, the mayor’s office has been held by the Democrat Eileen Higgins.The matter appears to have stalled over permits, according to a Miami-based businessman familiar with the initiative. The sculptor dEmo confirms this, saying he recently met with Miami businesspeople who told him the project had run aground for several reasons, including the risk the sculpture would face in a hurricane-prone area.The bear, the artist says by phone, had been purchased by a businessman whose name he does not want to disclose. He does explain that he makes commissioned bears of this type starting at a price just over €1,000.The 67-year-old sculptor has taken the news philosophically. “That’s the harsh reality,” he replies. “That’s why I prefer to have many projects underway. Some succeed and others don’t.” The promoters of the Madrid roundabout project are looking for another location, the sculptor says. “In the meantime, they have stored it in the restaurant.” For years it has appeared briefly in videos and photos that customers upload to TikTok or Instagram, in a corner of the venue that looks like a kitsch set piece, next to a motorcycle and a photo of James Dean.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition