SDSU professor honors Colombia’s fallen healthcare workers through public art

“In Bogota, in Colombia, around 460 people died serving during COVID,” said Carlos Castro, an associate professor at SDSU’s School of Art and Design. “So the idea was to create a piece that in a way, will honor their lives, that was kind of like a place where their family could also go.” 

This idea evolved into “Umbral” (Threshold), a permanent public art installation located in Bogotá’s Virgilio Barco Public Library park that honors the medical personnel in Colombia who lost their lives on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inaugurated in February 2026, the piece is inspired by the symbol of the Red Cross and consists of 25 pillars, each engraved with the names of healthcare workers. These pillars support a stone block that weighs more than three tons.   

“It's a metaphor of sacrifice and people that really love what they're doing to the point that they gave their life, so I think that's very beautiful,” Casto said. 

Castro was born and raised in Bogotá, and his project was personal and purposeful. By creating a permanent public art piece in his hometown, he hoped to give families a place to return to and ensure that the sacrifices of healthcare workers remain visible for generations to come. 

“Some people say that there might be a pandemic coming up soon,” Castro said. “But we forget very easily. So if you like, in 10 years or 20 years, many people wouldn’t even know that there was a pandemic in 2020. 

The piece is Castro’s response to what he sees as society’s tendency to move quickly past collective tragedies and the sacrifices made during them.  

“When they see this piece that is going to be permanent, that will make them think about the pandemic,” he said. “It will make them think about the medical personnel who were sacrificed. They will see the names.”

That idea of remembrance took on special meaning during the monument’s inauguration. Castro recalled meeting the father and grandson of the first doctor in Colombia to die while serving during COVID. Together, they searched the structure for his name.

“And the little kid was saying, ' Wow, my dad was important,” Castro said.

For Castro, the comment reflected how public art can preserve memory not only for a city, but for individual families.

The design of “Umbral” emerged from the Red Cross, which Castro described as “internationally known as an institution for helping during difficult situations.” 

Rather than creating a solid monument, he wanted the structure to appear light and open.

“I wanted the Red Cross to be in a way not heavy,” Castro said. “I want it to be light.”

Visitors can walk through the interior of the piece, read the engraved names and stand beneath the suspended stone. At night, lights from inside the bottom of the structure illuminate the names.   

“The idea of threshold was kind of like a threshold is a place in between, it's a place of transition,” Castro said. “So it was an opportunity to connect with these lives that are no longer on the planet.”

While developing the concept, Castro spoke with a doctor who served during the pandemic. The physician told him his greatest concern was not contracting the virus, but bringing it home.

“His concern was not to bring the virus to his family,” Castro said. “I think that’s kind of a beautiful metaphor because even at that moment, he’s not thinking about himself. He’s thinking about other people.”

The conversation led Castro to reflect on the relationship between work and service.

“There’s this beautiful quote that is, ‘Work or labor is a way to bring love into this world,’” he said. “That also made me think and also made me question my own role as an artist and how I can serve others.”

Now back in San Diego, Castro has shared the process behind “Umbral” with his students at SDSU. He uses the project to show how drawing, technology and collaboration can help turn an idea into a large-scale public work.

“I think drawing is a tool for thinking,” Castro said.

Castro explained that he does not have a single interpretation for viewers. Rather, he hopes the monument will create a space for reflection.  

“I think that’s the beautiful thing about art,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn’t have a concrete message. It’s more like an opportunity for people to feel, to experience an artwork and to have their own interpretation, their own meaning.” 

You can read more and see images of the artwork at the Visit Bogotá website.