At ‘Plaza Comercio’, several new artworks are being installed, among them a striking sculpture by artist Ciro Abath. He decided to create a Caribbean hermit crab, known locally as a soldachi, carrying miniature monuments on its back. This piece is dedicated to Wilhelminastraat.
Abath explained that the sculpture portrays the hermit crab with a monument on its back as a tribute to Wilhelminastraat. The hermit crab, a creature commonly seen near the lagoon, has long fascinated him. As a child growing up in Playa, he often encountered these crabs on family walks near the park, especially when the tide went out.
Beyond its personal meaning, the sculpture carries a deeper symbolism. Like the hermit crab, which moves from shell to shell as it grows, communities too outgrow their pasts while still carrying the memory and weight of what came before. By placing monuments on the back of the hermit crab, Abath suggests that nature’s original inhabitants now bear the legacy of human structures.
It is a call to honor both the heritage of Wilhelminastraat and the natural world that supports and sustains it — reminding us that our monuments rest upon the backs of those who were here first. This thoughtful design transforms a familiar creature into a living symbol of how the past should be honored, even as we move forward.
