It is popularly known as the “Fingers” Monument or “the hand of Punta del Este” and has become famous by becoming an iconic symbol of the spa and all of Uruguay.

The man emerging to life or the monument to the drowned as it is also called is a sculpture of five fingers partially submerged in sand of the Brava Beach. The sculpture was made by the Chilean artist Mario Irarrázabal, who is characterized by leaving other hand-shaped sculptures in different countries of the world.

During the summer of 1981 the First International Meeting of Modern Outdoor Sculpture was held in Punta del Este, and although a place was awarded for nine sculptors to place their works, Irarrázabal chose this beach.

The hand of Punta del Este appears “drowning”, as a warning to the bathers (and surfers, who frequent these beaches), since the waves in this area are usually of magnitude due to the strong winds. The sculpture remains in its original location and has remained unchanged, except for some graffiti that is usually arranged to leave the “Man emerging to life” in Uruguay with his original appearance, whipped by the wind by the sea and remembering some hands that came out of the turbulent waters like this.