Oswaldo Guayasamín, one of Ecuador’s greatest artists, passed away in 1999 at the age of 90. He intended this re-creation of a pre-Columbian temple on a Bellavista Park hillside overlooking the city to open on the first day of the new millennium, but construction and financial delays pushed the opening to late 2002. The magnificent three-level cultural complex, with its stone exterior and modern interior galleries, just five minutes away from the Fundación Guayasamín, houses a dramatic collection of the artist’s work, including the painting "Tears of Blood," depicting the struggle against political oppression. An eternal flame in the temple's lower level is dedicated to those who died defending human rights. Guayasamín himself is buried on the property, beneath a tree he planted, renamed "El Arbol de la Vida" (The Tree of Life).