Sculpture by Pedro Jordán, made in 2009.

Fray Juan Gil, a Trinitarian friar, was the person who on 19 September 1580 managed to collect the 500 gold ducats to free Miguel de Cervantes, who had been imprisoned by Berber pirates. He was captured when he returned to Spain after taking part in the Battle of Lepanto. The pirates asked for this large amount of money to free Cervantes because they mistook him for a prominent person in the Spanish Court, as they found in his possession letters of praise signed by Mr. Juan de Austria and the Duke of Sesa and highlighting his value at Lepanto as a soldier. Cervantes was imprisoned in Algiers for five years, until Fray Juan Gil managed to gather the money for his rescue.

During the period between the 16th and 18th centuries, the Murcian coast was the target of numerous attacks carried out by North African pirates and corsairs. Numerous towers were built along the Murcian coast to help fight or try to repel this continuous series of attacks. The reason was to control trade in the Mediterranean, both by the Turkish and Spanish empires.
The Trinitarian monks, who belonged to the Order of the Holy Trinity, were in charge of intermediating with the Berber pirates to rescue the captives. The Pacheco family, the founders of Torre Pacheco, had a special bond with this religious order. Dean Luis Pacheco, founder of the Parish of Torre Pacheco in 1603, left his inheritance to his nephew Juan Pacheco who belonged to the Trinitarian Order and was dedicated to saving prisoners.

To recall this history, the sculptor Pedro Jordán has represented the Trinitarian holding in his left hand the shackles worn by Miguel de Cervantes as a symbol of his liberation.