Barranquilla, the Caribbean hometown of Colombian pop sensation Shakira, presented a 6.5-meter (21.3-foot) hip-swaying statue in her honor on Tuesday.
The singer is shown in the enormous bronze and aluminum sculpture wearing a long, flowing skirt, a bare midsection, and a bikini top. Her hands are clasped over her head, and one hip is jutting out in one of her signature dance motions.
“Hips that do not lie, a unique talent, a voice that moves masses,” is written at the foot of the sculpture that was erected on the banks of the Magdalena River at a ceremony that was witnessed by Shakira’s parents, William Mebarak and Nidia Ripoll.
“Hips don’t lie” is the title of one of 46-year-old Shakira’s award-winning songs.
On the platform X, the singer thanked sculptor Yino Marquez and his art student collaborators for “this example of the enormous artistic talent of the people of my country.”
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, an icon of Latina girl power, has sold some 80 million albums worldwide and won three Grammy awards.
She has recently been in the news for completely different reasons, investigated over unpaid taxes in Spain and paying millions of euros in settlements.
In 2021, Shakira was named in the “Pandora Papers” leaks, which revealed the wealth and tax avoidance strategies of the global elite.
She has since released a new hit song with Argentine DJ Bizarrap that has been viewed more than 666 million times on YouTube and won 2023 song of the year at the Latin Grammy Awards.
