Shakira’s Colombian birth city unveils towering statue in singer’s honour

Colombian superstar Shakira’s Caribbean home city of Barranquilla has unveiled a 6.5-metre (21.3-foot) hip-swaying statue in her honour.

The towering bronze and aluminium creation depicts the singer in a bikini top, bare middle and a long, flowing skirt, her hands clasped over her head and one hip jutting out in one of her characteristic dance moves.

“Hips that do not lie, a unique talent, a voice that moves masses,” reads the inscription at the base of the sculpture unveiled on the banks of the Magdalena River at a ceremony on Tuesday, attended 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 X, formerly Twitter, 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”.

Gracias al escultor Yino Márquez y a los estudiantes de la escuela distrital de artes por esta muestra del enorme talento artístico de la gente de mi tierra. pic.twitter.com/lR7ZQSO4Mx

— Shakira (@shakira) December 26, 2023

Translation: “Thanks to the sculptor Yino Marquez and the students of the district art school for this example of the enormous artistic talent of the people of my land.”

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 Argentinian DJ Bizarrap that has been viewed more than 666 million times on YouTube and won the 2023 Song of the Year at the Latin Grammy Awards.