(Barranquilla) Arms crossed above her head, stomach in the air, torso tilted in her famous hip movement: singer Shakira has been immortalized since Tuesday by a statue inaugurated in her hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia .
The 6.5 meter tall bronze and aluminum monument depicts the pop star performing one of her signature dance moves, wearing a brown bra and long skirt of the same color.
“Hips that don’t lie, incomparable talent, a voice that touches the masses,” reads the base of the sculpture, unveiled in a public ceremony on the banks of the Magdalena River in Barranquilla, on the coast northern Colombia, in the presence of the singer’s parents, William Mebarak and Nidia Ripoll.
“Thank you to the sculptor Yino Márquez and the students of the district art school for this illustration of the enormous artistic talent of the people of my country,” Shakira wrote on X.
The 46-year-old global star relaunched his career this year with Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53, which recounts his difficult separation from ex-footballer Gerard Piqué. Created with Argentinian DJ Bizarrap, the song immediately became a global hit and won the 2023 Latin Grammy for Song of the Year.
Shakira also made headlines for her troubles with the law in Spain, where she was fined more than seven million euros in November for tax evasion and remains the subject of several proceedings.