The Colombian coastal metropolis of Barranquilla this week revealed a 21-foot-tall tribute to one of many nation’s most well-known cultural exports: Shakira.
“A heart that composes, hips that don’t lie, an unmatched talent, a voice that moves the masses and bare feet that march for the good of children and humanity,” reads the plaque beneath the statue.
“I am honored and moved by this incredible recognition in my Barranquilla, the city where I was born,” Shakira mentioned in a press release. “Every barranquillero and barranquillera are my brothers and sisters and the inspiration of my life since my childhood.”
The statue’s sculptor, Yino Márquez, mentioned he was delighted by the way in which the sculpture had been acquired by the general public and by Shakira and her household after it was unveiled on Tuesday. The singer’s mom, he mentioned, advised him that God would bless his arms for being such a very good sculptor.
“Shakira herself called me and told me that I captured her essence very well in the sculpture. That her son saw the sculpture and said that it is the most beautiful sculpture he has ever seen,” Mr. Márquez mentioned.
The 52-year previous artist mentioned he had been engaged on sculptures since he was 16. He has made massive statues for different Colombian cities and is a tutorial coordinator at Barranquilla’s public artwork academy.
In June, the mayor of Barranquilla, Jaime Pumarejo, referred to as to let him know that he was a candidate to create a sculpture of Shakira that the town wished to erect on the waterfront. He came upon he had been chosen a couple of month later, when the mayor introduced it to the general public.
Mr. Pumarejo mentioned that a couple of 12 months in the past, he began excited about methods to honor vital Barranquilla figures as a method to improve tourism and function function fashions for younger folks. City officers selected a statue representing the coat of arms of Barranquilla, and considered one of Shakira, who the mayor mentioned agreed to the thought.
Together, the 2 statues price round $700 million Colombian pesos, or $180,000, he mentioned.
“It was a monumental task,” he mentioned. But he added that he was more than pleased with the outcomes. “I think that in the end it is much more than we expected.”
Shakira, 46, who now lives principally in Miami, was born in Barranquilla, a port metropolis of 1.2 million folks and lengthy the house of many Colombian-Lebanese households like hers.
Though she lives overseas and goes on excursions, she has maintained an in depth relationship with the town. She comes again to go to a number of occasions a 12 months, has financed a number of colleges and based a basis that works to enhance early childhood schooling in Colombia.
“Between the Syrian-Lebanese dances mixed with the flavors of the Caribbean that are embodied in her hips, in the way she dances, they show a Barranquilla of migrants, a Barranquilla open to the world and to integration and diversity,” Mr. Pumarejo said. “They also show a woman who dared and succeeded.”
The statue, which took five months to complete, shows Shakira wearing a maroon outfit and performing her famous belly dance. Mr. Márquez first modeled it in clay, then made a silicone and fiberglass mold, and finally cast it in bronze.
The end of her skirt, made of aluminum, symbolizes the waves of the Caribbean Sea and the Magdalena river, Mr. Márquez explained. He added that her upraised arms will eventually hold a light that will turn on at night.
Mr. Márquez said he first met Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, when she was around 15 and starting to gain recognition as a performer in Colombia. Some of his classmates at art school, he recalls, would help her with her stage design.
“I just saw her walking the halls and I didn’t pay much attention at that time,” he said. Over time he came to admire her hard work and success.
“Shakira is a symbol of effort, discipline and progress,” he said. “For me, she is a fighter.”
When he took on the task of sculpting her likeness, he said that she was heavily involved in the process and came to Barranquilla to meet with him in person so he could make the sculpture as accurate as possible.
“I found a more affable and kind person than I had imagined and with a big laugh and smile,’’ he said.
One day after the statue’s unveiling, tourists from around the country had already gathered around the Barranquilla boardwalk to see the new landmark and take selfies. Many praised what they saw as the accuracy of the sculpture and its significance to Colombians.
“I’ve always loved her, but especially since she dissed Piqué,” mentioned Cindy Avila, a 33-year-old content material creator from the northern metropolis of Sincelejo, referring to her estranged husband, Gerard Piqué. “We all grew up admiring her, wanting to dance, wanting to dress like her.”
María Paula Giraldo, a 54-year-old ceramist from Bogotá, the capital, mentioned the statue “makes us feel very proud to be Colombians. It also represents an icon, a woman who has done so much for Colombia,” she mentioned. “I grew up with her music. It has been with us on walks, parties and dances.’’
Amparo Pacheco, a 62-year old Colombian businesswoman who was visiting from Spain, where she lives, said the “sculpture makes you feel like you’re in the Caribbean. She is from this land.”
Ivonne Arroyo contributed reporting from Barranquilla.
