Shakira expressed her gratefulness to her hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia for the special tribute they bestowed upon her with a magnificent 21-foot-tall bronze statue in her image. In response to this significant career milestone, the renowned superstar, aged 46, delightedly shared some heartfelt pictures on Tuesday. The images showcased her beloved parents, William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado, standing proudly in front of the towering sculpture.
As she shared these cherished moments on her Instagram post, Shakira captioned the pictures with her sheer joy, saying, “It brings me immense happiness to be able to share this incredible honor with my parents, especially with my mother on her special day, her birthday. This overwhelming tribute truly touches my heart.”
The impressive statue captures Shakira in her signature style, wearing a bikini top and a flowing skirt, while effortlessly moving her hips, just as she did in her legendary music video, “Hips Don’t Lie,” released in 2005. This remarkable work of art is prominently displayed by the waterfront in Barranquilla, the very place where she was born and raised, forever establishing a powerful connection between the global icon and her roots.
Shakira expressed her gratitude to her hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia for honoring her with a statue that stands tall at 21 feet in her likeness. The statue features a dedication that acknowledges her incredible musical talents, her passion for activism, and her dedication to helping children and humanity.
This honor comes at a time when the singer has faced various challenges in her personal life. She recently went through a difficult breakup with Gerard Piqué, her partner of 11 years. Additionally, her father had to be hospitalized twice in 2022, adding to the stress she has been dealing with.
In recent times, Shakira has also been facing legal troubles. She publicly criticized Spanish authorities for what she believed to be unfair targeting of influential individuals, including herself. She was hit with a hefty £6.4million fine and a £15million tax bill for financial fraud, which she vehemently denied. Through a deal made in court, she agreed to pay a seven-figure fine to avoid jail time and put an end to a lengthy fraud trial that was about to begin in Barcelona.
Despite maintaining her innocence, Shakira made the difficult decision to resolve the situation in order to protect her children and her career. She expressed admiration for those who fight against injustices, but for her, the priority was regaining her time for her family and her music.
The singer also criticized the Spanish authorities for their approach towards high-profile individuals, claiming that similar cases have drained the energy, time, and peace of mind of athletes and other influential figures for years.
As part of the court settlement, Shakira will pay a fine of £6.4 million (€7.3m) for the six counts of tax fraud she admitted to. Although this amount is significantly lower than what the prosecution sought, it still represents a substantial financial burden for the singer, who has an estimated net worth of approximately £240 million.
Located by the waterfront in Barranquilla, the birthplace and childhood home of the celebrated artist, stands a remarkable statue representing her famous 2005 music video for Hips Don’t Lie. This magnificent sculpture features her adorned in a stylish bikini top and a graceful flowing skirt, perfectly capturing her signature hip-shaking moves.
The inscription on the sculpture says: ‘A soul that creates beautiful melodies, hips that speak the truth, an unparalleled gift, a voice that stirs the masses, and feet that stride in support of children and humanity’s well-being.’
Following a challenging period packed with personal trials, including the conclusion of her 11-year partnership with Gerard Piqué and her father’s hospitalization on two separate occasions in 2022, she has now achieved an impressive milestone.
Last month, the famous artist known for her hit song Waka Waka expressed her frustration with Spanish authorities who targeted influential individuals. She was fined £6.4 million on top of a £15 million tax bill for financial fraud. However, she had already repaid the tax amount that Spanish officials accused her of avoiding. The total repayment, including interest, amounted to nearly £15 million (€17 million). To avoid imprisonment, she will also need to pay a fine of £378,000 (€432,000).
Her representatives released a statement after the settlement was announced, in which the singer emphasized her commitment to doing what is right and setting a positive example. She shared her efforts to seek the best counsel, including renowned tax authorities such as PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited and Ernst & Young Global Limited. Despite these efforts, she felt that tax authorities in Spain unjustly pursued a case against her, similar to what they have done to other professional athletes and high-profile individuals. She described the draining impact such cases have on people’s energy, time, and peace of mind for years.
Although she was determined to defend her innocence in court, her decision to resolve the matter was influenced by her children’s well-being. They did not want to see their mother sacrifice her personal well-being and happiness in this battle. She explained that she needed to move past the stress and emotional toll of the past years and focus on her kids and her career. She expressed her excitement for her upcoming world tour and new album. While she admired those who fought similar injustices to the end, she considered winning as regaining her time for her children and her career.
The case was expected to revolve around the amount of time the singer spent in Spain between 2012 and 2014, as her popular songs like ‘Hips Don’t Lie’, ‘Whenever, Wherever’, and the 2010 World Cup anthem ‘Waka Waka’ gained international recognition.
The tides have turned for Shakira as she receives a substantial fine, allowing her to dodge imprisonment and bringing an end to a drawn-out fraud trial in Barcelona. Spanish authorities had accused the acclaimed Queen of Latin Pop of failing to pay taxes in Spain, claiming that she had spent a significant portion of her time in the country. According to the allegations, Shakira had shifted her official tax residency to the Bahamas until 2015, despite living in Spain since her relationship with Gerard Pique, a former FC Barcelona star defender, went public in 2011.
The prosecution asserted that Shakira had utilized a network of companies based in tax havens, with the clear intention of evading tax payments in Spain. She had been implicated in the release of the ‘Paradise Papers,’ which exposed the offshore tax arrangements of numerous high-profile individuals, including Madonna and Bono from U2.
The defense team from the Barcelona-based firm Molins Defensa Penal, representing Shakira, countered the allegations in November 2022. They argued that Shakira had not spent more than 60 days per year in Spain during the relevant period, asserting that she needed to reside in the country for at least half of the year to be considered a fiscal resident. Her legal representatives claimed that Shakira led a nomadic existence, touring the world in 2011 and spending a significant amount of time in the United States as a part of the NBC television music talent show, The Voice. They asserted that her permanent move to Barcelona only occurred shortly before the birth of her second son in January 2015.
Shakira herself addressed the issue, declaring that she had already settled all the claimed amounts before any legal action was filed against her. In her own words to Elle magazine in 2022, she confidently stated, “I’ve paid everything they claimed I owed, even before they filed a lawsuit. So, as of today, I owe zero to them.”
With a fortune estimated at around £240 million, the singer maintained her innocence but acknowledged that she had decided to spare her children from witnessing their mother sacrifice her well-being. However, Spanish prosecutors disagreed. In 2021, the investigating judge Marco Juberías concluded a three-year investigation and stated that there was enough evidence of wrongdoing for the case to proceed to trial.
During her questioning by Juberías in 2019, Shakira staunchly defended her innocence. However, her appeal to dismiss the case was unsuccessful last year. The prosecution sought a prison sentence of eight years and two months, along with a fine of nearly 24 million euros for the singer. In response, Shakira’s public relations firm stated that she had already settled her debts by paying 14.5 million euros and an additional 3 million euros in interest, equating to a total payment of approximately 17.5 million euros. Consequently, taking into account the 7.6 million euro fine and the 432,000 euros to avoid imprisonment, she will have repaid slightly more than the amount sought by prosecutors.
In July 2022, Shakira declined a settlement proposal offered by the prosecutors, proclaiming her belief in her innocence and entrusting the matter to the judiciary system. The specifics of the proposed agreement were not disclosed.