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  • AutorenbildThe Mutti

Our Hips Don’t Lie or Some Thoughts in the Aftermath of the Super Bowl

(Attention, this is not part from my chronological stories but something my heart was aching to share)


I know I’m late to the party because it took place already three days ago, but I am definitely not over the Halftime Show of the Super Bowl by Shakira and Jennifer Lopez yet. And the reasons go way beyond the fact that it was a terrific show with so much glam and perfection. What Shakira and JLo offered the world last Sunday showcases so many different topics so up-to-date, from cultural, political to gender equality ones, and touches our Latin American pride, above all in the particular Colombian case, as many components were deeply Colombian and from Barranquilla. And this is why I cannot keep my hands calm and they automatically start writing at a pace only champeta dancers can understand.


National and local pride


If you well remember, Shakira launched her Hips don’t lie song in 2006 and it was an instant summer hit, which got even bigger thanks to the FIFA World Cup in Germany that year. But for us Colombians, and above all us people of her hometown Barranquilla, it became the glorification of our local culture in the world. But I still wonder if people around the world and real Shakira fans actually understand what the song, the video, and subsequently, her performance at the Super Bowl, really mean.


Barranquilla is the fourth biggest city in Colombia, which at the beginning of the last century became the Golden Gate through which progress entered the country in the form of a giant migration wave from Europe and the arab region due to the World Wars and territorial conflicts. Germans, French, Italians, Syrians and Lebanese nationals among others, were welcome by a town which was since its beginnings acquainted with racial mixture as the result of colonialism. And don’t get me wrong, we are well aware that racism unfortunately also exists among us due to the social classification that colonialists installed the very moment they planted foot on our continent. But, in general, this is also the reason why our fathers and mothers did not have any problem at all in letting the new inhabitants plant new roots on their soil. And from that colonial mix of cultures, our carnival was born.


Unlike in other countries, every dance and costume of our carnival has a meaning and a certain origin. All rhythms are played by the perfect pairing of African, Indigenous and Spanish instruments. What Shakira depicts in her video are the most popular characters and costumes of our carnival, especially the cumbia, the queen of all dances, to which she dedicates an important part of the song when she says “mira en Barranquilla se baila así” (look, this is how we dance in Barranquilla). Every time we listen to that song, especially when we are abroad, we cannot help but dance it with tears in our eyes and a swollen heart. And so, imagine our pride when she included that song in the show, accompanied by a scene, in which she dances Mapalé, an African-Colombian rhythm only known to us to that moment, not before throwing herself in a sea of people wearing congo turbans and wooden hats with African motives elaborated in the small town of Galapa, where very traditional carnival groups come from. On top of that, she sang the verse “En Barranquilla me quedo” (In Barranquilla I’ll stay), honoring Joe Arroyo’s ode to the city and, once again, performed her well known belly dance, thus showing the world that we Barranquilleros and Colombians are an insanely rich and talented cultural melting pot.


Meanwhile, among her dancers there was an eighteen year old girl from humble upbringing but so talented that Shakira herself asked for her to be contacted in order to include champeta in the show. Champeta is yet another inherited rhythm very popular in Cartagena and Barranquilla that has experienced a real boom in the last twenty years. Discriminated for decades by the "decent" public as a typical rhythm from the poor neighborhoods, nowadays it has found its place in every dance floor in the country and has gained a great amount of protagonism during the carnival season, along salsa, merengue, reggaeton and other local fusions. Thus, this is also a triumph for that talented girl Shakira once found on Instagram, again our culture, and the believe that dreams do come true. And once again, we are thankful to Shakira for always proudly presenting the essence of the Barranquilleros to the world.


For its part, JLo did us proud inviting J Balvin, one of reggaeton’s gods, to perform with her. Another dreamer on the top, from Medellín to the World, as you could read on his outfit. A guy who used to sing his songs in the barrios and has meanwhile collaborated with every star in the pop music olymp these days, very much contributing to making his hometown the international capital of reggaeton.


Last but not least, the salsa dancers at the end of the show belong to the salsa ensemble Swing Latino. For them, I think, it was already the second time performing with JLo, the first time sharing the stage at the American Music Awards in 2013. You see, even though salsa is rooted in Puerto Rico and Cuba, and was actually born in the streets of New York, the entire Caribbean has owned this genre and developed their own way of playing and dancing it, depending where you come from, and the Caleños are masters in both.


After all, all these artists not only showcased the latino culture at its best, but, once more, showed that Colombia is full of positive things, that the good are more and that we are as diverse and multifaceted as it can get.


The Latin American Culture: Joyful by nature


Being a latino is basically taking other’s roots and making them your own and the best out of it. We all are the children of a sunny and tropical continent with large coastal regions. The Caribbean sea influences all. The nice weather and the different climatic regions enable our soil to grow the most beautiful, colorful and exotic plants and fruits. We are surrounded by bright, contrasting colors and landscapes all year long. It influences the way we live, we think, we move, we speak, our taste for beautiful things and aesthetics. And the mixture of races makes it all even more special: our bodies voluptuous, our food so tasty and the music so captivating.


Therefore, our dance is sexy by nature without ever aiming at it. It is just how we are. It is in our triethnic blood, in our heart, in our soul and we proudly pass it from generation to generation. It is no hyperbole that Latinos learn how to dance before they walk. I feel the world has to thank us for existing, since we put spice and joy to everything we do. And that is what makes us so persevering and most likely to embrace difficulties in the most positive way possible. This is how we have been able to endure all political, economic and social problems our countries face. This is the reason why we are most likely to adapt to new places. Challenge is peanuts for us. And that is why we are so loud, always ready to party, especially if you are a Caribeño. That is just what those amazing women showed: just put two Latin Americans (or four) together and you’ll experience the best party ever and your grin will not disappear for at least a week!


Shakira and Jennifer Lopez never intended to make an “indecent” booty dance in order to offend the Caucasian audience around the globe. They were only being themselves: happy, hard working Latin American women who are as voluptuous as Beyoncé Knowles, wearing exactly the same kind of costumes the latter would and actually did wear for the same show. All of them are proud of their curves. There is thus no need to make a fuss out of it. Instead, it would be better to just be grateful for the joy they aimed to share with the world by means of their music.


Political Dimensions


The very moment it was decided that Miami would host the Super Bowl finale, it should have been very clear to everyone that the performing artists would be from Latin American descent. After all, Miami is more Latin American than any other city in the US you can think of. It is with good reason that it has been called the Capital of Latin America. So, there was also no surprise that JLo and Shakira would make the most out of it, politicizing at least half of their performance, Jlo’s for the main part as an American with Latin American inheritance.


It was not the first time a Latin American artist performed at the Super Bowl. Gloria Estefan did it in the nineties and Bruno Mars did it some years ago. But, there is the fact that there were two Latin American women performing in an utterly American event followed by an utterly conservative, prude cause patriarchal society of double standards. This fact alone is already quite insurgent.


These women presented thanks to their roots, a show that represented a great part of the world’s population, including the arab culture, in a country with the highest migrant population gathered in a big number of minorities which, at the end, are the ones that do not let that “great nation” entirely fall apart, despite the recurring offences against them.


While Shakira opted for the Colombian and Arab display, Jlo dared to be more direct by addressing the situation at the southern border, beautifully staged by her daughter Emme and the group of little girls, reminding of the Dreamers “born in the USA” who actually should be treated as equal as any other American child. Not to forget that this is also linked to the fact that they are of Puerto Rican inheritance, a territory that has suffered the government’s negligence for decades, especially in the Trump Era.


Bottom line, it was the perfect moment and the perfect way, even if a bit aggressive, to tell the government and the racists “In ya face!”. That takes balls, or in this case, ovaries, no everyone has!


Masterclass of fempowerment


Lady Gaga and Beyoncé did it first. Both great shows, with embedded feminist vibes. Especially Beyoncé is well known for her feminist Formation Crew and the breathtaking performances. They have already told women to be themselves and follow their dreams.


But in Shakira’s and Jlo’s case there are many other dimensions that bring the feminist sides of the show into discussion. It is not only about two humble women that have rocked careers in the misogynist world of show business. Women, who, based on their sole intelligence and talent have managed to achieve whatever they felt like. Women, who not only dreamed of being the best in their metiers but also being mothers and lovers and, last but not least, real women.


It is true that nowadays you cannot believe what you are told, especially coming from the showbizz spheres. But I am very sure that those two women are proud of their natural bodies and would not change an inch of it. And, if they did, what do we care? After all it’s their body and only they can decide what to do with it. It seams they decided to showcase it as a work tool to infect us with the joy of their dancing instead of aiming at telling other women “this is what you have to look like”. I’m sure, since I’m a latina, that they don’t get on the stage and think “look at my curves, aren’t they sexy?” nor “my milkshake is better than yours” but only want to invite you to have a fun time. It’s all on them to decide if and how much they want to show and yet again, for God’s sake, they are latinas, they are used to wear light clothes due to the tropical heat and, again, this is just how we dance. Even men dance in a “sexy” way. because, as I said, so is our music. So there is no need to demonise or condemn the way they move or their looks.


This brings me to another point an acquaintance from Perú made me aware of. As a Latin American woman in Germany, this touches us a lot as well. Here we are perceived as extravagant, way too loud, way too sexy, people (other women) often wondering why we always look so “produced”, why we wear so bright colors and red lips. And then you start changing yourself only in order to fit in. Which is wrong, because you are denying your essence in order to please people who, at the end, couldn't care less about you but are extremely intimidated by the huge amount of self confidence and joy our women own (at least to the outside). We have so much presence, we are elegant, we are gorgeous, we seem to never get old thanks to the good genes. And of course we are loud because we are funny and refreshing. So this is what empowers us: the fact that we embrace femininity with all its weapons and, while our society is also quite patriarchal, women are respected and encouraged to look feminine if they feel so without demeaning their skills. What Shakira and Jlo show us is exactly that they are very proud of where they come from and of being women.


Then the show triggered the discussion about how a woman of a certain age and being a mother should behave. I still cannot believe how retrograde people, including women, still can be these days. We all should look up to JLo and Shakira for their vitality and energy despite reaching what other would call an “older age”. For God’s sake, they are not old. Age is something very subjective. They are artists, and again, they are Latin American. There is no Latin American person who would stop dancing just because he or she reached a certain age. I can tell about our grandparents, who party until three or four in the morning if they feel so. The thought that you should not do this or that because of an age or because “you are a lady now” is annoying and wrong, apart from taking away the joie de vivre. Yesterday, I saw a picture of Jlo wearing a mini skirt dress by Zuhair Murad for a pre-show party and my only thought was, that is exactly what I want to wear when I’m fifty. So please don’t tell anyone, especially women, how to.


Last but not least, there is the embedded message of all this to mothers. Two world stars, two moms at the super bowl remind us to don’t give up on our dreams as women after bringing children to this world. They are artists, chameleons adapting to any circumstance, reinventing themselves in order to cope. Just as us. They remind us that we are not only mothers and that we are allowed to keep dreaming and working for our goals. Of course some achievements depend on the amount of money you have been able to save as you become successful. One of those, I’d say, is the fact they are able to work after having children since they rely on the support of their families and the nannies.


This goes above all to all mothers in a country so patriarchal and macho like Germany where families, women, still are condemned to choosing either to have children or a successful career, and are discouraged and almost isolated from society and work force as if being a mother would be the only thing we are capable of. So let’s get loud, ain’t nobody got to tell you what you got to do!

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