Charged under the count of plagiarism, Shakira together with Carlos Vives appeared in a Madrid court, yesterday and pleaded not guilty as against the words of Cuban-born singer Livan Rafael Castellanos.
Both Colombian singers, Shakira and Vives, are accused of plagiarizing the lyrics, rhythm and melody of Livan’s 1997 song ‘Yo te quiero tanto’ in their Latin Grammy award winning song ‘La Bicicleta’ translated in English as ‘The Bicycle’.According to private Spanish news agency Europa Press, Shakira refuted all allegations by telling the court, “My song talks about my homeland, it’s a salute to my homeland-Barranquilla, Colombia not Cuba. It’s different.”
Contrary to the refuting claims of Shakira and Vives, Castellanos insisted they are guilty as charged and asserted that music experts supported his claim of plagiarism. He further polished his stands by tearfully telling the judge, “It’s like they are touching one of my children, they are stealing from me.” The court is said to make a final verdict in 20 days’ time, which Castellanos fully leaves everything to be settled on that day, “Let’s see whether we can finally get to the bottom of this and justice can be done,” he added.
By: Larry Adams
