By Aritz Parra
MADRID (AP) --Colombian singers Shakira and Carlos Vives on Monday rejected allegations made by a Cuban-born singer and producer that they had plagiarized his work in their award-winning music hit "La Bicicleta".
A judge in Madrid accepted a lawsuit by the label representing Livan Rafael Castellanos, also known as Livam, who says that "La Bicicleta" contains lyrics, rhythm and melody similar to those of his 1997 song, "Yo te quiero tanto."
"Neither Carlos Vives nor Shakira have received any copy of a lawsuit pertaining to 'La Bicicleta,' and as such abstain from commenting on this matter," said 42West, the public relations firm representing Shakira, in a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Monday.
However, the statement continued: "'La Bicicleta' is a completely original work and they adamantly reject any allegation to the contrary."
It could take days for a court to inform the parties in a lawsuit but once notified, the legal teams will have 20 days to submit evidence of their position, said the Madrid-based law firm representing Livam.
Payments for the rights of the hit have been temporarily halted.
"La Bicicleta" — which means "The Bicycle" in English — won two of the three biggest Grammy Latino awards for 2016, including song and record of the year and is a finalist in several categories of the Billboard Awards.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More