Shakira Puts On For Afro-Colombians During Her Super Bowl LIV Halftime Performance

If you weren’t paying attention, you may have missed all of the African influence and Black Girl Magic Shakira brought to her Super Bowl LIV halftime performance. Don’t worry, we peeped it and we’re giving Shakira her props.

The proud Colombian pop star opened up the halftime with a majority of Black dancers front and center for the entire world to see.

Although Colombia’s Afro-Colombian population is said to only be 7%, Shakira’s hometown of Barranquilla is one of the areas where people of Black/African-descent in Colombia are most populous. Her backup dancers represented that fact.

As the singer ran through her hit tracks, switching off with Jennifer Lopez who did the same, Shakira returned to the stage to perform “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” which is a remake to “Zamina Mina,” a 1986 song by a Cameroonian group by the name Zangaléwa. It also featured the popular Cameroonian musical style, makossa, which can still be heard through parts of Cameroon and throughout African and Latin music today.