Diario Libre is reporting that authorities in Colombia want to prohibit its youth from dancing "La Champeta," a now globally controversial dance.
Citing a Colombian paper, Diario Libre wrote that the "champetuda polemic" started due to a series of steps dubbed "the little horse" and "characterized by the opening and closing of the legs," steps "which its detractors have said 'foments rape and teenage pregnancy.'"
Controversy over the dance began last year, with Antonio Salim Guerra, a conservative politician, banning minors from dancing the champeta in school or during state functions, arguing that the dance could cause "erotic trauma" and create the environment adequate for "pedophilia and child exploitation."
According to Diario Libre, César Pión, a member of President Juan Manuel Santos' coalition, argued that "the rubbing and banging of genitals could not be called a dance," and that "there was no basis in supposed African heritage to justify" labeling la champeta as a legitimate dance.
Although the Colombian government may have sought to erase la champeta, legislating against it has only increased its popularity in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, as well as in other Caribbean islands.
