This is an old article but I've never seen it before. I couldn't find it posted anywhere. My apologies if it is.
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"The statue commemorates the late King of Pop’s visit in 1995 when he was present for the recording of “They Don’t Care About Us”. It was placed on the very concrete slab where Michael Jackson danced in front of hundreds of residents, for a scene in the video, along with a mosaic by Brazilian artist Romero Britto. The video was the subject of much controversy, as some Brazilian officials were displeased with the potential international exposure of the country’s urban and regional inequalities, which they thought could hurt the city’s chances of winning their bid to host the 2004 Olympics (not the last time officials have held the Olympic Games higher than the social well-being of the population). It was alleged, also, that the producer Spike Lee had to negotiate with drug traffickers that controlled the community of Santa Marta at the time, to ensure Michael Jackson’s safety. The track was also the subject of more controversy in the US, where a second version of the video, which focused on the American incarcerated population, was banned from daytime airplay due to the violent footage in it."![]()
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Here is a video that shows the statue near the end:
[youtube:11czll0i]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc7Bsz2TQD8&[/youtube:11czll0i]
A mosaic close by the statue:
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They Don't Really Care About Us (video):
[youtube:11czll0i]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNJL6nfu__Q[/youtube:11czll0i]
