Shakira resumes world tour in Peru after unauthorized leak of her medical report

The second stop on the Las mujeres ya no lloran world tour will be hard to forget for Shakira, her team and her community of fans. After her performances in Brazil, Peru was shaping up to be an ideal destination due to the connection that the Colombian artist has always had with that country since the days when she sported jet-black hair and sang Pies descalzos in the mid-nineties. But the reunion with the Andean country, after 14 years, has been rather eventful.

On Monday morning, Shakira confirmed she would perform at the National Stadium in Lima after having cancelled her Sunday show due to severe abdominal pain. The four-time Grammy winner was hospitalized practically all of Sunday at the Delgado Clinic, located in the Miraflores district. Although she was willing to perform, her health condition did not allow it. Added to this is the fact that this is not just any concert, but an exhausting one where she must perform 30 songs.

While fans who had tickets for Sunday were complaining that they would not be able to attend on a different date, confidential information began to spread on social media: the list of medicines and supplies for the singer’s treatment at the hospital: ampoules, gauze, a binasal oxygen cannula among other requirements. At first it was thought to be a false document, but shortly thereafter the Delgado Clinic issued an internal memo where it reminded the medical staff of their obligations.

“The information regarding the interaction of the locator (doctor) with sources of information (medical records, among others) must remain confidential […]. The locator must comply with the data protection standards, confidentiality policies and other guidelines of the clinic. In line with the above, access to the patients’ medical records is restricted to the treating physician as appropriate. We count on your commitment to continue providing a continuous, coherent, fluid medical service and together to take care of life to always live it better,” the statement says.

Although Shakira has not yet taken legal action against the clinic, on Monday the National Health Superintendence (SUSALUD) sent a delegation to the medical establishment to gather information about the case. The agency underscored that it is the right of every user of health services to be treated with dignity and full respect for their privacy, and that data about their diagnosis, treatment, as well as photographs or videos should not be released.

SUSALUD also stressed that the clinic could be fined up to 300 Tax Units (UIT), equivalent to 1.6 million soles ($433,000) for the breach of confidentiality.

In the last few hours, the journalist and writer Jaime Bayly has claimed to know the reason for the Colombian star’s abdominal pain. He said in his podcast that on Saturday afternoon, Shakira’s team had ordered ceviche cooked with different types of chili peppers, in a dish called Sobredosis (Overdose), from a restaurant named Cala. The food, he claims, arrived at the Miraflores Belmond Hotel, where Shakira is staying. “She was dehydrated. When something intoxicates you and makes you sick, you need serum, hydration and to be administered vitamins,” claimed Bayly.

This version of events has been denied by Aaron Snaiderman, Shakira’s creative director and the person in charge of her image on social media, who wrote a brief and forceful message: “BTW I’m the one who ate the ceviche and it was spectacular. They don’t know what stories to come up with anymore.” In this way he denied that the artist’s stomach problems were due to food, a sensitive issue for Peruvian society.

Meanwhile the production company Master Live issued a statement confirming Shakira’s presence at the Monday concert, where she is expected to appear on stage after 8 p.m. No new date has been announced yet for the cancelled concert.

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