“I admire Madonna because she always did whatever she felt like doing. She went through some controversial periods when people rejected her, but she kept on reinventing herself.”

People get jaded in every profession, but for some reason,

I started the Pies Descalzos foundation in Colombia when I was 18, and since then, I have been very involved in the crusade for education.

Gerard doesn’t tell me what to do. We discuss everything as a couple, as I imagine most partners do. We have a beautiful relationship and one of mutual trust.

I do take advantage of, you know, feeling sensual and feeling sexy.

I think, if you can prove the existence of God, it can only be proven through love.

I thank God that I’m a product of my parents. That they infected me with their intelligence and energy for life, with their thirst for knowledge and their love. I’m grateful that I know where I come from.

I like to see people’s eyes when I’m singing to them.

Gerard and I pretty much share all parenting responsibilities, although I’m definitely the disciplinarian.

I’m Colombian and nothing will change that.

Sensual is everything that refers to the delight of the senses. And that’s what artists do, is stimulate the senses in any possible way.

You’re a song written by the hands of God.

I tried to give my career a shot from Barranquilla, but the musicians would never show up. It was just not taken seriously.

The worst mistake of a woman is to go to the kitchen, because then she never gets out of there.

My man, Gerard, prefers meat over bone. That takes the pressure off. I already have a lot to worry about.

I admire a person who, for the love of art, is able to take off their clothes in front of a camera. But I’m not capable, I’m too cowardly for that.

So I like the work he’s doing, and I support it, and I realise that he’s one of very few political leaders around the world that actually has early-childhood development strategise at the top of his agenda.

I think controversy has this allusion of being controversial but it’s totally not, which is why I’m trying to get away from it because it’s just easy and automatic.

It’s not controversial to say that human activity is contributing in some way. The question is how serious that is.

Some of the record company people, they wouldn’t let me put this out, … They said it would be too controversial. But this picture is saying ‘Look, they can stand together. Don’t have to be no fight.’

I decided I ought to pick a project that would not be controversial, that would not really cost the government a lot of money.

As soon as something like Monty Python’s ‘The Life of Brian’ appears with a Muhammad figure as the main lead, directed by an Arabic Theo van Gogh, the controversial late Dutch filmmaker, we will have taken an enormous step forward.

I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.

I like an interesting movie even if it’s controversial or offensive, depending on your taste.

Many times I heard Imam Ahmad saying (when asked to give his opinion) on controversial scholarly issues ‘I do not know.’