‘Selfie taking’ devil causes controversy in Spain

A sculpture of Satan in the Spanish city has been criticized for being too jolly. The controversial statue of a ‘selfie-taking’ devil will be installed in the Spanish city of Segovia.

The statue was created as a tribute to a local legend, which says that the devil was tricked into building the city’s famous aqueduct.

But residents say that the devil, which is smiling and taking a selfie with a smartphone, looks too friendly.

Over 5.500 locals signed a petition against the statue, saying that it is “offensive.” The petition says that because the devil is shown in a “jovial” way, with a phone in his hand, it “exalts evil” and is therefore “offensive to Catholics”.

The artist, José Antonio Abella, told BBC News he was surprised by the level of criticism directed at his artwork.

He said “It seems to me incredible that people would be so fiercely against the sculpture of a devil to commemorate a popular legend, taught to Segovian kids at school.”

“I love Segovia. I have lived here for three decades and I was hoping for this sculpture to be a form of demonstration of how thankful I am to Segovia for being my adopted town. I haven’t received any money whatsoever for this sculpture… I haven’t done this for the money but as a personal tribute to the city I call mine. You can imagine how I feel.” He added.

A judge has now ordered the artwork to be put on hold while he looks into whether it is offensive to Christians.

Residents say that Satan’s face should not appear so friendly. It adds that Satan is supposed to be “repulsive and despicable not kind and seductive, like that of the ‘good-natured devil’ without malice” that has been proposed.