Mayor sparks scandal by erecting giant ceramic penis statue outside office

A mayor is in hot water after erecting a giant ceramic penis statue outside his office.

Arturo Fernandez Bazan is mayor of Trujillo, the third most populous city in Peru, and recently installed the large member next to the staircase inside the city's Municipal Palace.

The statue is an example of 'huaco erotico' (erotic pottery) – sexually graphic ceramic sculptures created by various ancient cultures in South America.

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The Moche and Chimu civilisations were particular fans of the raunchy art in the area that is now Peru.

Fernandez Bazan's sculpture is designed to resemble both an excited manhood and a hatted individual covering his mouth with one hand. A face is carved into the upper shaft.

It replaced a 'caballitos de totora' – a traditional watercraft made from woven reeds, used along the coasts of South America for fishing and transportation – that previously sat outside the mayor's office.

Surprisingly, it wasn't the ceramic chopper itself that caused the controversy, but rather Fernandez Bazan's response to a question about his interior design choices.

A female journalist asked the mayor: "Mayor, on the other hand, we have seen that you have placed a wooden structure here at the Provincial Municipality of Trujillo…"

Fernandez Bazan cut her off before she could finish the question. He asked her: "And did you like it or not?"

Many have since criticised the mayor's reply, saying it was chauvinistic.

It is not the first time Peru's penile structures have made headlines.

Last year authorities in Moche District restored a large sculpture of an indigenous man flaunting an erect member after it was vandalised.

Moche mayor Cesar Arturo Fernandez explained at the time: "In our culture, they do not represent eroticism, but reverence to God.

"In addition, sexuality must be seen as something normal and natural."

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