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Premium Blend: Shakira By Gustavo Rivas If you still think that Colombia's best export is still coffee, then you have yet to listen to Shakira. This singer whose real name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, or as some of her fans call her- "the best singer of all Latin America," was born in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia on Februay the 2nd, 1977. And at the tender age of 8 she started what was bound to be a successful career by writing her first song. By the age of 10, to her fans' delight, she decided that she was going to devote her life to her music. At the age of 13, Shakira recorded "Magia"(Magic), her first album, but this first release was not reseaved very well by the audience. Two years later she tried her luck again with an album titled "Peligro (Danger), but just like the first one, it didn't have much success. Her luck changed when she released "Piez Descalzos" (Bare Feet) at the age of19. The album was a huge success, this might have been because as she had matured she was able to find what has become her emotional signature style of writing and her brutally honest and achingly heartfelt voice. This has allowed for singles like "Estoy Aqu’," "Piez Descalzos" "D—nde est‡s coraz—n?"and "Antolog’a," be comprehended by all, making them the second universal language. In turn the songs have allowed Shakira to obtain the attention of millions of fans and the album held the top ten of the Billboard Latin charts for almost 2 years. In 1998, 2 years later, she released "D—nde est‡n
los ladrones?"(Where are the thieves?), and again the album was a
mayor success in all of the Americas. In the United Stated charts,
songs like "Ciega Sordomuda," "Tu," "Inevitable," "Si te vas," and
"Ojos as’" reached the number one position, and with their help the
album has been able to stay on the top of the charts since it was
released. Today, Shakira is on tour promoting "Donde estan los ladrones?" but she managed to find time to record another album. "MTV Unplugged" was recorded live in New York last summer for the singer's special for MTV Latin America, and it contains some of her most musically developed songs yet. She has gotten away from the pop oriented sounds of her last two albums and has injected some of her smart and sometimes sassy lyrics with some traditional sounds of Latin America, U.S. rock and blues. Some highlights of the album include high pitched, dub-infused rocker "Estoy aqui," the anthemic "Si te vas," and the ballad "Tu." But the most exciting songs of the album have to be "Ojos asi" and "Ciega sordomuda." In the first one, Shakira embraces her Arabic heritage and packs the song with the countries religious chants and sounds and adds a little bit of rhythm to make her fans dance. The latter song is completely remade and enriched with the sound of el maricachi Varagas. This new rendition is so fabulous because it really shows off her emotionally truthful voice and the music is so culturally enriched with mariachi and banda sounds that it would make Lola Beltran and Lucha Villa proud. The album is already producing more hits for Shakira and it will probably keep her on top for a while, her only other main competition is probably her last album, which is till on the charts. If you don't know about this singer, I would not worry much about it, soon you will have the opportunity to listen to her. Curently, Shakira is in the studio working with powerhouse producers Emilio and Gloria Estefan on an English album that should be released sometime this year. The album is bound to be a success, not just because of the current Latin music trend, but because Shakira is extremely talented and her music always finds a way to be understood by anyone who listens to it. In the meantime, you can see Shakira in the new Calvin Kline advertisement and you should sit and wait to be rocked by the sounds of the best Colombian export since coffee. Gustavo Rivas is a junior journalism major at Ithaca College. |
