Shakira
She is a singer, songwriter,
dancer, musician, record producer and actress, fluent in English, Spanish and
Portuguese. Given the many strings adorning her bow, the phrase
‘multi-talented’ doesn’t quite do justice to the abilities of Ms Shakira Isabel
Mebarak Ripoll. Better known simply by her first name, she is surely the
biggest star to emerge from Latin America during the last decade. Her debut
English-language album, ‘Laundry Service’, has sold over 13 million copies
across the world. Rapidly becoming a worldwide phenomenon, Shakira’s quirky
blend of rock, dance and Latina
pop has seen her stack up two Grammys, seven Latin Grammys, and twelve
Billboard Latin Music Awards. She is Colombia’s highest-selling artist
ever, with album sales of over 50 million worldwide, and has the most
commercially successful song of the 21st century so far in ‘Hips
Don’t Lie’. Only Beyonce Knowles can claim to be as big a star as Shakira right
now.
However, despite her stratospheric professional success, Shakira has also made waves for something a little less glamorous: her philanthropic humanitarian work. She was born and raised a Roman Catholic, a faith which has instilled in her a firm sense of right and wrong, of justice, and of her duty to give as much as possible back to a world that has given her so much success. Throughout her career, she has regularly performed at benefit concerts for a variety of good causes. In 2002 alone, she appeared at a ‘Party in the Park’ concert in the UK, in aid of the Princes Trust, and also ‘VH1 Divas Live’, which supports music education in schools through the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. She also performed at one of Bob Geldof’s Live 8 concerts in 2005, and most recently at two Latin American gigs during 2008 in collaboration with twenty other Hispanic artists. The latter was to raise money for the ‘Latin America in Solidarity Action’ charity.
Many other well-meaning artists would stop there, particularly those with a schedule as demanding as Shakira’s. However, the singer is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and also founded The Barefoot Foundation in the USA and the Pies Descalzos Foundation in Colombia, both dedicated to providing opportunities and education to under-privileged children. When honoured at a UN ceremony in 2007 for the creation of the latter organisation, Shakira said, “Let's not forget that at the end of this day when we all go home, 960 children will have died in Latin America.”
Rarely does the world see people of such fame and fortune display such a burning desire to give something back. Shakira is one of those precious few: a star to be treasured for far more than just her art.
