Shakira is emotional after receiving a monument in her Colombian birthplace of Barranquilla as the pop singer revealed the bronze monument to her Instagram fans on Tuesday in a series of photos. The statue features the singer’s dancing step from her 2005 smash music video, “Hips Don’t Lie.”
The enormous statue, which was made by artist Yino Márquez, depicts Shakira performing one of her iconic acts while wearing a bikini top and flowing skirt. She has her hands clasped over her head and one hip swaying to one side of her body. Her parents, William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia Ripoll Torrado, can be seen smiling in front of the statue in the first photo she posted, beaming with joy at the city’s homage to their daughter.
Shakira? Who is she?
Shakira, a Colombian singer and songwriter, is known as the “Queen of Latin Music” due to her musical versatility. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she made her recording debut at 13 with Sony Music Colombia. After a commercial failure with her first two albums, she rose to prominence in Hispanic countries with her albums Pies Descalzos and Dónde Están los Ladrones? Shakira’s fifth album, Laundry Service, sold over 13 million copies worldwide, propelling her reputation as a leading crossover artist. Broadcast Music, Inc. described Shakira as a “pioneer” in expanding the global reach of Latino singers.
Shakira, a renowned Latin music artist, has sold over 95 million records, making her one of the best-selling female Latin artists of all time. Her Spanish albums Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005), Sale el Sol (2010), and El Dorado (2017) topped the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. Her English albums Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (2005), She Wolf (2009), and Shakira (2014) were certified gold, platinum, or multi-platinum worldwide. Shakira has also served as a coach on two seasons of The Voice. She has received numerous awards, including the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year and Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year awards.
Shakira’s Revolutionary Career
Shakira, a Colombian musician born in Barranquilla, Colombia, has achieved success in both Spanish- and English-speaking markets. Born to a Lebanese father and a native Colombian mother, Shakira started belly dancing at a young age and began writing songs and participating in talent competitions. In 1990, she was signed to a Sony Corp. record deal. Her first two albums, Magia and Peligro, were moderately successful. After a break to act in El Oasis, Shakira resumed her music career with Pies Descalzos in 1995, producing several hits, including “Estoy aquí,” “Pienso en ti,” and “Un Poco de Amor.”
In 1998, Shakira, a Latin Grammy Award winner, rose to stardom with her song, “¿Dónde están los ladrones?”
In 2001, she won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album with her album MTV Unplugged. Shakira’s first English-language album, Laundry Service, also won the Latin Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album. In 2005, she released Fijación Oral, vol. 1, and Oral Fixation, Vol. 2, both of which debuted in the top five in the US. Shakira’s next album, She Wolf, featured an electro-pop sound and won the Latin Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. She also coached The Voice from 2013-14. Shakira has also dedicated herself to social causes, becoming a UNICEF goodwill ambassador and creating the Pies Descalzos Foundation to help children displaced by violence in Colombia.
Artist behind the Sakira’s statue
The 52-year-old artist claimed that since he was sixteen, he had been creating sculptures. He is an academic coordinator at the Public Art college in Barranquilla and has created enormous monuments for various Colombian towns. Jaime Pumarejo, the mayor of Barranquilla, contacted him in June to inform him that he was a contender to make the Shakira monument that the city intended to install on the waterfront. About a month later, he was informed of his selection when the mayor made it public.
“It was an enormous effort”, he remarked. However, he went on to say that he was delighted with the outcome. “It is much more than we expected in the end, I believe.”
Shakira, 46, was born in Barranquilla, a 1.2 million-person port city that has long been home to numerous families of Colombian and Lebanese descent, including her own. She currently resides mostly in Miami and this erected statue signifies a biggest tribute for her.
