Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born: February 2, 1977)[2] known simply as Shakira, (Arabic: شاكيرا) ([ʃəˈkiːrə] in English, [ʃaˈkirə] in Portuguese, [tʃa'kira] or [ʃa'kira] in Spanish ‭[3]) is a Colombian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer and philanthropist who emerged as a musical prodigy in the music scene of Latin America in the mid-1990s. Born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira revealed many of her talents in school as a live performer, demonstrating her vocal ability with rock and roll, Latin and Middle Eastern influences with her own original twist on belly dancing. Shakira is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English, Portuguese, Italian,[4] and some Arabic. After a series of commercial flops with local producers on her first two albums and little-known outside Colombia, Shakira decided to produce her own brand of music: in 1995 she released Pies Descalzos, which brought her great fame in Latin America and Spain and ... more