Shakira is a singer and songwriter,
who's been catapulted to international fame with the multi-million selling "Pies
Descalzos". Her sound, like her hit single "Estoy Aquí",
are musically surprising and gritty, with intellectual lyrics and an electronic
and an acoustical blend. Her gutsy, rock infused album, "Donde Están
los Ladrones", assures her position as a pioneer who has redefined the scope
of Latin American singers. Shakira won a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
for "Ojos AsÃ" at the first annual Latin Grammy Awards in
fall 2000. Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on February 9, 1977, in
the Colombian city of Barranquilla. Her name, Shakira, which in Arabic means "woman
full of grace", comes from her ancestry. She is the daughter of a Colombian
mother and a Lebanese father whose Arabic background greatly influenced his daughter.
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