Shakira

“The two most inconveniences I had in the past were starting a career as complicated as this one, so young, and being a woman in a macho environment,” said the singer with a good grasp of the English language after only two months of study. She cut her first album – a compilation of songs she composed between the ages of 8 and 13 – the same year Sony signed her.

“I was surrounded by so many executive guys – 40, 50 years old with 30 years in the business. It was difficult for me to convince others I felt prepared to take care of my own music. I wanted to give my opinions and nobody listened to me! But now, at this moment, everybody opens their ears when I’m gonna say something.

“I never fought for fame but I’ve fought for respect,” the woman born Shakira Mebarak Ripoll told POLLSTAR.

One of the first indicators that the Colombian artist of Lebanese descent was earning the respect she craved was being named 1998’s Latin female of the year at the World Music Awards. The same year, Time magazine chose her to grace its cover for the lead story titled “Era of the Rockera” about “tough-toned singers taking the lead in traditionally macho Latin American rock.”

The recognition continued into 1999, when she received a Grammy nomination for best Latin rock performance and won Billboard’s best Latin female pop artist award.

Her surge in popularity resulted from four albums: Magia (Magic), Peligro (Danger), Piés Descalzos (Bare Feet) and Dónde están los ladrones? (Where are the thieves?). Despite the success of her work as a whole, each album presented Shakira with inconveniences.

“Nothing happened with the second album. It was almost a failure,” Shakira, whose name means woman full of grace in Arabic, said. “I took advantage of this little rock in the path to learn something.”

Her third album, 1996’s Piés Descalzos, was rock-free and full of pop. It sold nearly 4 million copies. It also introduced her to life on the road as she toured the U.S., Latin America and Spain for nearly two years.

When the touring stopped, her next project, Dónde están los ladrones?, started. Released last year, it is approaching 4 million in sales. It also introduced rock to her repertoire.

This month, the youngest of eight siblings releases the album’s first single, “Ojos Así” (Eyes Like Those), in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. She also starts doing radio promo in Italy, Spain, Turkey, Japan and Thailand through December.

Having already conquered the international market, the self-proclaimed perfectionist has set her sights on the States, and Estefan Enterprises is helping her meet the challenge. An English-language version of Dónde … ? is scheduled for release in early 2000, preceded by a U.S. and Latin American tour beginning in March.

To that end, Gloria Estefan began playing a major role in Shakira’s upcoming album about six months ago, translating it from Spanish to English and coaching her. “She’s helping me fix some pronunciation details,” Shakira said. The album and single will be on the Columbia label.

Estefan has also been instrumental in helping shape Shakira’s attitude. “She always tries to encourage me to fight against my insecurities,” said the woman who divides her time between an apartment in Miami, Fla., and Colombia. “It looks like I’m a very secure person but it’s not like this.”

While Gloria nurtures, her husband, Emilio, challenges the idealistic performer. “He told me to be the artistic producer of this album,” Shakira said. “He told me, ‘You know exactly what you want and what you want to express, and I respect your criteria. I want you to command this project.’ He delivered to me that enormous responsibility.

“… They’re not selfish at all,” the grateful artist said. “They want to share all they know with a new generation of musicians and artists.”

As she gains knowledge and experience, Shakira finds her drive for respect shifting from proving herself on South America’s machismo-filled battleground to focusing on “my country and my people.”

One of the musical warrior’s greatest driving forces is her fellow Colombians. “To achieve success in the Anglo market and other markets” would boost their morale and “make them feel better,” she said.

The other driving forces are her goals; however, “I prefer to call them dreams – sounds less ambitious,” the understated achiever said. “And there are so many dreams, like someday to sing in my ancestors’ land, Lebanon, and [to have] a successful crossover – to let the rest of the world that doesn’t speak Spanish know that we not only can make good rancheros, merengues, salsas and tangos, we can also make some good pop and rock. … My golden dream would be making music for the rest of my life.”

As she goes for the gold, fulfilling her “need” to make music, she finds herself exposed to a wider audience and unforeseen inconveniences, which she welcomes. “It’s time for me to share with others part of what I have, and one of the best ways I have to do it is through my music. … I cannot waste the skills I have. I just couldn’t do it.”