Shakira Women Full of Grace
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Shakira WOMAN FULL OF GRACE XIMENA DIEGO Translation by FRANCHESKA FARINACCI A FIRESIDE BOOK PUBLISHED BY SIMON & SCHUSTER NEW YORK • LONDON • TORONTO • SYDNEY • SINGAPORE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FIRESIDE Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 Copyright © 2001 by Laura Dail Literary Agency, Inc. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole For this book I collected newspaper articles, interviews, anecdotes, and the stories of the people who have accompanied Shakira FIRESIDE and colophon are registered throughout her career. Along the way I met people who were very trademarks of generous with their time and their memories. To all of them, my sin cere thanks. Among those who made this book possible are Alexi Designed by BTDnyc Castillo, director of TV y Novelas in Colombia; María del Rosario PRODUCED BY K&N BOOKWORKS Sánchez, Shakira's first manager; Michelle Hustik, the president of Manufactured in the United States of her fan club in Bogotá; Brendan Buckley, a drummer who accompa America nies Shakira; Luis Fernando Ochoa, composer and producer; César Navarro, one of her dancers during the Magia period; Carlos Vene Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is gas, a promoter who watched her grow; Jairo Martínez, of Estefan En ISBN 0-7432-1623-7 terprises; and Carlos Muñoz, of Sony Colombia. Thanks to Estela Bolaños for being an ideal daughter of Barranquilla and to Noelia, in Buenos Aires, for keeping updated one of the best Web sites on Shakira (wwwshakiramebarak.com). After I talked to all of these people and others who were part of her life, after I read and watched interviews, listened to her music, visited Internet sites, and talked to her fans, this book was born. It aims to be more than just a summary, which would always be incomplete, of the events that formed Shakira. I hope to have shed some light on the history of this singer songwriter who, beyond fashion and awards, is transforming the music scene with the force of an earthquake and promises to become the most successful crossover act in history. My thanks to the executives at Simon & Schuster, especially my TO MARK, editor, Marcela Landres, who shepherded and supported this project so well, and to my literary agent Laura Dail, who recommended me for the task and who was always close by during the research and for making sense of what surrounds me. writing. I would also like to thank Dolores Prida for her valuable help and wise advice, and Francheska Farinacci for her fine translation. Finally, I would like to thank my adoring family for their constant love. CONTENTS INRODUCTION 1. BEGINNINGS 2. In SEARCH OF A DREAM 3. MAKING ALLIES 4. PIES DESCALZOS 5. DONDE ESTÁN LOS LADRONES? 6. THE FIRST STEPS TO A CROSSOVER 7. WHERE IS SHAKIRA Discography Awards and Recognitions Shakira on the Web Bibliography INTRODUCTION When Shakira arrived at the first annual Latin Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, with her blonde hair and a green dress, some of the people at tending had barely heard of her. But by the end of the night those same people would remember her forever. All she had to do was step on stage and give that defiant look with her gypsy eyes while moving her hips sensually to the rhythm of the dumbek, the drum of her ancestors, to take over the audience. Nobody could take their eyes off this woman who seemed possessed by ancient spirits and sang in Arabic with the voice of a veteran rocker. That night, Shakira made it clear why Time magazine had put her on the cover above the headline "Era of the Rock era," why Gabriel García Márquez had interviewed her for his publica tion Cambio, and why she has sold millions of records worldwide. But who is this young Colombian with the Arabic name ? Who is this performer who belly dances and composes, who can sell out stadiums and launch fashion trends? Before 2001, few of us in the United States knew who she was, but throughout Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and even Japan, her songs have repeatedly reached number one and she served as her own very first one. Ironically, Shakira never and her videos have occupied the top spots on MN for months. To joined her school choir: the music teacher said her voice sounded like many, she is the undisputed queen of pop and rock en español. the bleating of a goat. In perhaps, the first blow to her artistic pride, When this blazing hurricane began to sell millions of records, the she said nothing in class; she waited until she got home to cry, so no critics were stunned and spat out comparisons to Alanis Morissette one could see her. A couple of weeks later, she returned to class with and Janis Joplin. And while the three have comparable hairstyles, her first trophies won at a talent competition. The awards began to ac passion, and vocal styles, Shakira's spirit is far removed from politics, cumulate, and the day after each victory, without fail, Shakira would depression, and the psychedelic. Her personality, it must be said, is take her trophy to school and show it off in front of that teacher. not simple. She is extremely spiritual, a dreamer and happy, almost Shakira's first break came when she impressed a Sony Colombia childlike. And yet her wisdom and intuition make her seem more of executive, singing and belly dancing, in the hallway of a hotel. As a an old soul, a woman who has lived other lives and knows where to result, she got her first record contract. And a few years later, when go and how to get there as if her destiny were already set. her label was considering terminating her contract, Shakira shut She is extremely charismatic, and it's clear that her parents were not everyone up with Pies descalzos. With the same faith and persever mistaken when they baptized her Shakira, which in Arabic means ance that years before she had used to dominate talent competitions, "woman full of grace" and in Hindi, "goddess of light." Through her she now amassed gold and platinum records, to brandish before Lebanese blood came artistic karma, and at four years old she sur those executives who in the past had made her life impossible. prised everyone when. she began to belly dance without ever having Her talent is undeniable and innate, but on the way to fame she been taught. At the age of eight she composed her first song, and five also always found the allies her career needed. With uncommonly years later she signed her first record contract, with Sony Colombia keen instinct for a teenager, she was able to contact the right people. no less, to record an album of her own songs. She got the support of an entertainment magazine, TV y Novelas, and Success with a capital S came to her at nineteen, when in December a manager Patricia Téllez who gave her the support of Caracol Tele of 1995 her third album, Pies descalzos (Bare Feet), put her voice on the visión, the most prestigious N producer in Colombia at that time. radio all over the planet, literally: the song "Estoy aquí" ("I Am Here") She knew how to make the most of her budding popularity in Latin played from Buenos Aires to Tokyo, and Brazil and Turkey in between. America and enter the American market holding the hand of Emilio The next record, Dónde están los ladrones? (Where Are the Thieves?), Estefan Jr. first, and Freddie DeMann later. The latter, who once han which came with the patronage of Emilio Estefan Jr., confirmed her dled Madonna's and Michael Jackson's careers, currently manages status as an artist and proved that she was no one-hit wonder. On the Shakira. Without a doubt, this artist knows which coattails to grab on contrary, a month after its launch, the record had already sold over a to, and from the beginning she has known exactly where she wanted million copies. A few months later, MN opened the doors of its stu to go. dios and asked her to do an acoustic concert, the famous Unplugged se These days, for example, searching for information about her past ries, while she made plans for her next album in English. Impressive. can be very difficult, since, for some reason, neither her Fan Club in Success did not come overnight for Shakira. The road was cluttered Colombia, nor her ex-manager Patricia Téllez, nor her old friends in with barriers, bumps, and steep hills, but she also found many allies, Barranquilla want to talk about her to the press-according to some, it is the artist's explicit wish. But one story a TV y Novelas reporter tells is now ancient history: When Shakira first came to Bogotá from Barranquilla, she spent hours in the editorial room with nothing to 1 do, just waiting for someone to interview her. All in all, to most of the hundreds of reporters who have inter viewed her in the course of her career, Shakira seems more like the girl next door than an international rock star. As she was before find ing fame, Shakira remains a devout Catholic who goes to church and BEGINNING takes confession. However, she also continues to read atheistic writ ers (and never ceases to wonder why they don't attribute their inspi ration to God) and thus keeps her intellect sharp and her imagination fertile She is eclectic and loves it. "I'm a cocktail of elements," she has said proudly more than once.