Coordinates	39°44′21″N104°59′5″N
Name	Łódź
Motto	Ex navicula navis (From a boat, a ship)
Pushpin map	Poland
Pushpin label position	bottom
Coordinates region	PL
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Subdivision type1	Voivodeship
Subdivision name1	Łódź
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	city county
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Hanna Zdanowska
Established title	City Rights
Established date	1423
Area total km2	293.25
Population as of	2009
Population total	742,387
Population density km2	auto
Population metro	1428600
Timezone	CET
Utc offset	+1
Timezone dst	CEST
Utc offset dst	+2
Coordinates display	inline,title
Elevation m	162-278
Postal code type	Postal code
Postal code	90-001 to 94–413
Area code	+48 42
Website	http://www.uml.lodz.pl/
Blank name	Car plates
Blank info	EL

, Old Evangelical – Augsburg Cemetery in Łódź, 2006]]

Łódź (approx. ; , Lodzh) is the third-largest city in Poland. Located in the central part of the country, it had a population of 742,387 in December 2009. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canting: depicting a boat, it alludes to the city's name which translates literally as "boat".

History

Agricultural Łódź

Łódź first appears in the written record in a 1332 document giving the village of Łodzia to the bishops of Włocławek. In 1423 King Władysław Jagiełło granted city rights to the village of Łódź. From then until the 18th century the town remained a small settlement on a trade route between Masovia and Silesia. In the 16th century the town had fewer than 800 inhabitants, mostly working on the nearby grain farms.

With the second partition of Poland in 1793, Łódź became part of the Kingdom of Prussia's province of South Prussia, and was known in German as Lodsch. In 1798 the Prussians nationalised the town, and it lost its status as a town of the bishops of Kuyavia. In 1806 Łódź joined the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw and in 1810 it had 190 inhabitants. In 1815 Congress of Vienna treaty it became part of Congress Poland, a client state of the Russian Empire.

Industrial growth

In the 1815 treaty, it was planned to renew the dilapidated town and with the 1816 decree by the Czar a number of German immigrants received territory deeds for them to clear the land and to build factories and housing. In 1820 Stanisław Staszic aided in changing the small town into a modern industrial centre. The immigrants came to the Promised Land ( Ziemia obiecana, the city's nickname) from all over Europe. Mostly they arrived from Southern Germany, Silesia and Bohemia, but also from countries as far away as Portugal, England, France and Ireland. The first cotton mill opened in 1825, and 14 years later the first steam-powered factory in both Poland and Russia commenced operations. In 1839 the population was 80% Germans and German schools and churches were established.

A constant influx of workers, businessmen and craftsmen from all over Europe transformed Łódź into the main textile production centre of the Russian Empire. Three groups dominated the city's population and contributed the most to the city's development: Poles, Germans and Jews, who started to arrive since 1848. Many of the Łódź craftspeople were weavers from Silesia.

In 1850, Russia abolished the customs barrier between Congress Poland and Russia proper; industry in Łódź could now develop freely with a huge Russian market not far away. Soon the city became the second-largest city of Congress Poland. In 1865 the first railroad line opened (to Koluszki, branch line of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway), and soon the city had rail links with Warsaw and Białystok.

One of the most important industrialists of Łódź was Karl Wilhelm Scheibler. In 1852 he came to Łódź and with Julius Schwarz together started buying property and building several factories. Scheibler later bought out Schwarz's share and thus became sole owner of a large business. After he died in 1881 his widow and other members of the family decided to pay homage to his memories by erecting a chapel, intended as a mausoleum with family crypt, in the Lutheran part of the Łódź cemetery in ulica Ogrodowa (later known as The Old Cemetery).

In the 1823–1873, the city's population doubled every ten years. The years 1870–1890 marked the period of most intense industrial development in the city's history. Many of the industrialists were Jewish. Łódź soon became a major centre of the socialist movement. In 1892 a huge strike paralysed most of the factories.

By 1897, the share of the German population had dropped from 80 to 40%. According to Russian census of 1897, out of the total population of 315,000, Jews constituted 99,000 (around 31% percent).

During the 1905 Revolution, in what became known as the June Days or Łódź insurrection, Tsarist police killed more than 300 workers.

Despite the air of impending crisis preceding World War I, the city grew constantly until 1914. By that year it had become one of the most densely-populated industrial cities in the world—. A major battle was fought near the city in late 1914, and as a result the city came under German occupation after 6 December but with Polish independence restored in November 1918 the local population liberated the city and disarmed the German troops. In the aftermath of World War I, Łódź lost approximately 40% of its inhabitants, mostly owing to draft, diseases and because a huge part of the German population was forced to move to Germany.

In 1922, Łódź became the capital of the Łódź Voivodeship, but the period of rapid growth had ceased. The Great Depression of the 1930s and the Customs War with Germany closed western markets to Polish textiles while the Bolshevik Revolution (1917) and the Civil War in Russia (1918–1922) put an end to the most profitable trade with the East. The city became a scene of a series of huge workers' protests and riots in the interbellum. On 13 September 1925 a new airport, Lublinek Airport, started operations near the city of Łódź. In the interwar years Łódź continued to be a diverse city, with the 1931 Polish census showing that the total population of 604,470 included 315,622 (52.21%) Poles, 202,497 (33.49%) Jews and 86,351 (14.28%) Germans (determination based on the declaration of language used).

Also read Battle of Łódź (1939) Prelude.

World War II

During the Invasion of Poland the Polish forces of the Łódź Army of General Juliusz Rómmel defended Łódź against initial German attacks. However, the Wehrmacht captured the city on 8 September. Despite plans for the city to become a Polish exclave, attached to the General Government, the Nazi hierarchy respected the wishes of the local governor of Reichsgau Wartheland, Arthur Greiser, and of many of the ethnic Germans living in the city, and annexed it to the Reich in November 1939. The city received the new name of Litzmannstadt after the German general Karl Litzmann, who captured the city during World War I. Nevertheless, many Łódź Germans refused to sign Volksliste and become Volksdeutsche, instead being deported to the General Government. Soon the Nazi authorities set up the Łódź Ghetto in the city and populated it with more than 200,000 Jews from the Łódź area. As Jews were deported from Litzmannstadt for "resettlement" others were brought in. Due to the value of the goods that the ghetto population produced for the German military and various civilian contractors it was the last major ghetto to be "liquidated" (destroyed); approximately 900 people survived the liquidation of the ghetto in August 1944. Several concentration camps and death camps arose in the city's vicinity for the non-Jewish inhabitants of the regions, among them the infamous Radogoszcz prison and several minor camps for the Romani people and for Polish children.

By the end of World War II, Łódź had lost approximately 420,000 of its pre-war inhabitants: 300,000 Polish Jews and approximately 120,000 other Poles. In their place were thousands of new German residents, many of whom were Volksdeutsch who had been repatriated from Russia during the time of Hitler's alliance with the Soviet Union. In January 1945 most of the German population fled the city for fear of the Red Army. The city also suffered tremendous losses due to the German policy of requisition of all factories and machines and transporting them to Germany. Thus despite relatively small losses due to aerial bombardment and the fighting, Łódź had lost most of its infrastructure.

The Soviet Red Army entered the city on 18 January 1945. According to Marshal Katukov, whose forces participated in the operation, the Germans retreated so suddenly that they had no time to evacuate or destroy the Łódź factories, as they did in other cities. In time, Łódź became part of the People's Republic of Poland.

on Piotrkowska Street, in Łódź, Poland, where Rubinstein once lived.]]

Prior to World War II, the Jewish population of Łódź numbered about 233,000, accounting for one-third of the city’s population. The community was wiped out in the Holocaust.

After 1945

At the end of World War II, Łódź had fewer than 300,000 inhabitants. However the number began to grow as refugees from Warsaw and territories annexed by the Soviet Union immigrated. Until 1948 the city served as a de facto capital of Poland, since events during and after the Warsaw uprising had thoroughly destroyed Warsaw, and most of the government and country administration resided in Łódź. Some planned moving the capital there permanently, however this idea did not gain popular support and in 1948 the reconstruction of Warsaw began. Under the Polish Communist regime many of the industrialist families lost their wealth when the authorities nationalised private companies. Once again the city became a major centre of industry. In mid-1981 Łódź became famous for its massive, 50,000 hunger demonstration of local mothers and their children (see: Summer 1981 hunger demonstrations in Poland).

After the period of economic transition during the 1990s, most enterprises were again privatised. In 2002 the city came to national attention due to the "Skin Hunters" scandal: doctors and paramedics in one of the city's hospitals were caught murdering patients and selling their details to funeral homes for them to contact the relatives. Four men have been convicted but others are still under investigation. A film was made of the events in 2003.

Historical population

Square]]

! Year ! Population

1793	190
1806	767
1830	4,300
1850	15,800
1880	77,600
1905	343,900
1925	538,600
1990	850,000
2003	781,900
2007	753,192
2009	742,387

Łódź in literature and cinema

Three major novels depict the development of industrial Łódź. Władysław Reymont's Ziemia Obiecana (The Promised Land) (1898), Joseph Roth's Hotel Savoy (1924) and Israel Joshua Singer's Di Brider Ashkenazi (The Brothers Ashkenazi) (1937). Roth's novel depicts the city on the eve of a workers' riot in 1919. Reymont's novel was made into a film by Andrzej Wajda in 1975: see The Promised Land. In the 1990 film Europa Europa, Solomon Perel's family flees pre-WWII Berlin and settles in Łódź. Scenes of David Lynch's 2006 film Inland Empire were shot in Łódź. Sections of Harry Turtledove's Worldwar alternate history series take place in Łódź.

Tourism

in Łódź]]

Piotrkowska Street is the main artery and attraction stretching north to south for a little over five kilometres, making it (one of) the longest commercial streets in the world. A few of the building fronts have been renovated and date back to the 19th century.

Although Łódź does not have any hills nor any large body of water, one can still get close to nature in one of the city's many parks, most notably Łagiewniki (the largest city park in Europe). Łódź has one of the best museums of modern art in Poland, Muzeum Sztuki on Więckowskiego Street, which displays art by all important contemporary Polish artists. Despite insufficient exhibition space (many very impressive paintings and sculptures lie in storage in the basement), there are plans to move the museum to a larger space in the near future. There is also a branch of Muzeum Sztuki called MS² located in the area of Łódź largest mall "Manufaktura".

Another popular source of recreation is the Lunapark, an amusement park featuring about two dozen attractions including an 18 metre tall roller coaster and two dozen other rides and features, located near the city's zoo and its botanical gardens.

The largest 19th Century textile factory complex which was built by Izrael Poznanski has been turned into a shopping centre called "Manufaktura" which is an example of a modern business which operates in restored nineteenth century buildings.

Economy

Before 1990, Łódź's economy focused on the textile industry, which in the nineteenth century had developed in the city owing to the favourable chemical composition of its water. Because of the growth in this industry, the city has sometimes been called the "Polish Manchester". As a result, Łódź grew from a population of 13,000 in 1840 to over 500,000 in 1913. By the time right before World War I Łódź had become one of the most densely populated industrial cities in the world, with 13,280 inhabitants per km2. The textile industry declined dramatically in 1990 and 1991, and no major textile company survives in Łódź today. However, countless small companies still provide a significant output of textiles, mostly for export to Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union.

The city benefits from its central location in Poland. A number of firms have located their logistics centres in the vicinity. Two planned motorways, A1 spanning from the north to the south of Poland, and A2 going from the east to the west will intersect northeast of the city. When these motorways are completed around 2012, the advantages due to the city's central location should increase even further. Work has also begun on upgrading the railway connection with Warsaw, which reduces the 2 hour travel time to make the journey to 1.5 hours in 2009. In the next few years much of the track will be modified to handle trains moving at , cutting the travel time to about 75 minutes.

Recent years has seen many foreign companies opening offices in Łódź. Indian IT company Infosys has one of its centres in Łódź. Despite the fact that Łódź is regarded to be the poorest among Polish cities with population over 500.000, the GDP per capita in Łódź was 123,9% of Poland's average (2008).

In January 2009 Dell announced that it will shift production from its plant in Limerick, Ireland to its plant in Łódź, largely because the labour costs in Poland are a fraction of those in Ireland. The city's investor friendly policies have attracted 980 foreign investors by January 2009.

Chemnitz in Germany (since 1972)Stuttgart in Germany (since 1988)Lyon in France (since 1991)Vilnius in Lithuania(since 1991)Ivanovo in Russia (since 1992)Kaliningrad in Russia (since 1992)Minsk in Belarus(since 1993)Odessa in Ukraine(since 1993)Tel AvivTianjin in People's Republic of China (since 1994)Rustavi in Georgia (country)Barreiro (city)Tampere in Finland (since 1996)Puebla, PueblaMurcia in Spain (since 1999)Örebro in Sweden (since 2001)Szeged in Hungary(since 2004)Córdoba, Argentina

	Tel-Aviv in Israel (since 1994)	|	|	Georgia (since 1995)	Barreiro in Portugal (since 1996)	Puebla in Mexico (since 1997)	Córdoba, Argentina

Łódź belongs also to the Eurocities network.

Sports

Widzew Łódź – men's football team (established in 1910), (Polish Champion 1981, 1982, 1996, 1997; Polish Cup winner: 1985; Polish SuperCup winner: 1996; Ekstraklasa

ŁKS Łódź – men's football team (established in 1908), (Polish Champion 1958, 1998; Polish Cup winner 1957; 1st league (Orange Ekstraklasa) in 2006/2007 season)

ŁKS Lotto Łódź – women's basketball team, 6th place in Sharp Torell Basket Liga in 2003–2004 season

KS Społem Łódź – leading youth road and track cycling team in Poland

Budowlani Łódź- winner of Polish Rugby League in 1982/1983, 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2009/2010

Torpedy Łódź – American football team made to the Final of the 2nd League play-offs in 2008

BBRC Łódź – 3rd place in Polish Rugby7 League in 2009/2010

Klub Żużlowy Orzeł Łódź - speedway team (established in present form in 2005)

Notable residents

Daniel Amit, Israeli physicist

Grażyna Bacewicz, composer

Aleksander Bardini, stage director and actor

Andrzej Bartkowiak, cameraman and film director

Jurek Becker (1937–1997) writer

Kazimierz Brandys, writer

Artur Brauner, film producer

Jacob Bronowski, writer,

Karl Dedecius, translator

Karl Dominik (Born:Karol Dominik Ignaczak), China's first Chinese speaking Polish actor

Max Factor, Sr., businessman, founder of the Max Factor cosmetics company

Piotr Fronczewski, Polish actor

Marcin Gortat, NBA basketball player for the Phoenix Suns

Mendel Grossman, Łódź ghetto photographer

Józef Hecht (1891–1951), engraver and printmaker

Josef Joffe, journalist

Jan Karski, diplomat and antinazi resistant

Paul Klecki, conductor

Katarzyna Kobro, sculptor, Strzeminski's wife

Jerzy Kosinski, writer

Jan Kowalewski, Polish cryptologist who broke Soviet military codes and ciphers during the Polish-Soviet War.

Feliks W. Kres, fantasy writer

Daniel Libeskind, architect

Tadeusz Miciński, poet,

Zew Wawa Morejno, Chief Rabbi

Zbigniew Nienacki, writer

Josef Olechowski, Lawyer, Polish Senator, Anti-Soviet counter-espionage operative

Marian P. Opala, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice

Władysław Pasikowski, director

Roman Polanski, cinema director, Oscar and Golden Palm winner

Zbigniew Rybczyński, animator and Oscar winner

Władysław Reymont, writer, Nobel Prize winner

Joseph Rotblat, Nobel Prize winner

Stefan Rozental, nuclear physicist

Artur Rubinstein, pianist, settled

Andrzej Sapkowski, fantasy writer

Carl Wilhelm Scheibler (1820–1881) one of the most important Łódź industrialists

Piotr Sobociński, cinematographer

Andrzej Sontag, track-and-field star

Natan Spigel, painter (1900–1942)

Władysław Strzemiński, painter, Kobro's husband

Arthur Szyk, artist

Aleksander Tansman, composer and pianist

Jack Tramiel computer manufacturer, founder of Commodore and Atari.

Julian Tuwim, poet

Miś Uszatek, cartoon character

Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm, writer

Marek Saganowski, football player

Other buildings

Buildings destroyed by the Nazi German occupation

Bibliography

Ghettostadt: Łódź and the Making of a Nazi City, Gordon H Horwitz, Harvard University Press, 2009

"A Stairwell in Lodz," Constance Cappel, 2004, Xlibris, (in English).

"Lodz – The Last Ghetto in Poland," Michal Unger, Yad Vashem, 600 pages (in Hebrew)

References

Stefański, Krzysztof (2000). Gmachy użyteczności publicznej dawnej Łodzi, Łódź 2000 ISBN 83-86699-45-0.

Stefański, Krzysztof (2009). Ludzie którzy zbudowali Łódź Leksykon architektów i budowniczych miasta (do 1939 roku), Łódź 2009 ISBN 978-83-61253-44-0.

External links

Public Transport Official Site

City map of Łódź

Historic images of Łódź

Photo Gallery of Łódź

Łódź Special Economic Zone

Łódź-Lublinek Airport

The Łódź Ghetto

Łódź 2016 – Official site of candidate for European Capital of Culture

– Unofficial site of links to site with inform about Lodz

Youth Groups in the Łódź Ghetto – Online Exhibition from Yad Vashem

Category:Cities and towns in Łódź Voivodeship Category:City counties of Poland

Coordinates	39°44′21″N104°59′5″N
Name	Shakira
Caption	Shakira in March 2011
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
Born	February 02, 1977 Barranquilla, Colombia
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, drums, percussion
Genre	Latin pop, pop, pop rock, dance, world, electronic
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, philanthropist, dancer
Years active	1990–present
Label	Sony Music Colombia, Sony Music Latin, Epic, Live Nation Artists
Website

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977), known professionally as Shakira (, ), is a Colombian singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, and philanthropist who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 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 and Portuguese as well as some Italian, French and Arabic.

After commercial flops with local producers on her first two albums, and being 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 her 1998 album ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? was a critical success selling over 7 million copies worldwide. In 2001, aided by the worldwide success of her first English single "Whenever, Wherever" that became the best selling single of 2002, she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over 13 million copies worldwide. Four years later, Shakira released two album projects called Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation Vol. 2. Both reinforced her success, particularly with the best selling song of the 2000s, "Hips Don't Lie".

In 1995, Shakira founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation. It is a Colombian charity with special schools for poor children all around Colombia. During her career, Shakira has performed at a large number of benefit concerts. Among the most famous are the Live 8 benefit concert in July 2005, the Live Earth concert, Hamburg where she headlined the show, as well as the "Clinton Global Initiative" created by former US President Bill Clinton. She was also invited to the Oval Office by President Barack Obama in February 2010 to discuss early childhood development.

She has won two Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, Her U.S. album sales stand at 9.6 million.

In the fall of 2009, Shakira released her sixth studio album She Wolf worldwide gaining a lot of critical praise for her eccentricity and writing skills. The album sold roughly 2 million copies around the world. Shakira's "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", was chosen as the official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The song has received generally positive critical reception, and has become a worldwide smash hit and the biggest selling World Cup song of all time. On YouTube, the English version of the music video is the 3rd most watched video of all time with over 370 million views. When she released her seventh studio album, the bilingual Sale el Sol in October 2010, she gained back her Latin following, which Shakira described as being the main goal for the album. The album has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.

She was engaged to the son of the former President of Argentina, Antonio de la Rúa. Their relationship lasted almost 11 years and ended in August 2010. She is now dating Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué and confirmed their relationship in March 2011.

Early life

Shakira was born on February 2, 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia. She is the only child of Nidia Ripoll and William Mebarak Chadid and is of Lebanese (Arab), Macedonian, Spanish (Catalan and Castilian), and Italian descent. She has eight older half-siblings from her father's previous marriage. Shakira's father is originally from the United States, born in New York, at the age of 5 his family moved to Sincelejo from New York then relocated to Barranquilla.

, Colombia]]

She spent much of her youth in Barranquilla, a city located in northern Colombia. Shakira wrote her first poem, entitled "La Rosa De Cristal" ("The Crystal Rose") when she was only four years old. As she was growing up, she was fascinated watching her father writing stories on a typewriter, and asked for one as a Christmas gift. She got her wish at age seven and continued writing poetry. These poems eventually evolved into songs. At the age of two, an older half-brother was killed in a motorcycle accident and at the age of eight, Shakira wrote her first song entitled "Tus gafas oscuras" ("Your dark glasses") which was inspired by her father, who for years wore dark glasses, to hide his grief. When Shakira was four, her father took her to a local Middle Eastern restaurant, where Shakira first heard the doumbek, a traditional drum used in Arabic music and which typically accompanied belly dancing. At school, she says she had been known as "the belly dancer girl", as she would demonstrate every Friday at school a number she had learned.

When she was eight, Shakira's father declared bankruptcy. While the details were sorted out, she stayed with relatives in Los Angeles. On returning to Barranquilla, she was shocked to find that much of what her parents owned had been sold; as she later said "In my childish head, this was the end of the world." It was at about this time that she met local theater producer Monica Ariza, who was impressed with her and as a result tried to help her career. During a flight from Barranquilla to Bogotá, Ariza convinced Sony Colombia executive Ciro Vargas to hold an audition for Shakira in a hotel lobby. Vargas held Shakira in high regard and, returning to the Sony office, gave the cassette to a song and artist director. However, the director was not overly excited and thought Shakira was something of "a lost cause". Vargas, not daunted, was still convinced that Shakira had talent, and set up an audition in Bogotá. He arranged for Sony Colombia executives to arrive at the audition, with the idea of surprising them with Shakira's performance. She performed three songs for the executives and impressed them enough for her to be signed to record three albums.

Music career

1990–94: Career beginnings

Shakira's debut album, Magia, was recorded with Sony Music Columbia in 1990 when she was only thirteen years old. Since then, the albums have been pulled from release and are not considered official Shakira albums but rather promotional albums.

1995–97: Pies Descalzos and The Remixes

Shakira originally recorded the song "¿Dónde Estás Corazón?" (later released on her album Pies Descalzos) for the compilation album Nuestro Rock in 1995, released exclusively in Colombia. “Pies Descalzos” album brought her great popularity in Latin America by the hit singles "Estoy Aquí," "Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos" and "Dónde Estás Corazón." These recordings spawned her third studio album but first official, Pies Descalzos. Recording for the album began in February 1995, after the success of her single "¿Dónde Estás Corazón?". Sony gave Shakira $100,000 to produce the album since they predicted that the album would not sell past 100,000 copies. Starting with this album, Shakira began producing her own music, perfecting her vocals and most of all, practicing creative control over her music. Highly influenced by the American alternative market and British groups such as The Pretenders, the album's songs are melodic, musically surprising and gritty, with intellectual lyrics and an electronic/acoustic blend that effectively broke the formulaic mold of Latin pop with an authentic sound that had not been heard before.

The album Pies Descalzos, was released in October 1995 in South America and in February 1996 internationally. It debuted at number one in eight different countries. However, it only managed to reach number one-hundred-eighty on the U.S. Billboard 200 but reached number five on the U.S. Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. The album spawned six hit singles, "Estoy Aquí" which reached number two on the U.S. Latin chart, "¿Dónde Estás Corazón?" which reached number five on the U.S. Latin chart, "Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos" which reached number eleven on the U.S. Latin chart, "Un Poco De Amor" which reached number six on the U.S. Latin chart, "Antología" which reached number fifteen on the U.S. Latin Pop Songs chart and "Se Quiere, Se Mata" which reached number eight on the U.S. Latin chart. In August 1996, RIAA certified the album platinum status.

In March 1996, Shakira went on to her first international tour named simply the Tour Pies Descalzos. The tour consisted of 20 shows and ended in 1997. Also in that year, Shakira received three Billboard Latin Music Awards for Album of the Year for Pies Descalzos, Video of the Year for "Estoy Aqui" and Best New Artist. Pies Descalzos later sold over 5 million copies, prompting the release of a remix album, simply titled The Remixes. The Remixes also included Portuguese versions of some of her well known songs, which were recorded as a result of her success in the Brazilian market, where Pies Descalzos sold nearly one million copies. Shakira's first live album, MTV Unplugged was recorded in New York City on August 12, 1999. Highly acclaimed by American critics, it is rated as one of her best-ever live performances. The live album earned the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album in 2001 and gained sales of five million worldwide. In March 2000, Shakira embarked on her Tour Anfibio, a two-month tour of Latin America and the United States. In August 2000, she won an MTV Video Music Award in the now-defunct category of People's Choice — Favorite International Artist for "Ojos Asi". On September 9, 2000, Shakira performed "Ojos Así" at the inaugural ceremony of the Latin Grammy Awards, where she was nominated in five categories: Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for MTV Unplugged, Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Octavo Dia", Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Short Form Music Video for the video for "Ojos Asi", but she won only two of the awards. Shakira's performance of "Ojos Asi" at the awards show was voted as the Greatest Latin Grammy performance of all time.

2001–04: Laundry Service and international success

Upon the success of Dónde Están Los Ladrones? and MTV Unplugged, Shakira began working on an English crossover album. Thanks to other successful crossover acts, most notably that of Ricky Martin, Selena and Enrique Iglesias, the crossover of Spanish artists to the English market had a great surge of popularity in mainstream music and it was the next logical step to Shakira and her label for her career. Shakira worked for over a year on new material for the album. "Whenever, Wherever" ("Suerte" in Spanish countries) was released as the first and lead single from Shakira's first English album and third studio album throughout the period of August 2001 and February 2002. The song took heavy influence from Andean music, including the charango and panpipes in its instrumentation. The track was produced by Shakira, and it was an international success by reaching number one in most countries. It was also her first success in the U.S., by reaching number six on the Hot 100.

Shakira's third studio album and first English language album Laundry Service (Servicio De Lavanderia in Latin America and Spain) was released on November 13, 2001. The album debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart selling over 200,000 records in its first week. Laundry Service was later certified triple platinum by the RIAA in June 2004 as well. and thus helped to establish Shakira's musical presence in the mainstream North American market. Seven songs from the album became international singles: "Whenever, Wherever" / "Suerte", "Underneath Your Clothes", "Objection (Tango)" / "Te Aviso, Te Anuncio (Tango)", "The One", "Te Dejo Madrid", "Que Me Quedes Tú" and "Poem To A Horse", with four of the singles becoming largely successful.

Because the album was created for the English language market, the rock and Spanish dance-influenced album gained mild critical success with some critics claimed that her English skills were too weak for her to write songs for it with Rolling Stone stating "she sounds downright silly" or "Shakira's magic is lost in translation." Shakira also was criticized by her Latin fans for seemingly abandoning her folk and rock roots in favor of contemporary American pop music. Despite this fact, the album became the best selling album of 2002, selling more than 13 million copies worldwide. Shakira received four Latin Grammy Awards in November 2006, winning the awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year for "La Tortura", Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Fijación Oral Vol. 1. Fijación Oral Vol. 1 has since sold over 4 million copies worldwide. The cover of the album featured Shakira as Eve with forbidden fruit was also considered controversial, and had to be altered in several countries which would not sell the album with that cover.

Despite the commercial failure of the album's lead single in the U.S., it went on to spawn two more singles. "Hips Don't Lie", featuring Wyclef Jean, was released as the album's second single in February 2006. The song went on to become the highest selling single of the 21st century and became Shakira's first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, in addition to reaching number one in over fifty-five countries. Shakira and Wyclef Jean also recorded a Bamboo version of the song to serve as the official theme of the FIFA World Cup 2006. Shakira, along with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, received the most nominations for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards with "Hips Don't Lie", but she won only the award for Best Choreography. Shakira later released the third and final single from the album, "Illegal" featuring Carlos Santana, in November 2006. The single reached number one in some European countries and on the U.S. dance chart, though it failed to reach the Hot 100.Shakira embarked on the Oral Fixation Tour, in June 2006. The tour consisted of 125 shows between June 2006 and July 2007. The concert also visited all six continents. One show in Mexico City was performed for free, and earned an audience of over 200,000. This concert sets the record for the highest attendance of any concert in Mexican history. Shakira also performed on July 9, 2006 at the FIFA World Cup final in Germany. In November 2007, the Oral Fixation Tour DVD was released and is also available in High Definition Blu-Ray format. The two versions of the DVD have sold over 16 million copies worldwide. In February 2007, Shakira performed for the first time at the 49th Grammy Awards and earned the nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Hips Don’t Lie" with Wyclef Jean, though she did not win the award.

2009–present: She Wolf and Sale el Sol

During an online chat with her fans in El Heraldo in February 2008, Shakira revealed that work on her sixth studio album was about to begin. Furthermore, at Shakira's cousin Isa Mebarak's album release party in Colombia, Shakira's father William Mebarak stated that Shakira was currently at work writing and producing new songs for her upcoming album. This was being done in "her own studio", which many fans thought to mean the studio at her home in the Bahamas. Shakira recorded 2005's Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and 2006's Oral Fixation Vol. 2 there as well.

After spending two weeks in London, Shakira flew to Colombia for a peace-promoting concert in Leticia (at the three way border of Colombia, Peru and Brazil) with Carlos Vives. Followed by hundreds of thousands of fellow Colombians, Shakira was calling for the release of hostages being held by rebels in Colombia and an end to similar kidnappings in the region. Afterward, it was reported by Noticias Caracol in Colombia that Shakira returned to her home studio in the Bahamas and continued recording "a little something" with members of Vives' band. It was later confirmed that Shakira was working with the likes of RedOne, Wyclef Jean and Luis F. Ochoa on her sixth studio album. RedOne later stated that Shakira was in "an experimental phase" and that she had been working on the album in Los Angeles, Miami, Vancouver, London, Uruguay and the Bahamas.

In early 2008, Forbes named Shakira the fourth top-earning female artist in music industry. Then, in July 2008, Shakira signed a 10-year contract with Live Nation, an international touring giant. The touring group also doubles as a record label which promotes but does control the music their artists release. Regarding Shakira's contract, Jason Garner, the global music chief of Live Nation stated that: "Shakira is one of the few truly global artists. She can sell music and tickets in nearly every corner of the globe." Neither Shakira's representatives nor Live Nation would confirm the value of the deal, but people close to the negotiations said that depending on Shakira's performance over the 10 years, it is likely to be worth between $70 million and $100 million. Shakira's contract with Epic Records calls for three more albums as well – one in English, one in Spanish, and a compilation, but the touring and other rights of the Live Nation deal were confirmed to begin immediately.

"She Wolf", the lead single from Shakira's sixth studio album, premiered on July 13, 2009. Shakira wrote and produced the song with John Hill, and Sam Endicott (lead singer and songwriter of The Bravery). The Spanish version, titled "Loba", premiered on the same day as well. "She Wolf" and "Loba" then became available for digital download the following day. The video for "She Wolf" premiered on MTV on July 30, 2009. The site also announced that a Spanish album will be released in 2010.

It was initially announced that Shakira would release a Spanish album in 2010 after the release of She Wolf, similar to what she did with Oral Fixation, but Shakira later stated that the album would instead be a bilingual project, which will contain Spanish and English songs. She also stated that it was due for a September 2010 release. Shakira collaborated with the South African group Freshlyground to create the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", which is based on a traditional Cameroonian soldiers' Fang song named "Zangalewa" by the group Zangalewa or Golden Sounds. The song was made popular in her native Colombia in 1987 through west African DJs in Colombia. The single later reached the top 20 in Europe, South America and Africa and the top 40 in the U.S. and was performed by Shakira at the World Cup kick-off and closing.

Sale el Sol has been released as Shakira's seventh studio album on October 19, 2010. In June 2010, during an interview with Billboard magazine, Shakira announced that her new album would be released in September. She stated in the magazine that "I see it [the new album] as having two currents," she stated. "One is a lot about love and love experiences and emotions. And the other side of it is very joyful, and upbeat." Shakira also revealed that the music on the album would reflect influences from both the Dominican Republic and Colombia. "It’s a little more Latin on one side and a little more rock ‘n roll on the other side," she stated. She later compared her new material to the Oral Fixation era's music, stating that she was "going back to basics" for the record. The lead single "Loca", her version of the song "Loca con su tiguere" from El Cata, was number one in many countries. She shot the video for "Loca" in Barcelona in August,. Shakira unveiled the official album cover on September 1. The album debuted at 7 on Billboard 200 in its first week, and at the top spot on the Billboard Top Latin Albums. On December 6, 2010 Sony Music announced that the album had sold over 1 million copies worldwide in 6 weeks, and over 2 million since its release.

Shakira is currently on her The Sun Comes Out World Tour in support of her two most recent albums.

and Stevie Wonder at the ]]

Collaborations and other work

In 2003, Shakira wrote a song called "Come Down Love" with Tim Mitchell for the Hollywood movie The Italian Job starring South African actress Charlize Theron and Mark Wahlberg, but the song was not included on the soundtrack of the same name. In late 2006, Shakira and Alejandro Sanz collaborated for the duet Te lo Agradezco, Pero No, which is featured on Sanz' album El Tren de los Momentos. The song was a top ten hit in Latin America, and topped "Billboard" Hot Latin Tracks chart. Shakira also collaborated with Miguel Bosé on the duet "Si Tú No Vuelves", which was released in Bosé's album Papito, which celebrates his thirty-year career. In early 2007, Shakira worked with American R&B; singer Beyoncé for the track "Beautiful Liar", which was released as the second single from the deluxe edition of Knowles' B'Day. In April 2007, the single jumped ninety-one positions, from ninety-four to three, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, setting the record for the largest upward movement in the history of the chart at the time. It was also number one on the official UK Singles Chart. The song earned them a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The song was one of Knowles' and Shakira's most successful worldwide, as it was particularly popular in Spanish-speaking countries such as Argentina and Spain, where it topped charts.

According to Billboard, Shakira, along with Lil Wayne would collaborate on a new track for Carlos Santana's greatest hits CD titled Ultimate Santana. However, this collaboration was cancelled, and Shakira and Lil Wayne were replaced by Jennifer Lopez and Baby Bash. Shakira is featured on Annie Lennox's song "Sing", from the album Songs of Mass Destruction, which also features other twenty-three other female singers. Shakira wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the music for two new songs that are featured in the movie Love in the Time of Cholera, based on the acclaimed novel by Colombian author Gabriel García Marquez. García Marquez himself asked Shakira to write the songs. The songs that Shakira lent to the soundtrack were "Pienso en ti", a song from Shakira's breakthrough album Pies Descalzos, "Hay Amores" and "Despedida". "Despedida" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 65th Golden Globe Awards but did not win. It was rumored that the song would also be nominated for an Academy Award, but it was not, with a source calling the fact that it was left off the nominees the Academy's "worst snub.

Shakira collaborated with the South African group Freshlyground to create the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)". She headlined the closing ceremony on July 11, 2010 as well.

In August of 2010, Shakira recorded a song with Dora the Explorer called "Todos Juntos." The song is featured on the soundtrack We Did It! Dora's Greatest Hits, which was released on August 17, 2010. The song was also featured on a Dora television special titled "Dora's Explorer Girls" which aired on November 7, 2010 on Nickelodeon.

Other work

Shakira appeared in the Colombian telenovela El Oasis in 1994, playing the character of Luisa Maria. In December 2009, Shakira appeared as herself in the Ugly Betty episode "The Bahamas Triangle". In 2010, Shakira appeared as a fictional version herself in an episode of Wizards of Waverly Place. She was also mentioned several times on The George Lopez Show. She was invited personally by Gabriel Garcia Marquez to play a role in Love in the Time of Cholera, but declined due to the nudity involved.

‎Shakira is well known for her dancing in various music videos and in concert. Her moves are based on the art of belly dancing, a part of her Lebanese heritage. She often performs barefoot. Shakira says she learned this form of dance as a young teen to overcome her shyness. She also mentioned in a MTV interview that she learned how to belly dance by trying to flip a coin with her belly. The intense training has afforded her a fluidity in her body movement most seen in the videos to her hits "Ojos Así", "La Tortura", "Hips Don't Lie", "Whenever, Wherever / Suerte", "Beautiful Liar" "and "She Wolf / Loba". She has had several belly dance choreographers, including award-winning Bellydance Superstar Boženka. As the MTV Making the Video for "La Tortura" reveals, she worked with Jamie King on the choreography, but ended up creating most of it herself.

Shakira became the 2010 celebrity spokesperson for the Freixenet traditional Christmas TV commercial. Each year, this Cava company taps into a world-famous celebrity to be the face of its much-awaited holiday TV spot. For her latest venture, Shakira dressed up as a golden sparkling wine bubble, "This year, let's toast so that the sun shines more than ever. The best is yet to come. Merry Christmas." Shakira says in the ad. In a press conference in Barcelona, Shakira presented the Christmas commercial, which will start airing in Spain on December 9. The singer also took the opportunity to announce that she used the $500,000 EUR ($662,085 USD) honorarium given to her by the Spanish bubbly to finance two schools run by her foundation, Pies Descalzos. The partnership between Shakira and Freixenet also includes a Pies Descalzos Foundation promotional video, directed by longtime Shakira collaborator and fellow Catalan Jaume Delaiguana.

Shakira began her own beauty line, "S by Shakira," with parent company Puig, in 2010. The brand has released two perfumes, "S by Shakira" and "S by Shakira Eau Florale," along with lotions and body sprays. At a release event for the first fragrance, Shakira stated: "The type of women who feel a connection with this fragrance would be independent and strong, but also a woman with a great capacity to love and a strong sense of who they are. It's for a woman who believes in herself."

Philanthropy

In 1995, Shakira founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation. It is a Colombian charity with special schools for poor children all around Colombia. It was funded by Shakira and other international groups and individuals. The name of the foundation is taken from Shakira's third studio album called Pies Descalzos, released in 1995. During her career, Shakira has performed at a large number of benefit concerts. In 2002 she sang at a Party in the Park concert fundraising for the Prince's Trust. That same year she performed at Divas Live which supports VH1's Save the Music Foundation. On July 2, 2005, she performed her hits "Whenever, Wherever" and "La Tortura" on the Live 8 benefit concert at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris. On July 7, 2007, the singer opened the German leg of Live Earth in Hamburg. Her set included "Don't Bother", "Inevitable", "Día Especial" (with Gustavo Cerati) and "Hips Don't Lie". Shakira also performed at the "Clinton Global Initiative", where she performed her hits "Underneath Your Clothes", "Inevitable" and "Hips Don't Lie". On May 17, 2008 Shakira and twenty other Latin American and Spanish artists performed in Buenos Aires and Mexico City to raise money for Shakira's Latin America in Solidarity Action "America Latina en Accion Solidaria" (ALAS Foundation) charity. This concert attracted 150,000 people in Buenos Aires. Although tickets were free, the demand exceeded the supply; some fans who were fortunate enough to secure free tickets resold them.

and the King of Spain during the IberoAmerican Summit of El Salvador]]

She has agitated against the implementation of the Arizona statute SB1070 against illegal immigration, saying that it goes against civil rights. Shakira is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is one of their global representatives. "Shakira, like all our Goodwill Ambassadors, was chosen based on her compassion, her involvement in global issues, her deep commitment to helping children, and her appeal to young people around the world. We're very pleased to have Shakira join the UNICEF family. I know she'll help bring UNICEF's mission to the audience who will have the most impact on our future – young people themselves", said UNICEF's Executive Director Carol Bellamy.

On April 3, 2006, Shakira was honored at a UN ceremony for creating the Pies Descalzos Foundation. At the event, the singer said, "Let's not forget that at the end of this day when we all go home, 960 children will have died in Latin America." On September 28, 2007 at the Clinton Global Initiative, it was revealed that Shakira received a commitment of $40 million from the Spanish government to help the victims of natural disasters. An additional $5 million was to be donated to four Latin American countries, to be spent on education and health. As part of the May 2007 concerts, her ALAS Foundation was able to solicit commitments of US$ 200 million from philanthropists Carlos Slim, Mexico’s richest man, and Howard Buffett, son of U.S. investment guru Warren Buffett, the singer announced on April 15, 2008. In December 2007, Shakira visited Bangladesh to appeal for the victims of Cyclone Sidr. She spent 3 days with the victims and visited children affected by the disaster in schools built by UNICEF and participated in the distribution of family kits and warm clothes. She said that little was left of the school she visited in the village of Mirzapur, but it still provided an "oasis" for the children. "I am more convinced than ever that education is the key to so many of the difficulties that our children face in countries like mine or in developing countries like this one. It's the key to a better and safer world," she said.

Shakira served as the Honorary Chairperson for "Action Week" 2008 (April 21–27). The event is sponsored by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), to generate awareness about the Education for All Act. She spoke with the U.S. Congress, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and World Bank President Robert Zoellick to promote a move towards Global Education. Angelina Jolie served as last year's chair. People En Español announced in their December 2008/January 2009 issue that Shakira is the "Humanitarian of the Year" as part of their "Las Estrellas del Año" (Stars of the Year) awards. Shakira was also ranked at number 48 on the list of Top 50 Most Charitable Celebrities by OK! magazine. It reported that she donates approximately $55,000 to charity yearly. On her 32nd birthday, Shakira opened a new $6-Million school in her hometown Barranquilla, which was sponsored by herself and her Pies Descalzos Foundation.

On December 7, 2009 Shakira was honored as a guest at the University of Oxford to give a speech about her work with children and education. She was chosen by the Oxford Union and joined the ranks of Albert Einstein, several US Presidents, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama XIV, as a chosen speaker. During the speech, Shakira said, "That is how I want the youth of 2060 to see us: That our mission for global peace consisted of sending 30,000 educators to Afghanistan, not 30,000 soldiers. That in 2010, world education became more important than world domination."

In March 2010, she was awarded a medal by the UN' International Labor Organization in recognition of being, as UN Labor Chief Juan Somavia put it, a "true ambassador for children and young people, for quality education and social justice." In November 2010, after performing as the opening act of the MTV European Music Awards, the Colombian singer also received the MTV Free Your Mind award for her continuing dedication to improve access to education for all children around the world.

In February 2011, the FC Barcelona Foundation and Pies descalzos reached an agreement for children's education through sport.

Personal life

Relationships

In 2000, Shakira started dating Antonio de la Rúa. In a 2009 interview, Shakira stated their relationship already worked as a married couple, and that "they don't need papers for that." On January 10, 2011, Shakira announced on her website that after 11 years together, she and de la Rúa had separated in August 2010 after making "a mutual decision to take time apart from our romantic relationship." She wrote that the couple "view this period of separation as temporary and as a time of individual growth as we continue to be partners in our business and professional lives", with de la Rúa overseeing Shakira's "business and career interests as he has always done."

Shakira has currently been dating Gerard Piqué (10 years younger centre back for FC Barcelona). Shakira officially confirmed their relationship on March 29, 2011 via Twitter and Facebook posting a picture of the two with a caption reading, "I present to you my sunshine." It was the first time she'd ever spoken of the relationship.

Other

Shakira was raised as a Roman Catholic. She met personally the pope John Paul II in 1998, who nominated her a Goodwill Ambassador. She is interested in world history and frequently studies the history and languages of the countries she visits. After her Oral Fixation tour ended in summer 2007, Shakira attended a class in Los Angeles at UCLA, on the History of Western Civilization. She used her middle and last names, Isabel Mebarak, and told the professor she was visiting from Colombia so as to avoid being recognized as a celebrity. Shakira is a cousin of model and 2005–2006 Miss Colombia, Valerie Domínguez.

Style

Music and voice

Shakira is known to have adopted many genres, including folk, mainstream pop and rock. In an interview with Rolling Stone she said: "My music, I think, is a fusion of many different elements. And I'm always experimenting. So I try not to limit myself, or put myself in a category, or... be the architect of my own jail". Her earlier Spanish albums, including Pies Descalzos and ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? were a mix of folk music and Latin rock, while her cross-over English album, Laundry Service and her later albums were influenced by pop rock and pop Latino. Her 2009 album, She Wolf is more like electropop and dance music. Her 2010 album, Sale el Sol, is a return to her beginnings containing ballads such as "Lo Que Más" and "Antes de las Seis", rock songs like "Tu Boca" and "Devoción", and Latin dance songs like "Loca".

Influences

Shakira has told many interviewers that she has grown fond of listening to oriental music, which influenced many of her earlier works. For example, Shakira used the Indian theme for her performance of "Hips Don’t Lie" at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City. She has also been influenced by her Arab heritage, which was a major inspiration for her breakthrough world hit "Ojos Así". She told Portuguese TV "Many of my movements belong to Arab culture." The Beatles, Nirvana, The Police and U2. She lists John Lennon as her No.1 musical influence. She was also deeply influenced by The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, The Who, The Pretenders, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Cure, Tom Petty, Depeche Mode, The Clash, Ramones, whose influence can be heard on her many prominent songs. In a recent interview to Elenco magazine, she noted that in her opinion the perfect songs are "Imagine" by John Lennon and "No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley.

Shakira made several covers of prominent artists such AC/DC and Aerosmith, using them to sing in her tours, resulting in performances of "Back in Black" and "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" during her Tour of the Mongoose. She also sang the classic Elvis Presley song "Always On My Mind" at the VH1 Divas Live. In her 2010–2011 tour called The Sun Comes Out World Tour, she sings "Nothing Else Matters" by the heavy metal band Metallica in an oriental style. She is also strongly influenced by Andean music and South American folk music, using her native instrumentation for the Latin dance-pop "Whenever, Wherever" and "Despedida". Shakira recently performed two songs for two separate Haiti benefit events: "I'll Stand By You", by The Pretenders, and "Sólo le pido a Dios" by León Gieco.

In terms of Spanish language rock Shakira is indebited to the Argentine rock power trio Soda Stereo and to the Mexican American band Santana.

Records and achievements

According to Sony, Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. According to Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, "Hips Don't Lie" was the most-played pop song in a single week in American radio history. It was played 9,637 times in one week. Shakira became the first artist in the history of the Billboard charts to earn the coveted number one spots on both the Top 40 Mainstream and Latin Chart in the same week doing so with "Hips Don't Lie". According to Yahoo!, "Hips Don't Lie" is the Best-Selling Single of the Last 10 Years. According to Nokia in 2010, there were more Shakira music downloads in the prior year than for any other Latino artist in the last five years, and She Wolf topped the Top 10 Latino downloads. Additionally, she is the only artist from South America to reach the number-one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, and the UK Singles Chart. Shakira was to be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009, but turned the offer down citing that she did not want to be considered a star of Hollywood. In 2010, Shakira was ranked number five on the 'Online Video's Most Viral Artists of 2010' with 404,118,932 views. Shakira has become a Youtube sensation having surpassed 1 billion views on the website with Waka Waka accounting for over 250,000,000 views this year alone. She is the third person ever to have done this, after Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.

Discography

Pies Descalzos (1996)

Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998)

Laundry Service (2001)

Fijación Oral Vol. 1 (2005)

Oral Fixation Vol. 2 (2005)

She Wolf (2009)

Sale el Sol (2010)

Tours

1996–1997: Tour Pies Descalzos

2000: Tour Anfibio

2002–2003: Tour of the Mongoose

2006–2007: Oral Fixation Tour

2010–2011: The Sun Comes Out World Tour

See also

List of best-selling music artists

List of awards and nominations received by Shakira

List of best-selling singles worldwide

Notes

References

Oral Fixation World Tour 2006 (info)

VH1 Driven: Shakira (article)

VH1 Driven: Shakira (video)

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Book: Woman Full Of Grace by Ximena Diego

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Pareles, Jon (Nov. 14, 2005). "Shakira, from lip to hip". New Straits Times, p. L3.

"Shakira pertahan orang Arab". (Nov. 8, 2005). Berita Harian, p. 13.

Frank Cogan's review of Laundry Service for The Village Voice

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Chart Performance for "Don't Bother" from Billboard Hot 100

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Chart Performance for Oral Fixation 2

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Oral Fixation 2 Sales

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New York Times Magazine article on Shakira's philanthropic work on education.

External links

Barefoot Foundation Official site

Fundación Pies Descalzos Official site

Category:1977 births Category:Belly dancers Category:Colombian dance musicians Category:Colombian expatriates in the United States Category:Colombian female singers Category:Colombian musicians Category:Colombian guitarists Category:Colombian people of Lebanese descent Category:Colombian people of Macedonian descent Category:Colombian people of Spanish descent Category:Colombian people of Catalan descent Category:Colombian people of Italian descent Category:Colombian philanthropists Category:Colombian pop singers Category:Colombian rock singers Category:Colombian Roman Catholics Category:Colombian singers Category:Colombian singer-songwriters Category:English-language singers Category:Female rock singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Harmonica players Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Latin pop singers Category:Living people Category:People from Barranquilla Category:Portuguese-language singers Category:Spanish-language singers Category:UNICEF people Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Free Your Mind Award winners