Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on February 2nd, 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia. When she was really young, she already knew what she wanted to do. She wrote her first song when she was eight years old, and went on to sign a record deal at only thirteen years old. With a father from Lebanon and a Columbian mother, Shakira stays true to her Latino and Arabic roots in her music.She listened to the music of her parents' culture as well as English-language songs, preferably …show more content…
One way she does it is by giving encouragement to poor countries affected by natural disasters.She visited the country of Bangladesh, where a tornado once touched the ground and destroyed it. She meets with the women and children affected and said, "I am sorry for what happened to you, but things are going to get better again. I admire your resilience and your patience and how much you can still give when you have so little for yourselves.” She donated 10,000 pairs of tennis shoes to children who needed them in her hometown of Barranquilla. She started a non-profit organization called, The Barefoot Foundation. The Barefoot Foundation is devoted to making sure that every child can have his or her basic right to a quality education. Aside from all the bad things she helps out with. Shakira has a total of over 60 million albums sold worldwide, 8 Latin Grammy Awards, 2 American Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Latin Music Awards, and was nominated for a Golden