Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll born February 2 , 1977 ) is a Colombian singer , songwriter , dancer and record producer . Born and raised in Barranquilla , she began performing at school, clearly showing Latin American , Arabic and Rock and roll influences and her belly dancing abilities . Shakira’s first two studio albums, Magia andPeligro , failed to achieve commercial success in the 1990s. However, she began to gain popularity in Latin America with the release of her studio album Pies Descalzos (1996), and her fourth album. , Donde Están los Ladrones? (1998). By 2001, she had sold over 20 million albums alone in Latin America to date.
