Event Title
Shakira! Columbia's Multicultural Musical Icon
Date of Publication
3-26-2021
Document Type
Paper
Abstract / Program Notes
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born in 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia’s Caribbean Coast. The Titan of Latin Pop and The Queen of Latin music, Shakira, is known as a singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, record producer, and philanthropist. Shakira has written/co-written over 80 songs, has won 3 Grammy Awards, 12 Latin Grammy Awards (the most of any Latin artist), six Latin Billboard Awards, has been nominated for an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and has sold over 100 million albums, making her one of the world’s best-selling musical artists. Born of Lebanese, Catalan, Spanish and Italian heritage, this paper will explore Shakira’s multicultural influences that led her to become one of the leading singer/songwriters of Latin music and U.S. Latin pop music. Shakira wrote her first poem at the age of four years old and began belly dancing at an early age. By the age of 10, she was becoming a South American musical sensation, was signed by Sony Music Columbia at the age of 13 and produced her first album by 14 in 1991. Shakira’s vocal stylings have been compared to Spanish yodeling and it is her very Arabic roots that shape her vocal inflections and the use of double harmonic scales and the Major Locrian scale in her compositions. This paper will highlight Shakira’s songs written with Antonio Pinto, Hay Amores and Despedida from the movie Love in the Time of Cholera and “Ojos asi”, one of Shakira’s musical compositions that reflect her Arabic heritage and influences.
Biography
A native of New Jersey, Alexandra Zacharella is Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Low Brass at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. Zacharella holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in trombone performance from the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music, with minors in conducting, music education and jazz studies; a Master of Music degree in Trombone Performance from The University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance and Music Education from The University of Hartford, The Hartt School. Zacharella is an active low brass and wind ensemble clinician and has presented clinics and masterclasses in South Korea, Hong Kong, California, Michigan, Georgia, Arkansas, and Oklahoma to name a few. She presented at the 65th and 70th Annual Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois and gave the plenary paper for the keynote performance for trombonist and Conn-Selmer Artist Christian Lindberg, at the International Conference of the College Music Society in Stockholm, Sweden in 2015. Zacharella has performed at the International Trombone Festivals in California, Spain, France, Georgia, Texas, and Las Vegas. She has given numerous presentations, performances/recitals on trombone and euphonium and poster sessions at the International Conference of College Music Society in Belgium, Australia, Sweden, Argentina and South Korea and at National and Regional CMS Conferences throughout the United States. She has performed and presented at the Music by Women Festival, Southwestern CBDNA regional conference, the International Women’s Brass Conference, and the ArkMEA Conference. Zacharella is a Bach Artist and a Signature Artist for Warburton.
Keywords
Shakira, Columbia
Shakira! Columbia's Multicultural Musical Icon
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born in 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia’s Caribbean Coast. The Titan of Latin Pop and The Queen of Latin music, Shakira, is known as a singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, record producer, and philanthropist. Shakira has written/co-written over 80 songs, has won 3 Grammy Awards, 12 Latin Grammy Awards (the most of any Latin artist), six Latin Billboard Awards, has been nominated for an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and has sold over 100 million albums, making her one of the world’s best-selling musical artists. Born of Lebanese, Catalan, Spanish and Italian heritage, this paper will explore Shakira’s multicultural influences that led her to become one of the leading singer/songwriters of Latin music and U.S. Latin pop music. Shakira wrote her first poem at the age of four years old and began belly dancing at an early age. By the age of 10, she was becoming a South American musical sensation, was signed by Sony Music Columbia at the age of 13 and produced her first album by 14 in 1991. Shakira’s vocal stylings have been compared to Spanish yodeling and it is her very Arabic roots that shape her vocal inflections and the use of double harmonic scales and the Major Locrian scale in her compositions. This paper will highlight Shakira’s songs written with Antonio Pinto, Hay Amores and Despedida from the movie Love in the Time of Cholera and “Ojos asi”, one of Shakira’s musical compositions that reflect her Arabic heritage and influences.