The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 2224

MUSIC SUNDAY OCTOBER 4 1998 THE MIAMI HERALD INTERNATIONAL EDITION Colombian pop star Shakira sets sights on America 1 iii 1 1 1 is being honest even if at times that means being contradictory am a pop singer with a rock-and-roll she asserts though my music is in Spanish my language is not completely Latin or completely American I have to walk that thin line between pop and rock between things Latin and Powerful voice voice a powerhouse that in her childhood was deemed too strong for the school choir has matured in both power and dramatic range going from lovesick yearning to downright bitchiness as when she sings When wrinkles cut her skin and cellulite is planted on her legs return to your hell with your tail between your horns Despite the fuss brewing around her Shakira shies from parallels with English-language counterparts such as Natalie Merchant and Alanis Morissette perhaps because she clearly does not possess the angst that pervades their work Her main concern about her work say again and again To hear a sampling of new CD Donde Estan los Ladrones? (Where Are the Thieves) call TeleHerald at 305-373-4636 in Miami-Dade or 954-527-4636 in Broward and punch 5440 Or online visit HeraldLink wwwheraldcom Getting 'Jhdi See everything for your wedding honeymoon and home "up close and personal" GASTON DE CARDENAS El Nuevo Herald File 1997 ON THE WAY UP: Colombian pop phenomenon Shakira performed to a sellout crowd last year at the James Knight Center in Miami 7 would lie if I told you I didn feel the pressure piercing my back like a bullfight when the tune comes to kill the bull SHAKIRA Singersongwriter SHAKIRA FROM 7C Shakira remains very much in control of her music and her product Already her sultry good looks and charismatic personality landed her on the cover of Time international edition in August and she was named Latin Female Artist of the Year at this World Music Awards No less than Tommy Mottola president and CEO of Sony Music Enterprises has said he expects Donde to sell in the millions And her new producermanager is Emilio Estefan the crossover king responsible for the success of his wife Gloria and Jon Secada It all makes sense according to Shakira I was 10 I had already decided I wanted to be a singer for the rest of my she says looking at the ocean from her seat in a private dining room at the Cardozo Hotel in Miami Beach had to fulfill a prophecy I felt deep deep Indeed her self-possession makes a difference cannot take a lot of credit for this said Estefan recently while listening to the just-mixed version of Donde at Crescent Moon Studios in Coral Gables where the album was recorded was a good coach but la Chiquita his nickname for Shakira meaning is a genius She knows what she wants and in this album she did almost everything With or without me going to have a great Targeting mass success Estefan and Sony her label are banking on Donde to help Shakira break through Their plans include massive global promotion and eventual recordings of English-language versions of her hit songs Shakira sings mostly love songs a blend of pop heavily laced with rock built on a base of acoustic guitars It an original concept but set apart by voice a warm contralto with flamenco inflections and by her capacity to meld exceptional lyrics organically into the music Today her voice is merely talking hungry and talks while attacking an entree of chicken stuffed with fried plantain She admits that she hates to exercise loves to eat and has to diet when pounds creep up But far more relaxed than nine months ago when she wondered how she could ever deliver something that would come close to Pies Descal-zos would lie if I told you I feel the pressure piercing my she says the sophistication of her thoughts belying her 21 years But the jitters like pre-con- See the nation's most exciting bridal fashionshow co-produced with IManEnde and the largest collection of men's formalwear Top models new for '99 designs View aisle upon aisle of fabulous exhibis she laughs Fated for stardom? Shakira was born Shakira Mebarak in the hot muggy city of Barranquilla a few miles from Caribbean coast She inherited her love of literature and letters from her father a Lebanese jeweler and writer who gave his daughter one of those names that seems fated for stardom: Shakira which in Arabic means full of She was a precocious child who sang her prayers at night who learned how to read and write by age 3 and who would write psalms to God and poems to her mother was so gifted I knew she would do something big something says her mother Nidia Ripoll Mebarak speaking from her Miami apartment first I thought she would be a writer When she was 5 she wrote me a poem titled The Crystal Rose" Nidia reads aloud her voice marveling: eyelids closeand in your lips it feels like a window of light And your hair is pretty and why they call you the crystal devotion to her parents and vice versa is absolute They travel together live together communicate at all levels parents are my friends my psychologists my says the singer I have them I would hide many things inside because my nature is susceptible and Loved to perform Her sensitive nature led her to show biz first time I performed in public I was 4 and I danced the Arab belly dance in my she says fell in love with the experience the audience the Shakira went the kiddie-contest route before landing a contract with Sony in her early teens and recording two albums of what she calls little love songs They met with some success but Sony was prepared to drop her if she score a hit Instead of recording easy-sell salsa or vallenato (a kind of Colombian folk music) which Sony advised her to do she proceeded to work on a blend of pop and rock that was unprecedented for a Colombian artist much less a woman The result was Pies Descalzos a collection of driving catchy songs that mixed electronic and acoustic elements to give edge and texture to its pop base The lyrics were poetic and intricate dealing mostly with lost love here loving youdrowningamong photos and notebooks objects and memo-riesI cannot understand) and touching on social commentary (Do your homeworkgo to schoolwhat will your family say if a failure?) With the exception of its title track the album skipped entirely over the existential musings found in the work of English-language counterparts like Tori Amos and Tracy Chapman In Donde lyrics remain a focal point again dealing mostly with lost love and social issues Donde Estan los Ladrones for example singles out thieves everywhere from those in politics to those who steal our time while Octavo Dia (Eighth Day) bemoans the fate of a God who took the day off after Creation and returns to find himself out of a job Discover what's new and hot in honeymoon resorts and cruises Unmatched show specials Win hundreds of prizes (airline tickets honeymoons home furnishings and more) in our "Super-Sweepstakes" BUI Heaton A presents iflP Great? Bridalxpo- EXHIBITOR OPPORTUNITIES ACT NOW! Tickets $7 advance $9 at door Like no other bndal event in the world1 in the same place and her lyrics are lyrics girls not guys can identify Generating excitement In the offices of Estefan Enterprises on Miami Beach there is just one copy of new album and Ingrid Casares coowner of the Liquid nightclub wants it spoke with Tommy she says excitedly says this album is amazing He says this will sell 10 million For the Sony chief to take an interest in a product in another language even with his friend Estefan backing it is unusual Shakira had shopped around for a producer for months before meeting with Estefan They hit it off instantly and the next day she began her work at Crescent Moon Estefan bills Sony for his work as her executive producer But he also manages career something he does with only a handful of artists Donde will be heavily marketed not just in the United States where Latin poprock receives limited air time but also in Europe and Latin America where Shakira is immensely popular In Brazil for example Pies Descalzos sold close to a million copies despite the language barrier In the United States there are plans to eliminate the barrier altogether with Shakira slated to record in English by next year The songs will be her own translated by Gloria Estefan But given lyrics with their alliterations and play on words the results could be tricky speak a little bit of English but I have to she concedes begun to sing my songs in English although they sound good when I sing in the cert anxiety finally faded like a bullfight when the time comes to kill the bull You think if big or small you simply thrust the sword in Something like that happened with this Shakira who moved to a Miami Beach apartment with her parents this year (she shuttles between Miami and Colombia) credits Estefan with helping her through the tough period was a she says simply gave me confidence and support and the tools to produce this But ultimately like Estefan acknowledges Donde is album from its concept (the title track was written after her handbag containing drafts of her songs was stolen from her in the Bogota airport) to its final production (See review below) But some are not entirely convinced impressed with the sound and the level of production of Donde" says Kike Posada editor of Boom! a Spanish pop rock magazine based in Miami I think the album is too similar to Pies Descalzos pretty much ALBUM REVIEW Donde comes out heads and shoulders above most of the material English or Spanish being produced by other women More important it proves that previous success was no fluke LEILA COBO-HANLON itisoaftfie jfcitn4Cje peSfiiiu cfou fo tde General Motors yimenioxatf Donde proves Shakira is no flash in the pan SUNDAY OCTOBER 11 12 Noon 9 PM Bayfront Park LIVE BANOS FOLKLORIC GROUPS INTERNATIONAL FOODS ARTS CRAFTS COLUMBUS DISEMBARKATION SPORTS CHILDRENS CORNER FIREWORKS FREE FREE FREE! the happiness of the birthday of Shakira: Donde Estan los Ladronea (Sony Latin) It would have been easy to give a big-studio run-of-the-mill sound to Donde Estan los Ladrones? (Where Are the Thieves?) singersongwriter follow-up to her immensely successful Pies Descalzos Pies after all succeeded largely because of its fresh sound and the fact that it was done with more guts than money But Donde despite its much higher production values retains trademark sound rock-laced pop melodies backed by acoustic guitars as well as her deeply personal approach to music-making The singersongwriter also pushes her music closer to the grit-tiness of rock experiments with rap elements and adds instru- ments like trumpet to select cuts Overall electric guitars share the limelight with the acoustic simple ballads like Inevitable break into hard rock Shakira also has a nod to dance notably Ojos Asi (Eyes Like This) an Arabic-sounding melody complete with Arabic chorus Like Pies before it uniqueness lies in voice and her exquisitely written lyrics But now that she no longer has to prove she can sing she lets her voice soar going from utter soulful dejection when she sings give you my faded shoes the diary where I write even my sighs but leave to downright screeching nastiness when she snarls you leave if you exchange me for that witch you sorry piece of flesh bother coming Ironically the only failures occur when it looks too closely at its predecessor Que Vuelvas (Come Back) a virtual remake of old hit Estoy Aqui sounds like a gimmick But when Shakira remains true to her instincts she is hard to top and iimirataNi-Wt-IrTiimr 4 -n V-rimriiiJi t'L kditim ik GRAN COMBO KINITO MENDEZ PASION JUVENIL SILVER STAR MELAO LA GRAN UNION TIPICA TROPICAL CARIBBEAN BAND GUILLERMO GUANTE eetrate the wedding of STOKES-SEWELL Keilsey Sewell and Macon Stokes were married Saturday July 25 1998 in Dallas TX The bride is the daughter of Doug and Sue Sewell of Dallas TX The bridegroom is the son of Paul and Carol Stokes of Miami Springs The bride and bridegroom are both graduates of Davidson College in North Carolina They reside in Winston-Salem NC where they are campus staff for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship working with students at Wake Forest University and Salem College 1 6cxM LIGHT I WESTERNI UNIONl 3 W23 T51 BAYS'DE ral' AmencenAifViee MIAMI Elir ithnim Herald Nuevo Herald DlARlO nSXMtJUtAS BCNm CS3 55? 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