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“Shakira, the sensational Latin American pop star turns 40 on the 2nd of February. … Born in Colombia, Shakira began her career singing in Spanish, before crossing over to English and becoming an international pop star. Shakira has won many awards, including five MTV Video Music Awards, two Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards and 28 Billboard Latin Music Awards.”

“She was already a big star in Latin America, but with her North American breakthrough at the beginning of the 2000s, ‘some people associated the Colombian singer with her American pop-music contemporaries Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera,’ wrote music magazine ‘Rolling Stone.’ ‘But the stylistic breadth of Shakira’s music—elements of folk, Middle Eastern and traditional Latin styles over a foundation of rock and pop—gave her a degree of credibility the American teen queens lacked.’ And perhaps that—besides her sheer vocal and dance talent—is what makes Shakira not only the inevitable superstar, but also all the more relevant in times of insular politics. … To create her signature dance style, the superstar is able to draw on her diverse cultural heritage - having tapped into her Lebanese background in particular to master the art of belly-dancing.

“As a UNICEF ambassador and founder of the Barefoot charity for kids in Colombia, Shakira’s activism has focused more on education than politics. But in times where national boundaries are being fiercely defended and cultural differences become points of contention, perhaps we are desperately in need of a beat that can break down barriers.”