Shakira
46 quotes
Biography
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll is a Colombian singer-songwriter, dancer, and record producer. Referred to as the "Queen of Latin Music", she has had a significant impact on the musical landscape of Latin America and has been credited with popularizing Hispanophone music globally, contributing to increased learning and use of the Spanish language worldwide.
"I do feel that I have to use my voice for those that don’t have one. I have to do the best I can in my own work to represent my culture, represent the women of my country, of Latin America. What we stand for. What we’re made of. I feel like there is a part of me that represents a minority in the US, a minority around the world. People who struggle, people who want to succeed with drive and ambition. So, people who want to try – yeah, I do feel in a way like an ambassador, for all of those."
"It’s in an area where there’s a huge population of displaced people – refugees in their own country. It’s a very impoverished area, where kids have no access to a high-quality education programme. So we just inaugurated this school for 1,700 students. And it’s already showing the kind of transformational power that education has. It’s already having an enormous social impact on this area. Before this school, there was no paved roads, or potable water, or electricity. And now all of this has changed, because of this alliance that we have created between our foundation, the private sector, and the [national] and local governments. And you know, it was recently reported that the gangs that used to hang in this area have dissolved completely since the school was built. So that is the kind of social impact that these kind of projects have. And that is why I vehemently and passionately advocate for education and for the construction of schools that are state-of-the-art – and that are open to the community ... That is the whole philosophy that we have in our foundation.”"
"I always felt that there had to be much more [than] just... shaking it, you know, eternally. Or just making music. Or more even than the pure enjoyment of entertaining someone – being on stage, which is a tremendous rush of adrenaline. But there had to be something else to my life. And I feel that with this work that I do, that’s how my life gets fulfilled. And how I find a purpose to my own existence. And I do feel that music is the platform. It’s become the vehicle that allows me to use my voice to speak about those issues that need urgent attention. I can take the spotlight that shines on me and shift it towards those issues that are infinitely more important than my own issues."
"I think my dad is the only Arabic descendent who is an unsuccessful businessman."
"I'm more afraid of marriage than death."
"I'm lucky to have family around me. Otherwise, I'll be taking the risk of falling in love with myself."
"I'm more afraid of marriage than death."
"My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with difficulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you and when they respect you they don't love you."
"I remember the first time I saw the 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' video. I will never forget that day. I just wanted to see Kurt Cobain's face. I had a feeling he was very cute. But, I couldn't see his face. When I finally did see him, he was even cuter than I imagined!"
"I pefer an ugly truth to a pretty lie. If someone is telling me the truth that is when I will give my heart."
"I always believed that women have rights and that there are some women that are intelligent enough to claim those rights. There are some others that are stupid enough not to."
"I am a person who has many dreams. But as soon as I accomplish one, I move on to the next. That's my fatal, absurd nature."
"I thank God that I'm a product of my parents. That they infected me with their intelligence and energy for life, with their thirst for knowledge and their love. I'm grateful that I know where I come from."
"Gerard and I pretty much share all parenting responsibilities, although I'm definitely the disciplinarian."
"I never made it to the school choir because the music teacher didn't like my voice. I was pretty sad. But he was probably right; I did have a voice a bit like a goat, but my dad told me to never give up and to keep going, and it's paid off."
"Both the IDB and Fundacion ALAS believe that the future of prosperity and equality that we hope for has to start today with higher investment and higher quality in Early Childhood Development programs throughout the region."
"The music industry is dominated by guys. I work with men 98 percent of the time - producers, arrangers, musicians, engineers."
"What happens is once you start to understand football, you realise that it's not just about the physical side of the game and chasing after a ball. It's a strategic sport which requires a lot of intelligence. It's a very mental game."
"I'm a multi-faceted woman and person, like all women are - there's no black and white. We have shades of grey in the middle. And even many more colours that other people don't see!"
"It's very difficult to think that you're with someone that you know, and all of a sudden you don't know them: it turns out that they betray you. It's painful, but it's best to turn the page."
"When you have a baby, when you feel his love, you feel so at peace with the world. You just want to share the good news and share how happy you feel."
"I feel a real sense of duty to use the voice and the platform I've been afforded by my fame to speak out for those whose voices don't get a chance to be heard."
"You're a song written by the hands of God."
"Gerard doesn't tell me what to do. We discuss everything as a couple, as I imagine most partners do. We have a beautiful relationship and one of mutual trust."
"Being raised in a developing country opened my eyes to so much I cannot tolerate. In Colombia, education is sometimes considered a luxury, not a human right. And it's not a priority in the agendas of many leaders."