Shakira Isabel mebarak Ripoll was born on a wednesday, february 2,1977, in the Clinica Asuncion de Barranquilla (Colombia). Daughter of a respected jeweler of lebanese descent, Don William Mebarak Chadid, and his Colombian wife, Nidia Ripoll Torrado, The child was the couple's blessing and their only daughter. In naming the newborn, Nidia had shuffled through several names containing the letter "K" to go well with the sound of the "K" in Mebarak.
She had considered Karime and Katiuska but finally chose Shakira, an arabic name derived from the word "Shukram which means "Grace" the most literal translation is "woman full of Grace" , even though Shakira has said she identifies more with its second meaning, "Grateful."Colombians said that the newborn was chubby and had curly hair, thick eyebrows, and a healthy set of lungs. What nobody knew was that those lungs would inscribe her name in Music History.
Her father william mebarak was born in NY, but shortly after he was born his family moved to Barranquilla. Nidia ripoll Torrado, on the other hand was born in Barranquilla and has Catalan blood. When they Married, Don Willian was divorce and already had seven children from his previous marriage, so Shakira came into this world as the youngest child with quite a few siblings willing to spoil her. Don William has been a key figure in Shakira's formation and sibility
When Shakira was a child, Nidia discovered that Shakira had a gift for writing. According to Colombian Columnists, Shakira Knew the Alphabet by the age of eighteen months, at three she knew how to read, and by the time she was four, she was ready for school. It seemed as though she Might have been a child prodigy. At least that's what Nidia believed, so she had her academically tested to determine if the little girl was a genius.
Shakira lived alone with her parents, though it was quite frequent for her half siblings to come over, be it to baby-sit or to play with her, since they live only a few blocks away. that may be why when Shakira talks about her family she includes her brothers and sisters (omitting the "Half") as well as her parents. Of all her father's children, Shakira never met her oldest half brother because he died before she was born. Her oldest sister Lucy is a surgeon, Alberto her brother is a lawyer, Moises is the thrid child, Tonino is the fourth child and the closest to Shakira, having worked many years as her road manager. Then is Patricia who lives in Spain, she is a special education teacher, and finally there is Antonio and Edward, the youngest who lives in Miami
La ensenanza de Barranquilla, a traditional school founded and administered by nuns from the order of Mary, was not just where Shakira learnt her arithmetic and her geography, but also where she began to learn the catholic faith, a cornerstone of her formation. In these cloisters, between religion classes and drawing assignments, between numbers and vowels, the tiny hurricane began to discover aspects of her personality that she did not know existed -or rather, that nobody knew existed.
Because She was Short, Shakira was always the first in any line. She loved that because she loved attention, and that was the easiest way to get it. But shortly after starting school, she found a more original and legitimate way to become the center of attention. as she often says, dancing was her first way of expressing herself. "My first encounter with dance was when i was four years old and I began to belly dance." What is curious is that no one had taught her. "It's proof that a collective, genetic memory really exist because as long as i've been aware, as soon as I hear the beat of a Derbeque my hips begin to move instantly, without any effort at all"
In school shakira was sensible and disciplined, but also absentminded. In class she just did not pay attention. she immersed herself in writting lyrics on the back of her notebooks, but even thought She had the capacity to catch on to everything very quickly because anytime the teacher would catch her, she would look up at the board and almost immediately figure out where she was. As soon as the bell rang, Shakira was the first one to run and get in line for the cafeteria, she used to drink pepsi with a pastry with dulce de leche and she would get mad if you would ask her for some.
