Full name Sakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll Birth date 2-Feb-1977 Birth place Barranquilla, Colombia Height 4' 11" (1.50 m) Nationality Colombia Gender: Female Occupation Musician Nickname Shaki
Perhaps the most popular performer to ever emerge from Latin America, in the 00s Sakira Ripoli managed to transcend the language barrier and establish herself as one of the top entertainment industry names in the world. Born in Colombia to a Lebanese father and a mother of mixed Colombian and Italian descent, at the age of 13 she moved out on her own to pursue a modeling career in the Colombian capital city of Bogotá, but a year later found herself positioned instead as a recording artist for Sony Colombia. Her first album, Magia (1991), appeared shortly afterwards; few people took notice of the release, and less than 1000 copies were sold. A second album released two years later (Peligro, 1993) was given a similar reception, and for a time young singer abandoned music and turned her attention to acting, taking a role on the Colombian soap opera El Oasis while completing her high school education. In 1995 Sakira returned to the recording studio to create Pies Descalzos; aided by the public interest generated by her acting career, the album became a regional hit, and its singles Estoy Aquí and Dónde Estás Corazón? even found their way into the international market. By the release of her fourth effort ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? (1998), she had positioned herself at the forefront of the Spanish-language music scene, and -- particularly with the single Ojos Así -- began her emergence beyond it. The popularity of an MTV Unplugged session in 2000 cleared the way for her first big American success a year later: containing tracks in both English and Spanish, Laundry Service (2001) brought Sakira high into the US, UK and Canadian charts, an accomplishemnt that very few Latin stars had managed to achieve. The dual-language release of the featured single Whenever, Wherever / Suerte subsequently reached top 10 positions in nearly every major music market in the world.
In the interim before her next album, a compilation titled Grandes éxitos (2002) was issued, featuring selections from Sakira's first four releases (the first two of which had become extremely scarce); a second disc in the collection was a multimedia DVD that included the popular video for Whenever, Wherever / Suerte. This was followed by Live & Off The Record (2004), another CD+DVD collection documenting the 'Tour of the Mongoose' in support of Laundry Service (both discs including Sakira's rendition of AC/DC's 1980 anthem Back In Black). Given the nature of these releases, it is not surprising that they did not match Laundry Service's runaway sales, but still managed to make a reasonable showing in the singer's various markets (although most strongly, of course, in the Latin market). During this period Sakira also began to expand her activities beyond the music industry, creating the Foundation Pies Descalzos to aid needy children in Colombia, and acting as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and the Colombian government.
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