Shakira, Shakira!

So Shakira was in San Jose last night and the boy and I caught her show. We both had a great time.

I am not a huge fan of the Shakira that the music companies have tried to sell here. Bleached blonde hair, singing in broken English, she just does not translate well. In Spanish, she is a force to be reckoned with. Her pre-English breakout cd Donde Estan los Ladrones? sold 7 million copies worldwide and gave Shakira the reputation of being a Latin Alanis Morrissette.


The concert tonight was a mix of old and new. She opened with Estoy Aqui and then kept up a rapid pace throughout the show. She was onstage for just over 2 hours, but rarely took a break. Both Inevitable and Si Te Vas are favorites of mine and she did them back to back. She finished up the concert with Ojos Asi and Hips Don't Lie featuring a duet with Wyclef Jean (who opened for her as well). In person, she is stunning and very petite. She has a gorgeous smile and has the audience in the palm of her hand. She doesn't have any dancers, so the attention is on her 98% of the time. Not an easy feat to keep an audience entertained without a lot of bells and whistles. Her voice is incredibly strong, you won't see any lipsynching here. Her band is terrific and features several of the musicians from her MTV Unplugged special. (If you truly want to appreciate Shakira's talent, buy the DVD of the Unplugged performance. It will be the best $12.95 you ever spend. I watch it constantly.) Her staging was also terrific. Not over the top like a Christmas Tree with too many decorations, no big pyrotechnics or explosions, just some cool lighting and costumes that show off her belly dancing talents.

If you have the chance to see her, I would highly recommend it. The Colombiana gives one heck of a show.

Cuidate everybody. I leave for Europe in less than a month!