Shakira Is Desperate To Become A Mother

The 32-year-old beauty – who got engaged in 2001 – also wears her engagement ring on her middle finger as it is too big for her.

The ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ singer is keen to have children with fiancé Antonio de la Rua but says the couple don’t have any plans to get married in the near future.

She said: “The fact is I’m not very traditionalist. We live together as husband and wife, we don’t need anything to make it official, especially not for the paparazzi or magazines. Why fix things that aren’t broken? “But I do want to have lots of babies with him.”

The 32-year-old beauty – who got engaged in 2001 – also wears her engagement ring on her middle finger as it is too big for her.

She added: “This is my engagement ring but it’s too big so I wear it on my middle finger. I haven’t got around to having it made smaller yet.” Shakira also credits Antonio with keeping her down-to-earth.

She told Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine: “I’ve been in the public eye for along time and I don’t know any other way of living – it’s everything I know. My family and my friends remind me what’s real, which helps, and Antonio – he is a wise man. If I get a bit silly he brings me back and reminds me who I am.”

Source:http://www.javno.com/en-celebrities

Colombian beauty hits Abu Dhabi

After the last minute confusion of New Year's Eve, many had expected the SHAKIRA concert at Emirates Palace to have been called off.

But no, the snake-hipped singing sensation still strutted her stuff on stage and not even the canceled festivities or dense fog and humidity could dampen the spirits of her loyal fans.

The pint-size singer kicked off the show with some of her signature Spanish songs which, despite the language barrier, went down a storm. But the real magic happened when the sultry star performed her most popular hits including Hips Don't Lie, Underneath Your Clothes and the fans' favourite Whenever Wherever.

Dressed in her trademark cropped waistcoat and sprayed-on trousers the half-Lebanese singer paid homage to her Arab roots and credited her Lebanese grandmother for passing down her dancing genes.

"I'm the fruit of an Arab land, and I'm immensely proud of my Arab heritage.

"I just wanted you to know that and also that I can't think of a better place to spend New Year's Eve," she told the excited crowd before showing off the her hidden talents by serenading them with a solo on the guitar.

The show was the singer's second concert in the region, following her gig at Dubai's Autodrome last year and after an impressive show, we hope she'll be back.

Source:http://www.ahlanlive.com

Shakira To Perform At Obama Inauguration Party

Superstar singer Shakira will celebrate U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's White House victory - with a performance at his inauguration party.

The Hips Don't Lie hitmaker is reportedly slated to join stars including Susan Sarandon, Spike Lee, and Anne Hathaway at the glitzy event in Washington, D.C. next month (Jan09).

She was a vocal supporter of Obama during his election campaign, telling reporters: "Obama can restore peace and the world's confidence in the United States."

In return, the Democrat voiced his admiration for the Colombian singer's charity work in aid of Latin American children. And Peruvian newspaper El Comercio reports that Shakira is now lined up to perform at a celebration to be held after Obama is formally sworn into office on 20 January (09). (ZN/WNWCHP/MJ)


Source:http://www.cinemablend.com/celebrity

Shakira Rests Hips to Study at UCLA

For the past month, the Colombian pop star has been taking a class at the University of California, Los Angeles, called "Introduction to Western Civilization: Ancient Civilizations from Prehistory to Circa A.D. 843."

"She went when she finished her tour, for the summer," Shakira's manager Fifi Kurzman told The Associated Press.

For years the 30-year-old has studied on her own, also taking tutorials on the history and languages of the countries she visits, Kurzman said.

The singer, known for last year's "Hips Don't Lie" and other hits, released her first album at age 14 and later took time off to finish high school.

She decided to take a musical rest this summer following her worldwide "Oral Fixation" tour to focus on social causes, Kurzman said.

The class began Aug. 6 and ended Thursday, though Shakira didn't attended the last few classes, according to course lecturer Robert Cleve. Cleve said he hadn't known she was a celebrity during the course and was astonished to learn she was a pop star.

"She told me she was visiting from Colombia and that she was just doing this for her own enlightenment and enjoyment," Cleve said. "She looked like just an ordinary student. She wasn't flamboyant ... she didn't act like a big celebrity or anything."

Shakira, who sat near the front in the third row of the lecture hall, would often discuss the course material with him after class.

"I was really impressed with how intelligent she was," said Cleve.

Source:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/

Baby name of the day: Shakira

he baby name of the day is... Shakira.

Shakira means "thankful," according to babynames.com.

The most famous Shakira is the pop-Latin singer who goes by just the one name, but whose real name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll.

For more Thanksgiving-related names check out PregnancyAndBaby.com's story on the topic.

Source:http://www.examiner.com/x-608-Early-Childhood

Shakira highlights children's poverty during talk

NEW YORK: Shakira, a longtime activist for Latin American's poor children, plans to make her Colombian children's foundation a global one in the near future.

Shakira said Barefoot, known as Pies Descalzos in her native Colombia, will start focusing on children worldwide later this year.

"We have a model that works. Under less than $2 a day, we can provide a kid with top quality education and the nutrition that they need to be able to function and be able to learn because a kid with an empty stomach cannot learn," said the singer, a multiplatinum superstar known for hits like "Hips Don't Lie."

"So this model that has been so successful in my country, now I want to bring it to other countries in my small way."

Shakira made the comments Wednesday after appearing at Columbia University with Spanish singing sensation Alejandro Sanz and the presidents of Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, El Salvador and Panama. The event focused on the importance of education, nutrition and health intervention for Latin American children. The singers asked the presidents to adopt an agreement on combatting child poverty during the upcoming Iberoamerican Summit in late October.
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"The presidents seem very committed and that's what we need. We need all the leaders of Latin America to have a definite commitment toward our children (because) the children of Latin America are waiting for opportunities," said Shakira in an interview after conference.

"Where I come from every child who is born poor will die poor and we have to change this, and this is the moment to do it. We are at the threshold of a new wave of awareness and sensibility toward our children's issues. But early childhood development should be at the top of our priorities and at the top of every president's agenda."

In attendance were Mexican President Felipe Calderon; Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez; the president of Paraguay, Fernado Lugo; El Salvador's president, Tony Saca; and Panamanian President Martin Torrijos. Also on hand was Dominican-born baseball star Sammy Sosa, Panamanian musician Ruben Blades and English rocker Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame, along with Nobel Prize-winning economist James J. Heckman and Luis Alberto Moreno, president of the Inter-American Development Bank.

The event was sponsored by the Earth Institute at Columbia, led by economist Jeffrey Sachs.

Shakira and Sanz are members of Latin America in Solidarity Action (the Spanish acronym is ALAS, or "wings"), a nonprofit coalition founded by Latin American artists, intellectuals and business leaders to promote social communities and early childhood development programs in Latin America. Earlier this year, ALAS held all-star fundraising concerts in Mexico and Argentina that helped secure $200 million in donations.

"I belong to a generation that is learning new ways to get involved in these issues. We are not a passive generation, we're very proactive," Shakira said. "We want to see all those brutal contrasts in our world disappear, we want to see poverty eliminated because we believe it is possible."

She also talked about the upcoming U.S. presidential election, and urged Latino voters to use their voice and vote.

"I'd like to invite the Latino community to come out and make themselves present during this election because they can really make a difference," she said. "I care deeply about this country and I think everyone does because America's economy is so crucial for the rest of the world. The rest of the world's economy depends on the economy of this country and world peace depends on the policies of this country."

Source:http://www.iht.com/articles/ap

Shakira and Sanz to present "biggest social project of the century"

Colombian pop star Shakira and Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz announced they will present "the biggest social project of the century" at the Latin American summit in El Salvador later this week.

The artists hope to reach an inter-American consensus on how to battle the problems of children early development in Latin America.

"We are going to El Salvador with the support of the participating countries, especially that of President Saca (of El Savador, who will preside the summit and of (singer) Enrique Iglesias who leads these forces of the iberoamerican dialogue. Our goal is to achieve that early education becomes a reality in our countries, now that we know it is the real way to abandon poverty," Shakira said.

Shakira urges Latin American governments to

1. Form a regional working group DIB on early childhood development, led by Shakira's ALAS foundation, involving several NGOs like Unicef and the World Bank.
2. Promote cooperation with the DIB in each and every Latin American country
3. Monitor the progress in all countries
4. Create a pilot project in at least 5 countries
5. Come up with financial and organizational strategies for the DIT in the countries
6. Provide feedback during the 2009 Latin American summit

Source:http://colombiareports.com/colombian-news/new

Shakira named humanitarian of the year

Latin pop star Shakira has been named "Humanitarian of the Year" by the People en Espanol magazine for her work towards providing better health and education to needy children in South America.

The US magazine's next edition, which lists the year's most famous celebrities who have achieved star of the year status, selected the Colombian singer-songwriter for the title because of her charity work with impoverished children through her foundation Pies Descalzos and Latin America in Solidarity (ALAS), EFE news agency reported on Saturday.

The new edition of the magazine will hit newsstands on Monday.

The Hips don't lie singer, whose hip-swivelling dances and catchy ballads have earned her a huge global following and a string of Grammy awards, told the magazine that she learned to have compassion for the needy when she was seven-years-old and her parents' jewellery store went bankrupt.

Shakira was sent together with her mother and some friends to California, while her father sold off everything, including the bed the future music icon had slept in.

When she returned home, she had to sleep on a mattress on the floor. So she would understand that some kids were living in even worse conditions, her parents took her to a park in Barranquilla where homeless children sniffed glue to forget their hunger, the magazine said.

"We had a comfortable life and then one day I was shown something else. From that day on, I became obsessed to vindicate my family, my family's economic situation, and to one day help those kids that I saw on the streets," said the singer, who has sold 60 million albums worldwide.

"From that moment on, I was obsessed with achieving success to get my family back on its feet, to restore my family's economic position, but I was also obsessed with someday doing something for kids like the ones who made such a huge impact on my young mind," the singer told People en Espanol.

She was still in her teens when she took her first step in that direction, using some of the profits from her hit albun Pies Descalzos (Barefoot) to establish the foundation of the same name, which is currently building schools in Colombia for thousands of displaced children.

In 2006 she created, together with Spanish singers Alejandro Sanz and Miguel Bose, the Latin American Solidarity Action Foundation or ALAS (Wings), which enjoys the support of other showbiz colleagues, intellectuals and entrepreneurs.

The singer-songwriter also told the magazine about her nine-year relationship with Antonio de la Rua, son of former Argentine president Fernando de la Rua.

"I live very happily as a couple with Antonio and I think it's quite romantic to freely choose the person to be with every day. To be the eternal girlfriend is something I find very romantic. For now that's how I see my relationship, the way I'd like to stay and the way he would too," she said.
Source:http://music.ndtv.com/story.asp?id=ENTEN20080071796

Shakira: No Time for a Baby

Saying she's pregnant enough with her songs, Grammy Award-winning singer Shakira said she has no current plans to have a baby, despite her work on behalf of Latin American children, the New York Daily News reports.
"I'm quite pregnant with my album," the 31-year-old Colombian pop star told the Daily News, although she said she does want to be a mother eventually.

Shakira appeared at a regional summit in El Salvador on Thursday, where she asked about 20 Latin American presidents to allot more resources for poor children and to make early-childhood development a priority. The United Nations goodwill ambassador is appearing at the summit on behalf of the Latin America in Solidarity Action Foundation.


source: http://www.diversityinc.com/public/4693.cfm

U2 sign billion-dollar contract

U2 have jumped on the same lucrative bandwagon as Madonna and Shakira, signing a deal with promoters Live Nation that could earn them more than $1 billion.

U2 could earn more than £500 million after signing a new contract, a sum that equates to more than AUS$1.2billion.
The Irish rock band have made a deal with promoters Live Nation, which will entitle them to 1.56 million shares in the company worth around £10 million.

The 12-year deal - which means frontman Bono will be 60-years-old before he finishes touring – could see the band earn closer to the staggering amount of £500 million in shared revenue.
The group will continue to make albums for record label Mercury Records.
U2 were reported to be signing a £50 million deal with the concert promoters back in April.

As well as handling the group’s tours, Live Nation – which also has deals with Madonna, Jay-Z,
Nickelback and Shakira - will also handle merchandising, digital and branding rights and will run their website and fan club.
The company first worked with The Joshua Tree hitmakers in Toronto in 1980 and have been organising their live events since 1997.
Bono said: "We've been dating for well over 20 years now. It's about time we tied the knot.

"We feel we have a great website but we want to make it a lot better. We want a closer, more direct relationship between the band and its audience and Live Nation has pledged to help us with that.”
Live Nation's chairman Michael Cohl added: "U2 has created some of the greatest rock music of all time. It has long been our intention to consolidate and extend our relationship.”

U2 – whose last tour was in 2006 - will hit the road towards the middle of next year.

Source:http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story

Shakira gets her way on LatAm summit

Latin American leaders are keeping their promise to Colombian singer Shakira and will include early childhood development on the next Latin American summit's agenda.

Tony Saca, President of El Salvador where the meeting will be held in November, said on national radio the topic will be on the presidents' list of topics to discuss.

Shakira had urged some of the presidents to talk about early childhood development. "We want to propose that the topic of early childhood development is included during the Ibero-American summit in November," Shakira told the Presidents in New York less than a week ago.


Source: http://colombiareports.com/colombian-news/news/

‘Too hot to handle’

Who’s got the biggest fan club in Mumbai? SRK, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan? Nope, it’s the city itself, which is on the favourites list of not just India’s biggest celebrities but also the world’s most famous names — fromShakira to Madonna to Prince Charles...and they’re all saying Salaam Mumbai!

Shakira sizzles but even the Latino diva admitted that she'd found something in Mumbai that was way hotter than her. "Indian food is just too hot to handle," the Grammy award-winning singer told After Hours when she'd come down for a performance in Mumbai. "I know a lot of my fans from other cities are disappointed that I performed only in Mumbai, but I'm sure there will be a next time,"Shakira said.

Over the years, Mumbai has notched up so many international fans. Mick Jagger's daughter Jade loves to shop here, as does model Elizabeth Hurley; Angelia Jolie took back an experience of riding in a Mumbai local, in a second class compartment (Brad Pitt bought the tickets for them — Charni Road to Churchgate!) and Madonna came with her whole family in tow to get a first hand feel of the wondrous city within the city, described so beautifully by Australian writer Gregory David Roberts in Shantaram.

The soul of the city lies in its quaint Irani dhabas, the frantic fervour of its Ganapati festival, the earnest children practising cricket at Shivaji stadium, the enchanting curve of Marine Drive and the ubiquitous dabbawallas that make the city run like clockwork. It's not surprising that the dabbawallahs were topmost on Prince Charles' mind when he came to Mumbai and a meeting was arranged for him. "For more than a hundred years they have had an incredible record of success without using any modern technology at all - it is an extraordinary example of what can be done," he said. And that's just one of the wonders that make up our wonderful city....

news source : http://www.dnaindia.com/

Shakira and Antonio’s Parisian Outing

Spotted again earlier today in the City of Lights, Shakira looks as though she’s taken well to the French capital as she chatted on her mobile phone while doing a little sightseeing. The “Hips Don’t Lie” songstress looked cute and casual in a purple v-neck sweater along with a pair of figure-flattering jeans and black platform heels.

Earlier this week, Shakira had a monumental meeting with former hostage/Columbian political figure Ingrid Betancourt and her son Lorenzo. And it sounds like they’re working together for a good cause.

Both women will be involved this weekend in a worldwide protest against the FARC (the abductors of Betancourt). Ingrid and Columbian pop singer Juanes will head a march in Paris whileShakira holds a concert on the Columbian border with Peru and Brazil.

news source : http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/

EVERY TIME I DIE Seeking New Label Home - July 14, 2008

Buffalo, New York-based band EVERY TIME I DIE is currently seeking a new label home. Speaking to the UK's Rock Sound magazine, the group's vocalist Keith Buckley revealed, "Our latest album was the last thing we had to deliver for Ferret so we are in limbo. We are talking to some labels right now, I think people will be very pleased to know that it looks like we will not be signing with a major. Some were interested but I don't think we even got down to discussing deals, I know I would have signed a Shakira-esque 100 million dollar 360 deal but it never seemed to come up in conversation."

EVERY TIME I DIE recently announced the addition of bassist Josh Newton (FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES, UNSANE, SHINER) to the group's ranks. EVERY TIME I DIE sold almost 14,000 copies of its new album, "The Big Dirty" (Ferret Music), in the United States in its first week of release last September to debut at position No. 41 on The Billboard 200 chart. "The Big Dirty" was produced by Steve Evetts and was described by the band as "the CD you would compile if asked to make a mix of the best EVERY TIME I DIE songs you haven't heard yet. Ten-plus tracks that tore from our filthy hands like the creature that jumped out of that dude's stomach in 'Alien'." To report any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, please send an e-mail to bmouth@bellatlantic.net with pertinent details. Anyone posting such material will be immediately and permanently banned. IP addresses are recorded to aid us in enforcing these conditions.

news source : http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/

Shakira sells soul to Live Nation

The Columbian superstar has signed a mammoth 10-year deal with Live Nation, reportedly worth $70-$100 million dollars. That's a lot of belly dancing lessons.

Shakira follows in the footsteps of Jay-Z and Madonna as major artists who have secured huge deals with the concert conglomerate, though Jay-Z snagged $150 million and Madonna scored $120 million.

news source : http://network.nationalpost.com/

Shakira's hips didn't lie on Capitol Hill

It's not everday that you have the opportunity to put pictures of pop star Shakira into a political and policy blog. But she was in Washington Tuesday to raise awareness for her favorite issue, universal education, the effort to provide millions of children around the globe who are now denied even a basic education the chance at one. She's a spokesperson for the Campaign for Global Education.

A very worthy goal, indeed. But let's face it, that's not why the House hearing room was packed yesterday with gawkers. It was all about Shakira whose hips weren't lying on Capitol Hill.

news source : http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/

Latin Flavor: Shakira

I’ll grant you that making Shakira our Latin Flavor of the day is something of a cheat. After all, I think I’ve sort of (without really saying so) establish that the Latin Flavor category is really to be used to introduce you to Latina hotties you might not have ever heard of. Then again, it’s my site so I’m gonna post whatever the heck I want, and right now I want to see some smoking hot Shakira, so that’s what we’re all gonna get. Suck it up! By the way, I hear Shakira’s hip-gyrating goodness is twice as good live, so if she ever comes to your hometown, run out and grab tickets. And if you can’t afford one, rob some old lady and buy one.

news source : http://www.beyondhollywood.com/

The Pop Ten

Nancy Botwin flees the stultifying suburbs of Agrestic and heads for the border. We smell trouble. Word is the Mexican government is really cracking down on potgrowing soccer moms with a yen for Starbucks. New season premieres at 10 p.m. Monday on Showtime.

COLDPLAY Crooner Chris Martin told Rolling Stone that the title of their fourth studio album, "Viva la Vida," — which means "Long Live Life" — was inspired by a painting by long-suffering Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, not Puerto Rican pop singer Ricky Martin. Left unanswered is what possessed Chris and Gwyneth to name their kids Apple and Moses. Disc drops Tuesday.

news source : http://www.cleveland.com/

For some gardeners, naked is the way to go

MELVILLE, N.Y. – Whoa! I had no idea nude gardening was such a popular pastime. I must have been living under a rock all this time. Fully clothed, of course. I can't link to some of the sites that have been brought to my attention because of the photos on those pages. Though not provocative in any way, for the most part, they do depict gardeners in what many would consider vulnerable states. The Naked Gardening Association contends, "Second only to swimming, gardening is at the top of the list of family-friendly activities people are most ready to consider doing nude." Family friendly? A blog by Terra Cotta Inn (a clothing-optional resort) contends that Shakira "loves nude gardening." And a British site reports on a New Jersey man's "bold commitment to inappropriate nakedness" when he supposedly was arrested in September after "a family spotted him having a shower in his front garden."

There's more. The Casual Gardener (www.thecasualgardener.com www.thecasualgardener.com) offers "straight-forward techniques" for gardening nude to reveal "the naked truth of your life and doing." And according to ShobizSpy, actress Eva Mendes is on board, too. The site says "she is so comfortable in her own skin, she even weeds her flowerbeds ... while she's completely naked." It quotes the actress as saying, "I love being naked. I do everything in the nude, even the gardening! We're Cuban, and it's a hot island. Why not go nude?" So where does this leave the rest of us? Those of us who garden not only fully clothed, but who don special hats and gloves and shoes when we head out to become one with nature?

news source : http://www.dallasnews.com/

New Latino festival kicks off on Harriet Island Saturday

Some day, organizers of "Vive Minnesota ... El Festival," hope to bring the likes of Shakira and Enrique Igliesias to St. Paul. This weekend, though, folks will have to settle for three free days of dance, music, culture and fun. In what's being billed as the "first annual" of a future Twin Cities institution, the Latino festival will take to Harriet Island Saturday. Free events run from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and Sunday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday.

Features include two stages with 30 musical acts "spiced with Latin dance," games for kids and adults, and food for both the Latino-American as well as the Minnesota palate, according to organizers, who spent more than a year planning the event.

news source : http://origin.twincities.com/