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Pop star Shakira in pause mode

Pop star Shakira in pause mode

Colombian superstar took a break to write songs for "Love in the Time of Cholera" and attend college.

By Agustin Gurza

Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES -- Shakira was sick of being a celebrity. Colombia's successful singer-songwriter had just come off her "Oral Fixation" tour earlier this year, taking her to 140 cities on five continents to perform for 2.5 million fans. But even stardom can be a drag.

So she put away her sequined gowns and hip-hugging pants, donned jeans and sneakers, tucked her famous shock of dyed hair under a cap and went undercover as a summer student at the University of California, Los Angeles. She enrolled in a history of Western civilization course under her middle and last names, Isabel Mebarak, telling classmates she was just visiting from Colombia.

"Oh, it was such a respite for me," Shakira recalls. "I felt that need to put a brake on everything, to escape from the celebrity life and reclaim a normal life for a while. It was very healthy for me."

Her decompression from rock star to common coed was not just therapeutic, it coincided with the creative retreat she required to compose new songs for the film "Love in the Time of Cholera," which opened Friday. This is the first time she has written music for a movie, a challenge she assumed in honor of her compatriot, mentor and "dear friend," Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Nobel laureate whose novel of love and irrational devotion is the basis for the movie.

The work marks a radical departure for Shakira, from electrified pop/rock to gentle, Latin American folk styles. The songs -- a bolero and a traditional Andean tune -- are almost period pieces, tailored to the film's genteel setting in Cartagena circa 1900.

Shakira is arguably the most successful bicultural star Latin America has produced, and she's been adept at straddling English- and Spanish-speaking worlds with her seductive pop fusion that draws also on her Middle Eastern heritage. But these songs required her to tap into deep cultural roots, to re connect with the music she was raised on in Barranquilla, music that still makes her cry and that instantly touches her soul, like a memory.

"It was refreshing, because it allowed me to leave the pop universe for a moment and not think about the Top 10 on the radio, and not think about. ..." She pauses. " And simply not think. To just let the sensibility flow from those stories, let those Garcia Marquez metaphors connect with the deepest part of me and allow the music to be born form all of that."

She is speaking in Spanish in the equally genteel setting of a patio restaurant at the Bel Air Hotel. She looks relaxed and casual, wearing a tank top and jeans, her hair loose and a bit disheveled, showing dark roots under a dyed, reddish brown crown. She accentuates the color contrast by fidgeting with a long, naturally dark strand that she pulls down along her neck and twirls at her shoulder.

When her handler signaled that time was up after only 20 minutes, she whispered conspiratorially with a coquettish chuckle, "We'll just steal a few more minutes." Then she went on to talk for an hour.

When she talks about Colombia, she taps into a florid Castilian that flows in long passages, like the novel, which she calls "one of the last great love stories of our time."

"That is the Colombia I wanted to share," she says, "and for that I felt it was a privilege to be involved in this project."

Garcia Marquez himself urged Shakira to take an acting role in the movie, she says, but other commitments forced her to turn down what would have been her acting debut. Producer Scott Steindorff, however, reveals another reason for her decision. The role would have required some nudity, he says, and Shakira was reluctant to do that. Shakira says she's received many acting offers, but the right one hasn't come along. That's going to be harder than finding true love, since she imposes tough pre conditions. "The script, the character, the director, it all has to come together to assure me that I'll be protected, because I have an image. ..." She pauses again to correct herself. "I have a responsibility to my public, so I don't want to get into something that could fail."

By Simon on Nov 27, 2007, 20:42 in Friendly Talkzone.

Monpirri says on Nov 28, 2007, 10:04:

Thanks Simon, Shakira, Shakira...

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

msaucey says on Nov 28, 2007, 10:17:

Nice article... Thanks for sharing...

Hopefully, with her influence Colombia will be portrayed in a better light if she finds the right role...

BTW, good for her for putting her 2 feet on the ground... you don't ever see that anymore...

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

Mr. Hollywood says on Nov 28, 2007, 10:29:

I've heard a lot of Colombians slag her for moving out of the country and it seems they perceive her as having somehow betrayed the country or left it behind. I never quite understood that since the same folks didn't seem to feel that way about Juanes or other famous Colombians.

msaucey says on Nov 28, 2007, 10:41:

Those are the petty colombians.... Heck, isn't that what most of them want to do?... She's probably doing it for the right financial reasons.... But, she's always made it very clear where her heart is... Colombia....

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

Mononoke28 says on Nov 28, 2007, 11:42:

She's so full of it. You'll rarely hear that Shakira was hanging out in Colombia with her Colombian friends. She's either in Miami, Bahamas or Beverly Hills hanging out with famous people who are not Colombian. Then all of a sudden she makes a quick trip to Colombia or talks about her native country when she has a CD coming out or in this case her songs are part of the soundtrack of a movie that just came out.

Whatever.

Diana

Diana

Colombiche says on Nov 28, 2007, 12:14:

I am a colombian living outside of Colombia so who am I to badmouth her. Actually the fact that she likes to hang out in Beverly Hills means she is like most other colombians ha ha ha, difference being she has the $$$$$$$$.

I still commend the fact that she never forgets where she came from.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

msaucey says on Nov 28, 2007, 12:16:

Hello... Have you not been reading anything on PBH... If she hangs out in Colombia, she'll be the Milk Cow.... You know how many people would be asking for money... the whole city... geez....

And didn't you read the article... UCLA student, trying to be normal and not hang out with celebrity friends....

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

gabolicious says on Nov 28, 2007, 12:34:

Mr Hollywood "I've heard a lot of Colombians slag her for moving out of the country and it seems they perceive her as having somehow betrayed the country or left it behind. I never quite understood that since the same folks didn't seem to feel that way about Juanes or other famous Colombians."

ALL my colombians friends think the same... though I love Shakira... I don't like her spanglish songs... my opinion is "or you sing in english or in spanish" but not together otherwise it "sounds" for me like a boricua... guacala...

"The new land of opportunities: Colombia!" ----- Mr Miguel_Clavo on PBH

gabolicious says on Nov 28, 2007, 12:36:

oh and my friends also say "es que ella ya no suena colombiana, tiene más acento argentino que nada"

"The new land of opportunities: Colombia!" ----- Mr Miguel_Clavo on PBH

Mr. Hollywood says on Nov 28, 2007, 12:57:

I don't like her English songs, either, but I always just thought it was weird that she got bashed for thinking she's "too good for Colombia" and stuff like that. With her money I'm sure she has to live behind an army of security whenever she's in Colombia. She'd be crazy to NOT leave to a more secure country, if you ask me.

Simon says on Nov 28, 2007, 13:42:

Mr Hollywood,

There are many Colombians who are wealthier than Shakira who live in Colombia. Are they crazy then?

BTW, Juanes lives a considerable amount of time of the year in Colombia.

HERE'S SIMON!!!!

Monpirri says on Nov 28, 2007, 13:59:

Mr. Hollywood,
I do not know where the heck you get your info, but again you are wrong! You should go back to your country and subcribe to a reliable partner where the info is not anti Colombian.

"I've heard a lot of Colombians slag her for moving out of the country and it seems they perceive her as having somehow betrayed the country or left it behind. I never quite understood that since the same folks didn't seem to feel that way about Juanes or other famous Colombians."

Shakira just spent her vacation in Barranquilla no too long ago and she visited places where the wealthy do not dare to go. She stills in love with Colombia and Colombians.

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

Tinto (Moderator) says on Nov 28, 2007, 14:06:

Yeah, Mr. Hollywood, Go back to your country! How dare an American living in Colombia share his opinion about silly Colombian celebrities! Don't you know that only Colombians living in the United States are allowed to talk about such things?

;-)

Monpirri - Lighten up. Who are you to tell people what to think or where they should live?

slguy says on Nov 28, 2007, 15:56:

I can't believe anyone would waste their time arguing about which singer loves Colombia more. So what do I do? Comment on it. jajajjajajjajaja

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

Colombiche says on Nov 28, 2007, 16:31:

That's it, Shakira should take a lesson Wyclef Jean, he be the biggest latino wannabe in the world.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

Lucas Freley says on Nov 28, 2007, 17:13:

"How dare an American living in Colombia share his opinion about silly Colombian celebrities"

But Tinto...silly colombian celebrities fo whom ???

Gabo...¿Shakira acento argentino ??? ¿Te parece ? ¿De que parte del pais ??? Porque la verdad que ni de casualidad. Ese mismo comentario lo hacian hasta el cansancio en otros foros colombianos que he participado. Y me causa mucha gracia. Primero porque no especifican de que parte de Argentina. Y segundo porque no imagino como alguien puede adpotar el acento de otro pais donde ni siquiera vive. Tal vez tenga una mezcla de costeña con Miami o Bahamas que son los lugares donde vive. Pero bueno a la gente le gusta hablar es facil y gratis ;)

Hoy que estás esplendida y que todo lo iluminas, demos un paseo, vuelta por el Universo (Gustavo Cerati)

Tinto (Moderator) says on Nov 28, 2007, 17:29:

I meant silly celebrities and the heated debates over their supposed character/qualities. It's funny to me because people are arguing about a marketing creation. It's even more humorous when the silly celebrity in question has so-so talent.

Mr. Hollywood says on Nov 28, 2007, 19:58:

Simon, the funny thing is that I probably know the wealthy people you're talking about and how they have to live. And the price some of them have paid.

And remember, Juanes had to be accompanied by a bunch of soldiers recently when they dedicated a statue to him in the town where he was born.

But you and monpirri are right, I should go back to the USA and "subscribe to a reliable partner" whatever that means.

gabolicious says on Nov 29, 2007, 05:26:

Lucas "...¿Shakira acento argentino ???"

Eso no lo digo yo, eso lo dicen mis amigos colombianos, pero pues honestamente a mí no me lo parece, más bien yo diría que tiene un acento como que más neutral... si es que eso es posible...

=)

"The new land of opportunities: Colombia!" ----- Mr Miguel_Clavo on PBH

morphus says on Nov 29, 2007, 05:39:

Shakira was never a real Colombian.

Monpirri says on Nov 29, 2007, 06:08:

Tingo you are a silly gringo you should go back to your Colombia and learn more about your country. If you do not, I will demote or move this puppy!

Mr. H. you knowledge about Colombia is as good as the info from the Inquire.
Gablocious, vos como estas che? Vos sabes que ami me gusta la Argentina porque no los pibes no se ponen a vender comercio aqui, bueno cuidate che gabocito.

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

Mononoke28 says on Nov 29, 2007, 13:54:

Juanes drives everywhere in Medellín, he's all over the place including Envigado. Carlos Vives is the same way, he's up in Santa Marta & Bogotá for most part of the year. Shakira only goes whenever she needs the publicity.

She ain't a true Colombian that's for sure.

Diana

Diana

Monpirri says on Nov 30, 2007, 00:31:

Juanes is also a great Colombian but he does not match to the fame of Shakira and consequently Shakira is a greater risk to mingle everywhere.

A friend in Barranquilla told me that Shakira spent her vacation visiting the same places as when she used to visit when she was a regular girl without the fame and fortune.

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008