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.
