Shakira
Shakira in 2011, photo by kathclick/bigstock.com
Birth Name: Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
Place of Birth: Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
Date of Birth: 2 February, 1977
Ethnicity:
*father – Lebanese
*mother – Colombian, including Spanish [Castilian, Andalusian, Aragonese, Cantabrian], Indigenous, African, Catalan, Basque, Galician, and Italian/Sicilian
Shakira is a Colombian singer, songwriter, dancer, belly dancer, record producer, model, choreographer, and actress. Her singles include “Whenever, Wherever,” “Underneath Your Clothes,” “La Tortura,” “Hips Don’t Lie,” “Beautiful Liar,” “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” “Loca,” “Can’t Remember to Forget You,” “Chantaje,” “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” and “TQG.” She has had acting roles on the show El Oasis and in the Zootopia films. She is known as the “Queen of Latin Music.”
Shakira was born and raised in Barranquilla, on Colombia’s northern coast, the daughter of Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado and William Alberto Mebarak Chadid, a jeweler. Her father was born in New York City, New York, U.S., and is of Lebanese descent; his family moved to Colombia when he was a child. Her mother is Colombian, born in Arenosa. Shakira’s mother’s ancestry includes Spanish [Castilian, Andalusian, Aragonese, Cantabrian], Indigenous, African, Catalan, Basque, Galician, and Italian/Sicilian. Shakira was raised Catholic.
Shakira has two children, Milan Piqué and Sasha Piqué, with her former partner, Catalan professional footballer Gerard Piqué.
The name Shakira means “thankful” in Arabic. She uses Turkish-Arabic belly dancing in many performances.
Shakira is said to be related to Lebanese singer, actress, and performer Carole Samaha.
Shakira’s paternal grandfather was named Alberto Mebarak Spath (the son of Moisés Isaac Mebarak and Labibe Spath S.). Alberto was born in Cartagena, Bolívar Dept, Colombia, to Lebanese emigrants, from Beirut and Zahlé, respectively. Moisés was the son of Isaac Mebarak and Marta. Labibe was the daughter of Moisés D. Spath and Marie (or María in Spanish) S.
Shakira’s paternal grandmother was Isabel Chadid Baizer (the daughter of Pedro Chadid Raide and Rosa Baizer Gandur). Isabel was born in Sincelejo, Sucre Dept, Colombia, to Lebanese parents. Pedro was the son of Tannus Shdid, later Antonio Chadid Harb, and of Sade Raide. Pedro moved to Colombia in 1895. Rosa was the daughter of Abraham Baizer and Juana Gandur.
Shakira’s maternal grandfather was Tomás Eduardo Ripoll Jiménez (the son of Cristóbal Ripoll Carrasquilla and Elena Leocadia Jiménez). Tomás Eduardo was born in Piojó, Atlántico. Cristóbal was the son of José Antonio Ripoll Ramos and Rosaura “Rosa” Carrasquilla. Elena was the daughter of an unknown father and Magdalena Jiménez.
Shakira’s maternal grandmother was Josefina Torrado Núñez (the daughter of Adriano Natividad Torrado Verjel and Mercedes Núñez). Josefina was born in Ábrego, Norte de Santander. Natividad was the son of Francisco José Torrado Carvajalino and María Victoria Verjel Torrado. Mercedes was the daughter of Milán Navarro and Ángela Núñez Pisciotti. Shakira has said that she has Italian/Sicilian ancestry from her Pisciotti line. She stated this here and here.
Shakira is a third cousin, once removed, of internet personality Manolo González.
Shakira with her parents and then-partner Gerard Piqué in 2013, photo by Prphotos
Sources: BBC article on Shakira’s Lebanese ancestry – http://news.bbc.co.uk
Genealogy of Shakira (focusing on her father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Baptismal record of Shakira’s father – https://familysearch.org
Baptismal record of Shakira’s paternal grandfather, Alberto Mebarak Spath – https://familysearch.org
Confirmation record of Shakira’s paternal grandfather, Alberto Mebarak Spath – http://www.rodriguezuribe.co
Baptismal record of Shakira’s paternal grandmother, Isabel Chadid Baizer – https://familysearch.org
Records of some of Shakira’s father’s family – http://www.rodriguezuribe.co
Interview with Shakira’s father about her mother’s ancestry – http://www.lavanguardia.com
YouTube video about Shakira’s Catalan ancestry – http://www.youtube.com
Family histories of Shakira’s mother – http://orlandoclavijotorrado.blogspot.com
http://misescritosgloriabarriga.blogspot.com
According to this Wikipedia page, she could be related to Lebanese singer Carole Samaha by a distant relative named Shafik Mebarak Samaha who moved to Colombia. But it doesn’t look true : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carole_Samaha
She doesn’t look like an arab!
You’re wrong, she does. Some fully Lebanese people don’t look like stereotypical Arabs either. But there are also people like Albert Einstein who have that look, not because of Arab admixture, but because they come from the Levant. On that note, I disagree with user @andrew’s contention that most Jews, including Ashkenazim, don’t come from the Levant. Autosomal DNA testing appears to strongly debunk that claim and so do paternal haplogroups like J2, J1, and E1b1b which Jewish men frequently have and could have plausibly inherited from the Israelites. There are also maternal haplogroups like K1a9, HV1b2, and R0a2m which possibly come from the Levant and are shared with Arabs.
@ l!ttletimmy
Thank you, but there are also Jews who are R1b. Btw if Jews are so kin to Arabs they should stop to fight each other. Most Lebanese in the world are actually Christians: are they actually “Arabs”? In U.S they were classified as White and often married and were absorbed within other white people. In Latina America they built an upper class economical-political elite even.
Oh I agree, there are also R1a Jews. Very few of them fall under the Slavic subclade Z282 though, and most belong to the Asian subclade Z93 (though there are some Z282 Jews it is rare). I agree, Jews and Arabs fight a lot. But you know who else did? Turks and Armenians, the Greeks and the Ottomans, and it turns out genetically they are also have significant similarities.
she is obviously triracial and ambiguous
sometimes she seems quite exotic, other times not so much
her parents look mixed
this is a photo of her when she was young without bleached hair
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRvQ1yYKonQMUGFFIkdTJV-WnryLeh_TIlDNXavmrhs4A5Ahsn6i1szi2k&s=10
>>>>>>>>>>https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT3-PRLwqfOm2oQzsoGoCae0whfsfG8yA-0Pg&usqp=CAU<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>
she must have lightened her skin too, she seems to have black features
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTqsOmH4PZ5ME_CQ32ameJfbTJfiNfnhB6LGENB6qqwuLL9psAKst_nexE&s=10
She is racially ambiguous looking at times she has looked like Beyonce, Selena, Jessica Simpson, and Britney Spears