When Shakira plays in New York, she brings a sound built on two heritages, Colombian and Lebanese, to a city that holds deep roots in both.
Shakira in NYC
Prudential Center
Las mujeres ya no lloran World Tour 2026
Colombian pop star in town for the FIFA World Cup
Prudential Center
Newark, New Jersey
Tue, July 14, 2026 | 7:30pm
$121+
Barclays Center
Las mujeres ya no lloran World Tour 2026
Colombian pop star in town for the FIFA World Cup
Barclays Center
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Mon-Tue, July 20-21, 2026 | 7:30pm
$150+
UBS Arena
Colombian pop star in town for the FIFA World Cup
UBS Arena
Elmont, Long Island
Thu, July 23, 2026 | 7:30pm
$136+
Colombian and Lebanese Heritage
New York is one of the few cities where Shakira’s two heritages already live side by side. Her father, William Mebarak Chadid, was born in New York City to a family that had emigrated from Lebanon before later moving to Colombia. Her mother raised her in Barranquilla, a coastal city known for world-class Carnival and blend of African, Indigenous, and European rhythms. As a child, she was belly dancing on tables in Lebanese restaurants.
That inheritance shows up directly in her music: the belly dancing woven into her performances, the Arabic melodic inflections in her vocal phrasing, and instrumentation like the doumbek that surfaces across her catalog, layered against Colombian cumbia and vallenato rhythms and a rock sensibility from her early influences.
It’s not a marketing angle, it’s a literal family history that resonates differently in a city built by Lebanese, Arab, and Colombian diaspora communities than it does anywhere else.
From a New York point of view, many think of artists as being from a country ~ without any awareness of the global roots that formed them. Shakira is one of the iconic artists who proves the importance of our global roots. Those hips don’t lie because of her Lebanese heritage.
Ancient Phoenicians ran their Mediterranean trading empire mostly from what is now modern Lebanon. They are world travelers and good in business. Other countries in the Americas have important Lebanese communities including some you wouldn’t expect. Lately there have been several famous Latin American presidents of Lebanese descent.
In South America: Brazil has the world’s largest Lebanese Diaspora, mostly in São Paulo. Argentina has South America’s second-largest Lebanese heritage population. It’s mostly in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Rosario. Colombia has Lebanese communities in Barranquilla and Cartagena. Venezuela has one of the largest Druze Diasporas.
In North America, the US has Lebanese American communities in Michigan and Brooklyn. They brought dead Michigan cities back to life. Mexico has a prominent Lebanese community that includes business magnate Carlos Slim, once the world’s richest man, and famed actress Salma Hayek. Canada has a French-speaking Arabic community in Montreal.
In Central America and the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic and Haiti have important Lebanese Diasporas. Dominican president Luis Abinader is of Lebanese descent. Dominican quipe (fried bulgur wheat balls) are derived from kibbeh, a Lebanese and Syrian snack similar to falafel. Some Dominicans and Haitians were taught to pray at home in secret in Arabic. If they trust you, some will greet you in Arabic.
Lebanese descendents run a lot of Honduran industry. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele is famous in Latin America for retaking control of his country from gangs formed in American jails. Whether or not you agree with his methods, many Latinos are pleased that he made his country safe.
Shakira is the most famous, but she is far from the only prominent Lebanese descendent in the Americas.
Essential Shakira Songs
“Whenever, Wherever” — The 2001 crossover single that introduced her rock and Latin foundation to English-language audiences worldwide.
“Hips Don’t Lie” — Her collaboration with Wyclef Jean fused Colombian rhythm with Caribbean and hip-hop production, becoming one of the defining Latin pop anthems of its decade.
“Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” — Written as the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it carries both her Colombian rhythmic base and Arabic melodic phrasing onto one of music’s biggest stages.