shakira lsabel mebarak ripoll was born in barranquilla, colombia, on february 2, 1977. she is the daughter of a colombian mother and a lebanese father. shakira's love for music was evident early on, and she wrote her first song at the age of 8. she learned belly-dancing from her lebanese grandmother, and she used to love to perform-dancing and singing. according to one story, shakira was kicked out of a choir because her strong voice drowned out the other singers.