Shakira of Italian, Spanish and Lebanese descent
Many people in Latin America come from cultural mixtures that have occurred throughout history by different waves of migration. The well-known singer Shakira originally from Colombia is a great example of this.
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born in Barranquilla - Colombia in 1977. She is the daughter of Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado (Barranquilla of Spanish and Italian descent) and William Mebarak of Lebanese descent. Shakira means "grateful" in Arabic and is the feminine form of Shakir's name. Her second name, Isabel, is also on the part of her paternal grandfather and means "my God is my oath," my house of God "or" my God is "abundance."
Her father comes from a family of Lebanese origin from the Zahlé capital area of the eastern valley of Beca in the southeast of the country. Many Lebanese were forced to emigrate due to the poor situation in the country and the strained relationship between Christians and Muslims. Since 1877 the first waves of migration to the American continent have been registered and the preferred destinations were the United States, Brazil and Argentina, while Colombia was a second-tier destination. The Mebarak family emigrated to the US and then to Colombia.
Those who arrived in Colombia settled mainly in Caribbean towns such as Lorica, Cereté, Ciénega de Oro and Montería, located in the Sunú river valley. In 2003 Shakira visited Lebanon with her father and they discovered that they had a family heritage in Zhale, the largest Christian city in the Bekaa Valley.
From her maternal side, the Ripoll family comes from Spanish descendants who arrived in Colombia throughout the 18th century. Some of the first settlers that are registered in the American continent are: Jose Ripoll 1838 in EE: UU. Rafael Ripoll Ferran, Salvador Ripoll, Miguel Ripoll Fons, Francisco Ripoll and Pablo Isidro Ripoll Villa 1858 in Puerto Rico. Ripoll is a surname of Spanish origin from the region of Catalonia, which is located on the northern Mediterranean coast of Spain. Ripoll gave rise to a very picturesque town in this region. This surname belonged to the high Catalan lineage.
