11:55 PM
Salsa Circuit
During the hour-long interview, Shakira delved into matters she seldom, if ever, discusses, such as when her first album actually bombed, her fear of not doing things right, the men in her life and her current relationship with Gerard Pique. She also shared her discontentment with the paparazzi and even how she wants to take measures against it.
But the subject closest to the singer had little to do with music or romance but rather with childhood poverty of Latinos in the United States vs. the great potential and strength we have.
THE SCALES TIP
This has been a year of change and new ties. I feel a great sense of pride to be Hispanic. The star on the Walk of Fame is proof that dreams do come true. I always tell parents of the children in the Bare Feet Foundation schools to dream as much and as high as they want, and to allow their kids to do the same.
FEAR OF FAILURE
The road to success is paved with defeats. The important thing is to get up. A politician once used a phrase that I love: "The important thing isn't that you put your foot in it, it's to get it out quickly."
There is always the threat of failure, like a shadow that follows you everywhere. When I crossed over -- on 'Laundry Service' [in 2001] -- I faced a language I didn't speak. When I began to write my songs in English, I had to do it with a dictionary next to me. Ironically, that disc sold 3 million copies.
THE ZENITH OF HER CAREER
I know that things have gone well and that I've reached my goals and dreams, but the feeling is that we live on the verge of the abyss and that we have to keep doing things rights, better.
FAME
Everything has its good and bad, and people remind you all the time. It's been so long since I began this path that I forget how my life was previously. Of course, I remember my life, but not the dividing line between the before and after becoming famous. Everything happened gradually, and that has made the process healthier. I can't imagine what it's like for those that suddenly become famous.
PRIVATE LIFE VS. PUBLIC INTEREST
With [longtime former boyfriend] Antonio [De La Rua] it was easy because we worked together. It's been a year since we haven't. We're very good friends. The difficult part is wanting a private life and suddenly it becomes everyone else's.
With Gerard [Pique] I've decided to preserve a bit more of my privacy. I'm very content with him and we're very happy. He's a man that makes me very happy.
POLICING THE PAPARAZZI
I don't mind that people want to know about my personal life; it's part of the vestiges of the career to which I'm dedicated, but the paparazzi bothers me. There should be paparazzi police to get them under control a bit. They're dangerous because they're everywhere. They were even separating us [Pique and I] because they couldn't capture an image of us together. I think all the paparazzi were on vacation in Ibiza. We both looked at each other and asked, "Where's the paparazzi? We're not important anymore?"
FIGHTING FOR HISPANICS IN THE U.S.
We Hispanics have to look at ourselves in the mirror and realize what we represent to this country. We're a very powerful arm that is productive and energizes this country's economy. But Latino students get left behind because they don't get to college -- they abandon school. This is a real worrisome problem because three out of four Latino children are poor, living below the poverty line. Meanwhile, 22 percent of U.S. schools are filled with Latino kids.
Part of what I do with [President Barrack] Obama is to contribute in some way so that our Latino kids will have the opportunity they deserve. That's why a commission has been designated to address the needs of Latino students, so that there are quality programs available. These days I'm obsessed because I believe we Latinos deserve the very best.
>>>SHAKIRA: LIVE FROM PARIS (CLIP)
SOURCE Rafael Abreu
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