Textiles and Dress

Cultural impact of Shakira

Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira has had a considerable impact on the musical landscape of Latin America and further afield. Further to this, her career has seen longevity and cultural reach that has enabled Shakira to be a socially, culturally, and politically influential figure across the world. This has culminated in her receiving the honorific nickname of the Queen of Latin Music. She is considered the most recognizable face of Latin music around the world. With 95 millions of records sold, she is the best-selling Latin female artist of all time. In 2024 Billboard placed her at number 17 on its list of "The Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century," being the only Latina to appear on the list. As of 2018, according to Forbes, Shakira was the most commercially successful woman in Latin music through her album sales, thus making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Vogue writer Carla Ramirez referred to Shakira as the greatest Latin female icon in history and journalist Queralt Uceda from La Vanguardia credits Shakira for being largely responsible for the popularity of Spanish language music on a global level, while others credit her for being the pioneer, popularizing Spanish music and paving way for other artists such as Bad Bunny and Karol G who enjoy worldwide popularity today. She is credited with opening the doors of the international market for a new generation of Latin artists. The journalist Leila Cobo from Billboard said that Shakira "put Latin music on the map" also added that her is "has been the top of Latin music". Her impact is felt not only through her popularisation of Spanish music, but also through introducing the culture, rhythms, and musical heritage of the Latin community on a global stage. Throughout her career Shakira has been noted for introducing musical genres, instruments, and techniques from across Latin America, the Middle East, and other regions to a wider audience. Various media describe Shakira as an artist who makes Latin American culture visible in across the world and credit her for opening the doors of the international industry to Latinos. Her legacy and impact have transcended language barriers, popularizing Latin music internationally, and being credited with catapulting Latin music to the international market.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸Brook Farm
• ▸African humid period
• ▸Field of the Cloth of Gold

Uncatalogued shelf

Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.