Shakira performed in Spanglish. She opened her performance in English, switched to Spanish and continued swapping languages until her performance was done. Spanglish, part of the phenomenon called Code Switching, occurs when a person utilizes two languages in thoughts, writing or speaking. The two languages can be utilized within the same sentence. While some critics view it as lazy or the lack of ability to control grammatical constructions in one language, Shakira’s performance represents the normalization of Spanish in everyday life. As the Latino population continues to grow, as communication evolves, and as Spanish becomes more acceptable, at least in the entertainment sphere, I believe that Spanglish will continue to be a powerful force to connect people and cultures.

Check out the performance!

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Compare it to the new one:

I have but one question:

Why?

Shakira has sexed herself up to create a video that is quasi-porn. I don’t understand why she felt the need to recreate this video for her Spanish speaking audience. It isn’t as though we can excuse her for creating a sexy video for an English speaking audience in order to sell records. Shakira is an established, well respected artist in the Spanish-speaking world, so I am having trouble seeing the point of this remake. Yes, she looks good. Yes, she shows her legs, butt, and breasts. Yes, she has sold out.

Shakira fits the “high fashion” mold to perfection. While the pictures solidified that Shakira does belong in the highest circles of fashion and has successfully manufactured her image, Shakira reveals that she has had agency in her visual and artistic representations. She states about her hyper-sexual belly-dancing, “

“I always try not to be graphic but to me metaphorical. I think there’s something fascinating about stimulating the senses. “

Instead of then thinking that Shakira’s belly-dancing is overt sexuality, she views it as a subtly. Rather than baring her tummy for sex appeal, she bares it for the sake of the dance. Do you buy it?

Shakira also comments on the insanely inaccurate portrayal of women on television and in film, the ridiculous standards the media has set for other women, and her roll in the process.

 ”It’s about matching these images that pop culture puts in front of you. I feel like sometimes I’ve been both a victim of that and a victimizer, and it’s not a good feeling, let me tell you.”

Shakira does feel responsible; she knows that these pictures undoubtedly feed the unhealthy perfection mentality that many women have. Nevertheless, these pictures are to be expected of a global icon like Shakira. If she didn’t appear this glamorous, gorgeous, and, well, perfect, something would be wrong (please see Harper’s Bazaar blog). She too is trapped in a paradox, and I think that she should be respected for having enough insight to see it.

Harper’s Bazaar has launched its magazine in Dubai; its first 176 page issue has Shakira gracing its cover (Shakira was chosen because of her Middle Eastern origins and her crossover appeal).  However, I can’t help but wonder…why does Shakira not look more “high fashion” and sophisticated? Other covers of Bazzar feature stars in a much more “high fashion” way (see pictures below) but Shakira looks au natural on the cover. Why was this particular shot chosen? Why doesn’t this rock superstar have more pizazz?

We can only wait to see what Shakira does with her image in this new music video. However, what I can comment on is that Shakira looks like the typical sexy Asian School Girl, yet another stereotype that commonly objectifies women. What is Shakira trying to say and why has she chosen this well-known stereotype to say it?

As Shakira’s doll has been hyped as being the multicultural doll, it seems interesting that the doll (pictured after the jump) looks as though she is merely a daughter to the Barbie and Ken Family.

Please notice her blond hair, her light skin, her stature (Shakira is less than 5 feet, while the doll looks just as tall as the rest of the gang), her tiny waist, her exotically sexy outfit, and the way that the microphone is not an essential aspect of the doll. Indeed, by having the microphone be placed in the fingers of her left hand, the microphone seems as though it does not belong–at any moment, it could fall from her hand. Thus, the point of the doll is not to reveal Shakira, the singer/songwriter, but rather Shakira, Anglicized pop goddess. There is nothing that this Barbie doll does to expand the horizons of young girls, girls, according to an article in People Magazine, were asking for the doll. It seems as though Mattel could have utilized Shakira’s doll to do so much more. As numbers from Mexico and Central and South America continue to rise in the US, as crossover stars become idols, and as globalization continually makes the world a smaller place, Mattel could have utilized the Shakira doll to expand the national imagination of what a pop star icon looks like. This doll, set to be in stores next year, simply reinforces the Britney Spears mentality. Shakira has said about the doll:

“I think that it is cuter than me” and has jokingly remarked that her hip joints are not lose enough to allow the doll to belly-dance.

Why was their no comment about the way that the doll misrepresents and ignores her ethnicity? Why doesn’t Shakira have more at stake in her visual representation to young girls?

Here are the other Mattel Shakira dolls:

None of them have any particular likeness to Shakira, Colombian singer and songwriter, who is now a crossover sensation. Instead, they are all blond, Americanized dolls. They all disappoint me in their lack of accurate or even semi-accurate representation of self, and it is severely upsetting that Shakira does not seem to care.

What happened to artistic individuality? Is the Shakira/Beyonce/Jennifer Lopez/Paulina Rubio craze a statement of the pressures minority women feel to fit a certain image? Or, is it a desirable image, one that they chose to create to sell records?

Obviously, this question has been haunting me throughout this entire process. Please see earlier blogs (Which one is Shakira?; Beautiful Liar; Latin Grammys, 2006) and then help me decide if these Latinas are actively pursuing this image or if this image has been placed upon them. I really can’t decide.

As of yet, Shakira has not agreed to be in a duet. If she were to agree, however, would she be selling out? I would say yes, for in this case, it is not her skills nor her voice that Chambers is attracted to–it is her exotic body and her established success in the United States.