Dónde Están Los Ladrones?

About

The written word is sacred to Shakira. As a child, she'd watch her father write stories on his cherished typewriter, which she later used to draft her first poems and song. By 1995, Shakira's breakthrough album, <i>Pies Descalzos</i>, had positioned her as Colombia's next pop phenom and a skilled songwriter armed with dreamy poetry, tongue-twisting wordplay, and literary reference. So, as she wrapped a successful tour in support of the album and prepared to begin production on the next, it came as a shocking blow that part of her luggage was stolen at Bogota's El Dorado International Airport, including a satchel containing the lyrics she'd been crafting for month. It was a violation of her art that filled Shakira with fear and rage, and upon entering the studio, theft became a recurring metaphor in the new song. Stolen glance, lost time, and romantic swindling fueled the emotional urgency of <i>Dónde Están Los Ladrones</i> (1998), while the masterful dance-pop machinations of co-producer Emilio Estefan helped blast Shakira into the global mainstream. Lead single “Ciega, Sordomuda” encapsulated the album's alchemic mix of Latin pop and deeply emotional songwriting. In what has become one of Shakira's most iconic dance-floor filler, the song melds ‘90s house music with mariachi horns and string, all while attempting to exorcize a love turned sour from the recesses of her mind. Heartbreak rages like a storm on the hard-rocking “Si Te Vas” and gets mournful on rattling ballad “Sombra de Ti.” Though <i>Dónde Están Los Ladrones</i> is often melancholic, it's also hopeful. “Moscas en la Casa” contemplates newly emptied rooms after a breakup over bouncy bachata, while “Tú” is a sweeping, almost devotional torch song for an all-consuming love. The seeds of introspective poetry planted on previous hits like “Antología” come into full bloom on “Inevitable,” as Shakira nitpicks at her own character flaws and eventually lands on acceptance. .

via Apple Music

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