Colombian artist Shakira (Barranquilla, 49 years old) landed this Monday in Madrid, four days before her historic residency begins next Friday in the Spanish capital, where she has scheduled 12 concerts until October 11 over four consecutive weekends. “That love and support that I never lacked from my Spanish fans, from my audience, from the people of Spain: that is what makes me come back. With the excitement of offering them the best of me, and not only the best of me, but also the best of our Latin culture. I feel that we truly are one single Latin nation. And what was once the Atlantic, an ocean that separated us, today is a bond that unites us,” she declared to the media and fans waiting for her at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport.
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This Friday, September 18, the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour will begin in Madrid, with which the artist expects to gather more than 600,000 people at the Shakira stadium, which has been built specifically in the Madrid neighborhood of Villaverde.
In addition to the concerts, a “carnival” will be presented daily in the area around the stadium, which has been named Macondo Park (after the mythical city in the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez), where, over 12 hours, from noon until midnight on the day the show ends, at least 50,000 people are expected to attend each day. For the concert, access to the floor and stands will begin at 8:00 PM and the show will run from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM.
Upon arrival, Shakira joked, saying she will wear a wig to enjoy with the audience at this venue, which will unite Hispanic culture through music, literature, gastronomy, art, and cinema. There will be eight pavilions and it will even have an area dedicated to children, in whose design the singer’s own children, Milan and Sasha, participated.
“The best part, after each of the concerts, we will close with a carnival, but not just any carnival, the Barranquilla carnival. It is an integral part of my childhood and my culture, of what shaped me musically and humanly,” she added.
However, the singer has been cautious in defining this residency as a “historic” event. “Let’s hope so, we’ll see how everything goes. With a lot of excitement and eagerness to start already.”
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For now, she has acknowledged feeling “very embraced and supported” by the reception she received at the airport, where dozens of fans approached to greet her and send affectionate messages. “It’s much more than I expected. Thank you very much for being here.”
The last time the artist visited Spain was on July 6, 2018, at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona during her El Dorado World Tour.
In addition to the Colombian singer’s concerts, the Madrid venue will become a cultural festival that will take place during the 12 days of concerts. It will also feature music from other artists, such as Nathy Peluso, Amaia, Guitarricadelafuente, Lia Kali, Yerai Cortés, Juicy Bae, Guxo, Dinamarca, Ángeles Toledano, Stereo Madness, LaBlackie, Jimena Amarillo, or DJs like Klandestina, Virtual Diva, or Carl0ta.
Shakira has managed to bring together in this “celebration of contemporary Latin culture” writers Rosa Montero, Cristina Morató, Elísabet Benavent, Julia Navarro, Lydia Cacho, Lana Corujo, Laura Ferrero, Joana Marcús, Mercedes Ron, Elizabeth Clapés, Laura Chivite, Aixa de la Cruz, Violeta Reed, María Roig, Inés Garber, Alba Cardalda, Miriam Tirado, Blanca García-Orea, Mar García Puig, Karina Sainz Borgo, Marta Jiménez Serrano, Andrea Villalonga, María Oruña, and María Esclapez.
All of them will be present in The Library, a space organized by the Penguin Random House publishing house. These authors will participate in talks revolving around themes that Shakira addresses in her songs, such as identity, family, desire, and affective relationships.
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