Shakira as the Idealized, Transnational Citizen: A case study of Colombianidad in Transition

Author: Cepeda M.E.

Source: Latino Studies, Volume 1, Number 2, July 2003 , pp. 211-232(22)

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Abstract:

Within the contemporary transnational context, the internationally known singer/songwriter Shakira emerges as a primary example of a public persona who at times occupies the interstices between the Latin American and the US Latino contained within the rubric of latinidad. As one of the most visible performers of the most recent so-called Latin(o) music “boom,” Shakira's music and public persona shape both in- and out-group notions of what it means to be not only Latina, but also colombiana. Furthermore, her multiple subject positions (as a Lebanese–Colombian, Caribbean–Colombian, female, popular performer, and recent US immigrant) contribute to a sense of latinidad and colombianidad both within and outside of US borders.In this light, and given Shakira's multiple positionings, a closer examination of Shakira's persona illicits the questions that ultimately define the parameters of this essay: within the complex epistemology of latinidad, in what moments and via what processes does Shakira, a native of Colombia, “become” a US Latina? And to what ends is latinidad thrust upon Shakira? In this essay, via my readings of media discourse and Shakira's music, I address these questions, as I trace Shakira's somewhat contradictory representation as an idealized, transnational citizen at a pivotal moment in the (re)configuration of colombianidad, and in a broader sense, latinidad itself.Latino Studies (2003) 1, 211–232. doi:10.1057/palgrave.lst.8600023

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.lst.8600023

Affiliations: 1: 1Spanish Department, Macalester College, MN

Publication date: 2003-07-01