Shakira and her father, William Mebarak, have a connection that is largely because he was the inspiration in the first steps of her artistic career.
However, success is not the most important thing they share, and that is why, despite the difficulties they both face, the bond that unites them seems to be getting stronger and stronger.
Since she was a child, Shakira showed an innate interest in poetry and music, a passion that was influenced by her father, who would sit creating stories on a typewriter while her daughter was fascinated. At the age of eight, she composed the song “Your dark glasses” for him, since he, after losing one of her children in an accident, wore glasses for a year to hide the pain that such loss caused him.
William also sparked her interest in the cultural roots of her family. At age four, he took her to a local Middle Eastern restaurant, where she had her first encounter with the doumbek, a traditional drum used in Middle Eastern music and which often accompanied belly dancing. The experience was transformative for Shakira, who, excited by the rhythm and melody, decided that the stage would be part of her life.
Her father was also responsible for awakening generosity in Shakira by taking her when she was a child to a residence so she could see the orphans who lived there. This experience left a deep impression on her, and she promised herself that when she became a famous artist, she would help those children in need, just like she does today.
Through her social networks, she has expressed how when seeing her father who is over 90 years old, she remembers that beyond the success of her songs, her own humanity is the legacy she hopes for. see in the future. She asks herself, in her own words: “Have I listened to others enough when grief afflicts them? Will I have celebrated her joys, will I have understood and forgiven her limitations? ”Just as her father has done.
In 2007, Shakira had a notable opportunity to collaborate with Gabriel García Márquez in the film Love in the Time of Cholera, based on the author's acclaimed novel of the same name. Regarding this fact, the singer even mentioned that thanks to that project, she wrote two of her best songs at that time: “There Are Loves” and “Despedida.”
This significant event in the Colombian's career was shared with her father, since together they later made a version of the song “There Are Loves,” which strengthened her family bond. This is further proof of the importance that her father has had in her artistic career.
In difficult times, family ties remain firm, and even Gerard Piqué, with whom the singer had a great love story, visited him when he was hospitalized in Spain. Regarding his health, after facing several problems in the last year, including an accidental fall and two operations, his wife has told the media that she is stable.
Amid these difficult moments, Shakira has also shown on her social networks part of the therapeutic process that her father has gone through, in which she has been providing all her support by caring for her and her love.
The artist considers her father to be a “hero” and she has expressed her admiration for his resilience, as he has been recovering from a delicate state of health. Thus, recently, amid the storm over the separation from Piqué, she left Spain to move to Miami and thus be able to take care of her father, who now requires a new operation.
