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Shakira Sings for Hometown Arts School

On November 15th, Shakira's Oral Fixation tour will arrive in Barranquilla, Colombia, where the hip-shaking superstar will perform for a hometown crowd -- and give them more than just a concert to be excited about. The proceeds from the show will be given to a new bilingual, arts-focused school called Pies Dezcalzos (or Bare Feet), after Shakira's foundation of the same name. The school is set to open in 2008, and cater to the needs of 1,800 children who have been displaced by the Colombian civil war.

"We are building schools in remote places and have designed this program that combines food and education," Shakira told People magazine. "Food is an incentive to promote education, so parents send their kids to school."

While Shakira's other Colombian concerts come with steep price tags (up around $200), her Barranquilla benefit will offer tickets for around $7.

The new school will be located in La Playa, a suburb of 21,500 near Barranquilla. Nearly half of La Playa's residents are minors, and only half of the children are attending school. Uruguayan architect Rafael Vinoly has been tapped to design the school; his previous credits include the Bungalow 8 nightclub and the Jazz at Lincoln Center complex in New York City.

Shakira's philanthropic work isn't going unnoticed, as she was given an award for "social values" at Mexico's Oye! ceremony, considered one of South America's most prestigious music awards. The foundation work isn't overshadowing her music, though; Oral Fixation took home four awards as well.

--The ARTISTdirect Staff
10.09.06