To promote two free megaconcerts in Mexico City and Buenos Aires this coming Saturday, May 17, Foundation ALAS organized a press conference in Mexico City on May 15 with the participation of foundation members and richest people on Earth.
It was reported that the foundation's strategy to battle poverty among millions of children in Latin America attracted at least $200 million in donations from the most prosperous business people in the world. Currently the richest person, according to the Forbes list, Mexican Carlos Slim donated $110 million, and Howard G. Buffett, who follows Slim in the list of the richest and who is the son of Warren Buffett, donated $85 million to the foundation. Howard G. Buffett said, "when Shakira calls, she is heard".
Shakira and Miguel Bose, who also attended the press conference, thanked the donators and stated five steps in fulfulling their strategy: provide children with love, nutrition, healthy environment, let them play and attend school.

(left to right): Carlos Slim, Shakira and Howard G. Buffett.

On May 14, Shakira performed in New York City at a closed event organized by the famous American Spanish TV network Univision. The management of the network presented to advetisers their plans to increase viewers' ratings and announced various new TV shows to be returned and introduced on the channel.

Shakira performed La Tortura, Inevitable, and Hips Don't Lie

 

We uploaded some previously unseen videos (CLICK HERE) from the promotional tour for Dónde Están Los Ladrones? in Latin America in 1998 and 1999. Shakira performs at the H Show and Domingao Do Faustao Show in Brazil; gets her "obscure" past revealed on a Colombian show Pido La Parola; and pays visit to the Colombian Congress to be awarded the Grand Order.

         

On April 27, Shakira arrived in Colombia.
Shakira appeared in Barranquilla in order to monitor the construction of a school financed by her Pies Descalzos Foundation. The school will accommodate about 1,800 kids and will have an elementary and secondary school. The school will open its doors next February and provide kids with all major educational opportunities and will let them take advantage of libraries, dance hall, playground, courts and a school theater.

On April 26, Shakira performed at the Plymouth Jazz Festival. She presented her typical Oral Fixation Tour setlist:
- Estoy Aqui
- Te Dejo Madrid
- Don't Bother
- Illegal
- Inevitable
- Obtener Un Si
- La Tortura
- Underneath Your Clothes
- Whenever, Wherever
- Ojos Asi
- Hips Don't Lie

 

Shakira arrived in Trinidad and Tobago to participate at the Plymouth Jazz Festival. She is scheduled to perform on April 26 together as well as Rod Steward and Diana Ross

In her interview for CNN on April 21, besides her participation in the Global Campaign for Education Action Week, Shakira also revealed that she is composing a new album and hopes to finish it in November. She also said that her regular musicians and co-writers who have long ago become her family work with her for this record.

The Grammy-award winner is honorary chair of the Global Campaign for Education Action Week, which kicked off Monday to highlight the plight of some 72 million children and 226 million adolescents around the world who are currently not in school.

She said education is a great strategy to reduce poverty and to deal with many development issues.
"I know this is a challenge, but it's also a historic opportunity for all of us," Shakira said from Washington, D.C., where she is slated to meet Tuesday with members of U.S. Congress.

"We know how to address this and it is within our reach, and we can truly be the architects of change and be the first generation in our history to bring education to all children so that no child is left behind."
As part of the campaign, non-governmental organizations in 120 countries are asking governments to keep "education for all" promises to achieve Millennium Development Goals, a set of development standards on education, health, literacy and poverty.

 

Latin America has 54 million children age 5 and under and no less than 32 million of them are currently living in poverty. ALAS will bring together a diverse group of artists, intellectuals and entrepreneurs to launch a new social movement that will generate a collective commitment to Early Childhood Development programs for the children in Latin America on May 17th by simultaneously holding two concerts in Mexico City and Buenos Aires.

Join us and together we can give these once-forgotten children a chance to fly.
ONE EVENT, TWO STAGES ... FREE OF CHARGE TO ALL ...
YOUR COMMITMENT IS YOUR ADMISSION TICKET.

Shakira and a number of renowned Spanish-singing names will join two simultaneous concerts organized by the ALAS Foundation in Mexico City and Buenos Aires on May 17. Shakira has not yet confirmed which city she will appear in.

Some paparazzi photos of Shakira at the hairdresser's on April 2. Her family and Antonio reportedly spent 7 hours with Shakira while she was doing her hair!

The Inter-American Development Bank, meeting in Miami Beach, is pinning its hopes for progress in Latin America on help from celebrities.
A star-studded lineup brought together in the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in Miami Beach on Friday is betting they can.

After Bill Gates' optimistic outlook delivered to a packed auditorium, Colombian pop star Shakira made a surprise appearance in the name of helping to alleviate extreme poverty for the region's children. The celebrities, Gates -- the world's unsurpassed philanthropist -- and other CEOs offered up their willingness to serve as agents of change in a region in need of a helping hand.

"We hope from our hearts that this alliance... generates huge opportunities for the millions of children who live in extreme poverty and conditions of vulnerability in the region and hopefully that this is an incentive for the private sector to invest more," Shakira said.

About 6,000 executives, bankers, civil society representatives and government officials from the hemisphere are attending the event, which consists of three days of seminars and presentations and two days of official bank meetings.