Shakira enshrined with Hollywood sidewalk star

[November 09, 2011]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Grammy-winning Colombian singer Shakira now has a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

During a Tuesday ceremony surrounded by hundreds of screaming, flag-waving fans, Shakira unveiled her sidewalk star in front of the W Hollywood Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. It's the 2,454th star dedicated along Hollywood's avenue of dreams.

"This is incredible," said the singer and activist. "I would like to thank all of you."

Shakira said she remembered being on the boulevard as a tourist when she was 7-years-old, accompanied by her mother who told her, "Shaki, one day you'll have your own star here."

"If someone had heard that conversation, they would have thought she was insane," said Shakira, who was flanked by her parents at the ceremony.

The ceremony for the 34-year-old singer comes on the eve of her Las Vegas honor as the Latin Grammy person of the year.

Born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll in Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira was just 14 when she released her first album, "Magia."

Her popularity rose in Latin America and Spain with the 1995 release of "Pies Descalzos" and the 1998 release of her album "Donde Estan los Ladrones?" In 2001, she sold more than 13 million copies worldwide of her first English language album "Laundry Service," which contained the hit single "Whenever, Whereever."

She won her first Grammy when "MTV Unplugged" was selected as best Latin pop album. "Donde Estan los Ladrones?" won a Grammy as best Latin rock/alternative album.

Shakira has also raised millions of dollars to fight poverty and provide education for the poor through her Pies Descalzos Foundation.

Shakira dedicated her star to her fans, who "have listened, supported and understood my music all these years," and to Hispanics in the U.S. whom she praised as "a community that works and dreams, every day, to make this a better country."

A committee selects celebrities eligible for a Walk of Fame star and those who accept pay $30,000 in costs and fees.

[Associated Press; By EDWIN TAMARA]

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