Lebanese-Colombian pop/rock singer Shakira Mebarak kicked off the European leg of her World tour, Tour Of The Mongoose, in Barcelona's Palau Saint Jordi on December 10th 2002 in front of fans that waited in heavy rain for almost four hours to see their idol.

During the concert Shakira gave her audience a taste of her Arabic origin by singing Shati Ya Dinia (Rain Oh World) by the prominent Lebanese singer Fairuz, according to the London based Elaph.

Upon singing the Arabic song, Shakira began to dance for her audience (Belly dance) which threw them in a state of overwhelming joy and excitement. The singer always expressed how proud she is of her Arab Lebanese decent and mingled certain traits in her performance.

Shakira added that ever since she was a child she loved reciting songs, despite her weak skills in speaking Arabic, for the great Lebanese singer Fairuz, and in fact her family nicknamed her Little Fairuz.

Shakira will perform in Germany and the United Kingdom before taking the tour back to the U.S. in 2003. Tour Of The Mongoose, her first world-tour visiting 30 countries and 50 cities throughout 2002 and 2003, is sponsored internationally by Pepsi and Reebok and presented by MTV in North America.


Multicultural Shakira is one of a growing number of Latin American singers making a splash on the US pop charts. Her latest album, Laundry Service, has sales approaching 10 million albums worldwide. Her music combines rock, pop, Latin and Arabic sounds.