Organizers for the Latin Grammys, the top honors for Latin music, on Monday named Colombian superstar Shakira as their person of the year to be feted at the group’s annual awards show in November.
Shakira, who was nominated for three Latin Grammys this year including album of the year for her “Sale el Sol,” will be given the award not only for her songs and performing but for philanthropic work through her Pies Descalzos Foundation.
“We are honored to pay homage to this dynamic, socially conscious woman whose illustrious career has touched so many people around the world, both musically and personally,” Latin Recording Academy president Gabriel Abaroa, Jr. said in a statement.
Shakira, 34, rose to fame as a singer in the early 1990s combining rock, Latin and Mediterranean music with her own original dancing — a feature of Shakira’s that eventually manifested itself in the smash hit single, “Hips Don’t Lie.”
In 1996, Shakira released “Pies Descalzos” with hit singles “Estoy Aqui” and “Se Quiere…Se Mata.” Her first crossover album, Laundry Service, debuted in 2001 and went on to become her most successful album, to date.
Shakira’s foundation focuses on helping impoverished children receive an education.