¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?
| ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? | ||||
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| Studio album by Shakira | ||||
| Released | 29 September 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1998; at Crescent Moon Studios and Criteria Recording Studios, Miami |
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| Length | 41:06 | |||
| Language | Spanish | |||
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| Shakira chronology | ||||
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| Singles from ¿Dónde están los ladrones? | ||||
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Billboard | favorable |
| Sputnikmusic |  |
| The New Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? (English: Where Are the Thieves?), is the fourth studio album by Colombian singer Shakira, released on 29 September 1998 by Columbia Records and Sony Music Latin. After attaining success with her major-label debut Pies Descalzos in 1996, Shakira opted to spend an increased amount of time developing her follow-up record. Its music incorporates Latin pop styles, additionally experimenting with rock en Español elements. As co-producer, Shakira enlisted previous collaborator Luis Fernando Ochoa to work with new partners Emilio Estefan, Pablo Florez, Javier Garza, and Lester Mendez. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1999 for Best Latin Rock Album.
The album took nine months to produce since many people worked on the album: an increased number of options were given and further demos were released. This extended the production process, making it more complex her previous album Pies Descalzos. In addition, Shakira insisted on perfection, mindful of the many critics who would judge her second album, mindful of the label of "musical prodigy" applied to her in Latin America. Consequently, each song comprised three or four demo tracks, made possible by the increased album budget and the hundreds of thousands of dollars available for promotion.
The album's title was inspired by one of Shakira's trips to the capital of her native country Colombia. At the El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, part of her luggage was stolen, including a briefcase that contained all the lyrics Shakira had been working on for the album. Shakira commented, "The worst part about the whole thing was that I couldn't remember them because of the mental block that can be caused by such a traumatic experience as the robbery of such a personal item". Feelings of impotence and emptiness overcame Shakira with such violence that for a couple of days and nights she thought of nothing but the people who had taken her material. She could not stop thinking about them: "Who are they? What are they looking for? Where are they?". Thus, the album's title and track were born. The album's title also evolves into a sly reference to the political corruption and general social mistrust pervading contemporary Colombian society. It is a corruption in which Shakira regonizes her own complicity – the album cover features a photo of her, soot-covered palms up, caught with her hands dirty.
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Wikipedia