Shakira performs on June 19, 1999 in New York City.
Bill Tompkins/Getty Images
Shakira‘s 1998 Dónde Están Los Ladrones? was the album that marked a before-and-after in the Colombian superstar’s career. Her first LP backed by megaproducer Emilio Estefan also cemented Shakira as one of Latin America’s biggest artists of her generation.
The follow up to 1995’s Pies Descalzos, Dónde Están Los Ladrones? is home to some of Shakira’s best songs, including the Spanish-language classics “Inevitable,” “Tú,” “Si Te Vas” and “Ojos Así.” Powered by a wide-ranging canvas of sounds — from rock to pop ballads, mariachi horns and Middle Eastern influences — Shakira’s seminal album is lyrically potent. A troubadour at heart, Shakira lets her emotions take center stage as she sings about heartbreak (“Si Te Vas”), believing in love (“Tú”), superficiality (“Octavo Día”) and young love (“Ciega, Sordomuda”).
The song that gave the album its title was inspired by an incident that changed everything for Shakira. While traveling, thieves stole a suitcase she had filled with lyrics for new songs, leaving her with writer’s block. Once she finally set pen to paper, the end result was her first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart. Dónde Están Los Ladrones? ruled the tally for 11 weeks.
In honor of the album’s 25th anniversary (celebrated Sept. 29), Billboard‘s Latin editors have ranked all 11 tracks on the set. Given that all these songs are classics, it was hard to pick a No. 1 — but see which one takes the top spot on our list below.
Shakira is set to speak at the Billboard Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2-6 in Miami. Purchase tickets here.
-
“Que Vuelvas”
With steely strings, the twang of an electric guitar and an occasional distortion, “Que Vuelvas” takes on a rugged rock quality — equipped with larger-than-life choruses — that has become a trademark of Shakira’s rockerita style. It’s a raw and emotionally-charged deep cut that conveys the internal struggle of wanting someone back in your life, but grappling with the weight of one’s own pride. The repetition of the plea, “Quisiera pedirte que vuelvas, que vuelvas,” is both heart-wrenching and powerful.
Listen to it here.
-
“Octavo Día”
A quintessential satirical song, Shakira takes aim at a superficial, classist society that even God wouldn’t want to live in. The sobering lyrics start with her singing that, on the eighth day and after hard work, God went on a trip to outer space, only to come back to a “desorden infernal (hellish disorder).” If God decides to leave, “we’ll have to worship Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton or Tarzán,” she declares. The poignant “Octavo Día” wasn’t an outlier: Shakira has always defied the status quo via her songs and/or music videos.
Listen to it here.
-
“Sombra De Ti”
Kicking off with a somber jazz melody, “Sombra De Ti” finds the Colombian singer-songwriter melancholic, vulnerable, and still weeping over a lost love, admitting that “it gets harder and harder to be happy.” Co-produced and co-written by Shakira and Luis Fernando Ochoa, “Sombra” is powered by a soft rock ballad, where Shak’s potent-yet-wistful vocals sadly sing in the chorus: “Your shadow keeps surrounding me … All the words we said/ And the kisses we gave each other/ As always, I am thinking of you today.”
Listen to it here.
-
“No Creo”
In full roquera mode, “No Creo” is one of the most energetic tracks on the set — a catchy rock cut that later transitions into a conga, with a heavy salsa beat. Along the way, Shak also flaunts her harmonica-playing skills. The overall feel-good song is an honest love letter to the person who loves you unconditionally. “Only you know who I am/ And that’s why my heart is yours/ Only you double my reason/ And that’s why I go wherever you want.” It’s dubbed “No Creo” (“I Don’t Believe”) because in the lyrics, she expresses how she doesn’t believe in anything nor anyone, not even herself, but she does believe in that special someone’s smile. “No one is going to love you the way I love you,” she declares in the heartfelt song.
Listen to it here.
-
“Dónde Están Los Ladrones?”
This song was Shak’s response to thieves who stole her suitcase full of new songs, leaving her with a mental block and no new music for a couple of years after her successful debut set Pies Descalzos. The situation inspired a sharp and critical song addressing a harsh social reality — which ended up titling the album. A negative experience turned into a fruitful project that marked a before-and-after in her career.
Listen to it here.
-
“Moscas En La Casa”
In the late 1990s, this song played on the radio in a loop. An acoustic pop ballad written by Shakira, “Moscos En La Casa” is the perfect title for a song of spite, in which the Colombian star crudely describes the feeling of emptiness and sadness that a romantic breakup leaves. Although the song was initially released without a music video, a black-and-white clip followed from her live performance of it for MTV Unplugged in 2000.
Listen to it here.
-
“Ojos Así”
Shakira plays with fire on her sizzling, hypnotic, yodel-laden “Ojos Así.” With nods to Middle Eastern folk tradition, its Spanish and Arabic lyrics speak of travel from Bahrain to Beirut, and a fervent desire to live in the eyes of a beloved — thus evoking a sense of yearning and wanderlust. The Colombian superstar performed this song at the inaugural Latin Grammys in 2000, donning a slinky red bodysuit amid a ring of fire. The mesmerizing outro cut landed at No. 22 on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart and No. 9 on Latin Pop Airplay.
Listen to it here.
-
“Tú”
In “Tú,” Shakira offers her lover her entire being and possessions — from her bones and her neurons to her silence and her nose — as long as he stays with her forever. “Because you are my sun, the faith with which I live, the power of my voice, the feet with which I walk,” she belts in the chorus. “It is you, love, my desire to laugh, the goodbye that I will not know how to say, because I will never be able to live without you.” The beautiful ballad, with its simple yet clever lyrics, is one of the artist’s greatest love songs. And hes fans seemed to agree: “Tú” topped Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay charts.
Listen to it here.
-
“Ciega, Sordomuda”
With its passionate trumpet and nylon string guitar interplay, “Ciega, Sordomuda” exudes a fiery attitude that’s impossible to ignore. Through Shakira’s fervent vocals, the Colombian powerhouse conveys a complex love that defies reason and advice. The song’s repetitive refrain paints a vivid picture of her struggle, describing herself as “blind, deaf, mute,” portraying equal parts vulnerability and obsession. “‘Ciega, Sordomuda’ was my homage to Mexican music. I came up with the horn line and the lyrics,” Shakira told Billboard for her recent cover story. “It was super exciting at the time because not too long after the song was published, we did MTV Unplugged and brought in a mariachi group. So I got to sing that song in its purest form, Mexican style.” “Ciega, Sordomuda” peaked at No. 1 on several Billboard charts, including Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay.
Listen to it here.
-
“Si Te Vas”
More than a heartbreak song, “Si Te Vas” is a corta-venas (vein-slithering) track that was adopted by women as their latest breakup anthem. Long before there was a “BZRP Music Sessions Vol. 53,” Shakira was already delivering deep lyrics that stung. “When wrinkles cut through her skin and cellulite invades her legs, you will return from your hell with your tail between your horns, begging [me] for one more chance, but by then, I will be a million nights away from you,” she sings confidently in the rock song, powered by striking electric guitar and a potent drum beat. The second-best song on the album, as voted by our team, “Si Te Vas” struck a chord then and still showcases Shakira’s continued willingness to be vulnerable, sincere and raw with her emotions.
Listen to it here.
-
“Inevitable”
Shakira couldn’t be more honest and vulnerable in this classic rock ballad where — completely in love — she confesses to not knowing how to make coffee and not showering on Sundays, to having been unfaithful maybe once. But “no one thinks about you like I do,” she cries with pain, “even though you don’t seem to care.” The heartbreak song, which spent 12 weeks on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, peaking at No. 3, begins softly over a guitar before exploding into a powerful rock anthem with strong riffs and her mighty voice taking flight in the best Shakira fashion. This is, undoubtedly, one of the most outstanding works not only on Dónde Están Los Ladrones?, but of her entire career.
Listen to it here.