Today, well really over a couple of days I set my sights on searching for Shakira in Barranquilla. I was looking for the parts of town she grew up in. I began my journey to the building she lived in for a portion of her life. Upon arriving on the northside of Barranquilla, I initially could not find the house but then realized it was basically a 4-unit apartment building that did not have the address marked on it, just only the apartment numbers. The neighborhood seemed pretty normal, nothing lavish or anything so I decided to go to another area.
The next area was to head off to the part of Barranquilla near the suburb area of Soledad. As I arrived in a park next to Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez, I was able to locate Shakira’s statue after getting my footing there. Well it was a big piece of rusted metal that kind of looked like her as I chuckled. You can read more about this statue and Shakira’s thoughts on it here. There was nothing too fancy about it but not sure what I really expected even though she is the most famous person from Barranquilla.
I commenced my day by walking north of the area to people watch and to take a look at the multitude of restaurants & bars surrounding the stadium before going back to the area of Barranquilla where my hotel was located.
