Shakira, Powerful and in Touch With Young Latina Audience

Everything about Colombian rock star Shakira spells perfection--with a capital P. Her powerful voice. Her gorgeous looks. Her effortlessly sensuous dancing. Her commanding stage presence. Her crunchy pop-rock anthems.

But it wasn’t any of those elements that made Shakira’s concert Thursday at the Arrowhead Pond such a gratifying affair. What was remarkable was the grace with which she carried her perfection.

Unlike the many pop singers who see their concerts as a great opportunity for ego stroking and self-glorification, Shakira uses her talents to communicate with a young Latina audience that’s in dire need of a positive role model.

At the Pond, Shakira, speaking and singing entirely in Spanish, and her nine-piece band created a wall of sound that brought her closer to an entire legacy of female rockers (from Janis Joplin to Melissa Etheridge and Alanis Morissette) than to the slick pop sensations that dominate Latin music these days. Powered by an extra serving of fuzz guitars and gutsy drumming, such songs as “Octavo Dia” and “Si Te Vas” sounded electrifying.

Dressed like a postmodern cosmopolitan hippie, her long braids dyed blond, the singer proudly defined herself as a Third World woman and thanked the capacity audience for understanding her music.

Her spoken song introductions were long but delightful as she mused about life, love and God. They reflected a mature young woman who hasn’t lost her sense of humor, nor her capacity to express awe at the contradictions of life.

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This emotional openness brought a renewed sense of purpose to her lyrics: “I offer you my waist/And my lips should you want to kiss them/I offer you my madness/And the few neurons I have left,” she sang on the moving “Tu,” showcasing her sly way of combining heartfelt sentiment with a trace of irony.

Throughout the show, Shakira enhanced the music with some dancing that ranged from disjointed robotic movements during “Ciega, Sordomuda” to a session of belly dancing (her father is of Lebanese heritage) to accompany the superb Arabic-tinged “Ojos Asi.”

Shakira is one of those artists who is just meant to be seen live--her show is light-years ahead of her studio recordings, including 1998’s hugely successful “Donde Estan Los Ladrones?,” which sound a little too polished for their own good. And on record she overdoes her trademark yodeling.

Once this tour is over, the singer is scheduled to record her first English-language album. Judging by the effervescence and allure of the Pond show, this is one performer who will have no problem crossing over to a new level of popularity.

Opening act Son by Four illustrated the current tendency of Latin music to dilute Afro-Cuban styles by mixing them with a hybrid of funk, R&B; and pop.

The likable vocal quartet sang to recorded tracks--certainly not the best way to experience a tropical music act.