Dónde están los ladrones? (1998)

Dónde Están los Ladrones? (Spanish: [ˈdonde esˈtan los laˈðɾones]; transl. Where Are the Thieves?) is the fourth studio album by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, released on 25 September 1998 by Sony Music Colombia. After attaining success in Latin America with her major international debut, Pies Descalzos (1995), Shakira met producer Emilio Estefan, who identified her potential to break into the U.S. Latin market and became her manager. For work on the new album, Shakira also enlisted her previous collaborator Luis Fernando Ochoa, along with Lester Mendez, Javier Garza, Pablo Flores and Estéfano Salgado. Dónde Están los Ladrones? is stylistically Latin rock; it incorporates Latin pop elements and influences of Middle Eastern music.

Upon its release, Dónde Están los Ladrones? received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its sound and lyrics; Shakira was sometimes compared to Alanis Morissette. Commercially, the album was a success, selling over one million copies within its first month of release. It peaked at number 131 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and topped Billboard's Top Latin and Latin Pop Albums charts. The album received numerous record certifications in various countries, including a platinum certification in the United States and a triple-platinum certification in Shakira's native Colombia. Dónde Están los Ladrones? won several accolades and was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards. In 2020, it was ranked number 496 by Rolling Stone on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Six singles were released from Dónde Están los Ladrones?. Its lead single, "Ciega, Sordomuda", reached the top of both Billboard's Hot Latin and Latin Pop Songs component charts, and also reached number one on charts of countries in Central America and Venezuela. Follow-up singles "Tú", "Inevitable", "No Creo", "Ojos Así" and "Moscas en la Casa" also debuted high on the charts. The album was promoted through several televised performances, including her debut on American television through The Rosie O'Donnell Show. In August 1999, Shakira gave an acoustic MTV Unplugged concert in New York City, which resulted in the live MTV Unplugged album. Her second tour, Tour Anfibio, visited South and North America in March–May 2000 and promoted both records.

Background and development

After she rose to prominence with the success of her Pies Descalzos album (1995), Shakira was introduced to Emilio Estefan, the most important producer in the U.S. Latin music market at the time, by her promoter and longtime friend, Jairo Martínez. Estefan was renowned for launching the careers of several Hispanic singers, including Enrique Iglesias, Thalía, and his wife Gloria Estefan. The Estefans recognized early Shakira's potential and helped her break into the U.S. music market. One of Shakira's concerns about working with Emilio Estefan was creative control over her music. Before signing their contract, the roles and duties were defined: Estefan would be her manager and executive producer, but she would be in charge of all material and arrangements and have final approval over her records. She later stated about Estefan, "He had a great respect for me as an artist and trusted me totally on this project". They worked on the new album at Estefan's Crescent Moon Studios in Miami, where Shakira now lived and where Sony Music officially launched and promoted the record on 25 September 1998.