Shakira returns to Spain in fire, tears and ‘Waka Waka’

Shakira’s Madrid Homecoming Blends Spectacle, Reflection and a Career-Spanning Set

Poinews.com – Shakira returned to Spain with an emotional, high-energy performance in Madrid on Saturday 18 September, taking the stage at 20:49 Spanish time in the stadium bearing her name. Her two-hour show brought together 25 songs, striking visuals of fire and water, major pop hits and candid reflections on the personal changes she has experienced.

The Colombian singer opened with “La fuerte,” her collaboration with Bizarrap from Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, the 2024 album that gives its name to the tour. “Girl Like Me” followed, before a sequence joining “Las de la intuición” with “Estoy aquí,” the song that first helped introduce her to audiences beyond Colombia.

“Good evening, Madrid, I can’t believe I’m here.”

After the opening songs, Shakira addressed the crowd with humour and directness about the period since she last performed in Spain.

“You’ll be thinking, the face I left with and the face I’ve come back with.”

She then added:

“There is nothing like a she-wolf being reunited with her pack.”

A concert built around different eras

The first half moved between recent reggaeton-influenced material and familiar international pop songs. “Te felicito,” made with Rauw Alejandro, and “TDG,” featuring Karol G, appeared alongside “Don’t Bother” and “Can’t Remember to Forget You,” her Rihanna collaboration.

Costume changes and large-scale screen imagery helped frame a set that also included “Copa vacía,” “La bicicleta,” “La tortura,” “Hips Don’t Lie” and “Chantaje.” The latter marked the end of the concert’s first hour, giving the performance a clear dividing line before its more reflective second section.

That later portion began with “Loca” and a more personal message from Shakira, whose recent album addresses the aftermath of her separation from former footballer Gerard Piqué.

“When a family breaks apart, as mine did, you feel as if you have lost your compass, until you realise that you can get through it and start to see single life as an opportunity.”

“Soltera” followed beneath a giant letter S on stage. The progression made the song feel like more than a standalone pop number, placing it within a wider narrative of recovery, independence and renewed confidence.

Spain’s place in her story

Madrid’s audience also heard songs from the earliest stages of Shakira’s career. “Ojos así,” “Pies descalzos” and “Antología” recalled the artist’s formative years, long before the global success of her later English-language and crossover releases.

Spain holds particular significance in Shakira’s personal history, and she acknowledged that connection during the evening.

“The most important years of my life I lived here, in Spain. It was here that I became a mother. You saw me arrive, fall, get back up and return. Thank you for walking with me for more than 30 years.”

The statement gave the Madrid date the character of a homecoming. Rather than treating the show only as a presentation of a new album, Shakira used the occasion to connect the different chapters of her public and private life: her early music, international breakthrough, family years in Spain and current return to the stage.

Near the finale, “Waka Waka” brought another major communal moment. The song, already closely associated with football after becoming one of the defining anthems of the 2010 World Cup, has now also been adopted as an anthem connected to the 2026 tournament. The performance ended with “BZRP Music Sessions #53,” accompanied by confetti and fireworks.

Macondo Park opens for Madrid concert run

The concert was held at Macondo Park, a new venue named after the fictional town created by Gabriel García Márquez in One Hundred Years of Solitude. The site opened on Friday at about 17:00, though entry began around an hour and a half later than planned.

Designed with coloured artificial turf, Macondo Park contains eight pavilions exploring different dimensions of Hispano-American culture as part of the Es Latina project. The setting gives the concert series a broader cultural frame, combining music with a space intended to celebrate connections across the Spanish-speaking world.

Before Shakira’s appearance, Guitarricadelafuente performed on one of the venue’s stages. Maro, Virtual Diva and Santos Bravos were also part of the programme, with each expressing admiration for the Colombian performer.

Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran is Shakira’s twelfth studio album. Its lyrics frequently explore the fallout from her break-up with Piqué, but the Madrid performance presented those themes alongside a much wider catalogue. The result was a show that shifted from vulnerability to celebration without losing sight of the long relationship between the singer and her Spanish audience.

Macondo Park is scheduled to remain open until 11 October, following the final one of 12 planned Madrid concerts. For Shakira, the run offers a sustained return to a country that has been central to her life, while giving fans a chance to hear more than three decades of music in one ambitious live production.