Entertainment news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Shakira Gifts Brooklyn Show Tickets to World Cup Workers, Venezuela Relief Volunteers & More Uplifting Moments in Latin Music
Shakira has given free tickets to her upcoming Brooklyn concert to three groups of New Yorkers who have supported others through recent challenges: volunteers aiding earthquake relief in Venezuela, union workers who helped deliver the World Cup, and Colombian restaurant owners who took part in the city's World Cup dining promotion. The gesture, ahead of her Tuesday 21 July show, is intended as a thank-you to people whose behind-the-scenes work is often overlooked, and has been welcomed by city officials and honourees alike. Separately, Mexican singer-songwriter Ximena Sariñana has been named recipient of the music award at the 39th annual Hispanic Heritage Awards.
Shakira described the honourees as "the true she-wolves" of the World Cup effort, while New York World Cup Czar Maya Handa praised the workers, volunteers and restaurateurs as "the heart of this city". Among those recognised were hotel union member Biviana Pereira Leiva, a Colombian immigrant of ten years, and Queens-based 32BJ member Sandra Leiton. Sariñana's award, announced on 16 July, marks over two decades of work in music, activism and film, and comes as the ceremony moves to Minneapolis on 10 September, its first time outside Washington, D.C.
In short
- Shakira gave Brooklyn concert tickets to World Cup and relief volunteers
- Honourees included union workers, Venezuela relief volunteers and restaurateurs
- Ximena Sariñana to receive Hispanic Heritage Award for music on 10 September
Explained simply
Shakira is giving away free tickets to her Brooklyn concert to recognise people whose work has been central to recent major events in New York and beyond. The Colombian singer's gesture targets workers and volunteers who contributed to World Cup operations in the city and to earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela, including union staff from hospitality, rescue and aid workers, and restaurant owners.
The initiative highlights contributions that often escape public notice. People working in service industries, logistics, catering, and voluntary organisations make essential efforts that underpin major events and humanitarian response, yet such work is typically not publicly acknowledged. The recognition of these groups reflects how communities depend on everyday labour and volunteering that occurs largely behind the scenes.
The move has been welcomed by New York city officials and by those being honoured, including long-standing immigrants and service workers in the city. It provides unusual public visibility for types of work that usually remain invisible to those who benefit from the events and relief efforts they enable.