Shakira visits her grandmother’s village in Lebanon

Colombian pop star Shakira on Friday visited the village in Lebanon where her paternal grandmother was born, a journalist said.

“Hello Tannourine, thank you, I am happy to be here!” the 41-year-old singer said in Arabic during a visit under high security to the village of Tannourine in Lebanon’s mountainous north.

Shakira during her visit to the northern Lebanese mountain village of Tannourine. AFP

To mark the occasion, a small patch of the reserve was named Shakira Mubarak — after one of the singer’s family names, Tannourine’s mayor Bahaa Harb said.

On Friday evening, she kicked off the Cedars International Festival in Lebanon, a concert that was set to attract 13,000 people.

Shakira visits Tannourine Cedars Reserve, in Tannourine, Lebanon. Reuters

This is Shakira’s third visit to the country. Her first visit came in 2003 and she returned in 2011 for a concert.

The artist is in Lebanon with her two sons.