Depara is a poetic verb that means 'to hold in store' or 'to bring', almost exclusively used when talking about the future, fate, or destiny.
In the song, Shakira sings "Nadie adivina que depara el destino" (No one can guess what destiny has in store). It's a more elegant and literary alternative to a common verb like traer (to bring), making it a fantastic word to add to your vocabulary for more sophisticated conversations about life's great mysteries.
Shakira paints a picture of someone who has achieved massive success but feels completely empty without the person they love. She makes it clear that fame and fortune mean nothing in the face of real loneliness. The chorus is incredibly direct: "No sirve de nada llegar aún más lejos / Ni toda la fama, ni todo el dinero" (It's useless to get even further / Not all the fame, not all the money). This feeling isn't just sadness; it's a physical pain she describes as "la soledad se me clava en los huesos" (loneliness sticks into my bones).
She sets the scene in a dramatic, almost cinematic way, with "ángeles sobre Berlín" (angels over Berlin) while she feels an internal rainstorm. The contrast between her glamorous life and her inner turmoil comes to a head in a fantastic moment where she throws her Chanel bag on the wet ground and just starts running. It's a powerful image of rejecting material things because all she really wants is simple human connection: "Extraño tu voz" (I miss your voice).
Shakira signed to Sony Music Colombia at thirteen, and her debut album Magia sold about 1,200 copies in Colombia. Born in Barranquilla in 1977 to a family of Lebanese, Catalan and Colombian descent, she was belly dancing by four, after hearing Arabic drumming at a Middle Eastern restaurant near home, and she has written or co-written most of what she records.
The breakthrough came with Pies Descalzos (1995) and its single "Estoy Aquí", and ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998) followed with "Ciega, Sordomuda" and "Ojos Así". She moved into English on Laundry Service (2001), whose "Whenever, Wherever" was released in Spanish as "Suerte", then topped the US Hot 100 in 2006 with "Hips Don’t Lie", featuring Wyclef Jean. "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", recorded with the South African band Freshlyground, was the official song of the 2010 World Cup. Her 2023 session with Argentine producer Bizarrap won Latin Grammy Song of the Year, and Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran took Best Latin Pop Album at the 2025 Grammys, her fourth Grammy next to fifteen Latin Grammys.