Updated on July 15, 2025
Early life and heritage
Alberto Mebarak Spath was born on January 4, 1900, in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. His parents, Moisés Isaac Mebarak (from Beirut) and Labibe Spath (from Zahlé), had settled in Cartagena amid a wave of Lebanese immigration in the late 1800s. As a child, Alberto split his time between local schools—where he learned Spanish arithmetic and writing—and his home, where his mother taught him Arabic and shared stories of cedar forests and mountain villages. He often said, “We carry two homes in our hearts,” a phrase his granddaughter Shakira still recalls today.
Education and community ties
Alberto attended Colegio San Pedro Claver, a small school run by local priests. There, he joined classmates for lessons and games, forming friendships across cultural lines. Outside class, he helped at his father’s import shop, packing olive oil and dried fruit—an early lesson in hard work and trade.
Building a business
In the early 1920s, Alberto helped expand his family’s import business in Cartagena. By the 1930s, he secured a cooperative loan and opened Panadería Moderna in Sincelejo. He baked Lebanese pita and man’oushe alongside pan de bono and almojábanas, creating a unique menu that drew customers from miles around. “He baked bread flavored with family memories,” his son William later said.
Recognizing a need for fuel along coastal roads, Alberto launched La Mecha, a network of 14 gas stations between Sucre and Atlántico. He chose locations near markets and bus stops, traveling by bus or mule to oversee operations. At each site, he taught his sons the basics of bookkeeping and fair customer service.
Family life and traditions
On August 8, 1947, Alberto Mebarak Spath married Isabel Chadid Baizer in Sincelejo. Isabel’s parents, Pedro Chadid Raide and Rosa Baizer Gandur, had also emigrated from Lebanon. Together, Alberto and Isabel maintained weekly traditions—a Sunday courtyard meal with hummus, arepas, coffee, and music played on a gramophone. They raised four children:
- William Alberto Mebarak Chadid (b. 1931, New York City)
- María Alicia Mebarak Chadid, later a school principal in Barranquilla
- Carmen Mebarak Chadid, who taught and directed her community choir
- Luisa Mebarak Chadid, a midwife and health worker in rural Sucre
The next generation
When William was five, the family moved to Barranquilla (circa 1936). He married Lucila Mebarak, and they had nine children. After their divorce, William wed Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado. Their daughter Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on February 2, 1977. Shakira grew up surrounded by Lebanese stories and Colombian rhythms. “My father filled our home with music and tales,” she said in a 2018 interview.
Shakira wrote her first song at eight and released her debut album at thirteen. Over the next decades, she recorded 11 studio albums (including Pies Descalzos, 1995, and Laundry Service, 2001), sold over 85 million records, and won multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards. Her hit “Hips Don’t Lie” reached No. 1 in more than 50 countries. Beyond music, she founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation in 1997, building schools for over 5,000 children, and became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Other grandchildren carried on the family’s service focus:
- Antonio Mebarak, civil engineer in Cartagena, improved rural roadways
- Isabel Mebarak, physician in Bogotá, runs a free clinic
- Juan Mebarak, architect in Medellín, designs public parks and plazas
Community work and lasting legacy
Alberto Mebarak Spath believed in community first. In 1940, he led repairs at Escuela La Esperanza in Sincelejo, donating uniforms and desks. In 1955, he organized fundraising for the public library in Corozal. During a 1930 stay in New York City, he attended night classes in accounting and management, then taught modern bookkeeping to his employees back home.
After his death on May 25, 1962, in Barranquilla, his children preserved his businesses and values. In 1965, they established the Alberto Mebarak Scholarship Fund, awarding five annual scholarships to graduates in Sucre. Recipients have become teachers, engineers, and entrepreneurs. “I owe my success to Don Alberto’s vision,” said a 2020 scholarship winner.
Alberto passed away at 62, leaving a blend of Lebanese and Colombian traditions, a strong work ethic, and a spirit of service that continues to guide his descendants.
