Twenty years ago, on September 29, 1998, Shakira released Dónde Están los Ladrones?, the influential album that reinforced her place as one of Latin America’s most celebrated artists — and positioned her to become a global superstar.

It was Shakira’s fourth studio release, and her first collaboration with industry gatekeeper Emilio Estefan, who had early crossover ambitions for the Colombian pop star. Dónde Están los Ladrones? proved why so many promises had been packed into Shakira’s career: the album was made up of razor-sharp, rebellious pop-rock that drew heavily on the alternative sensibilities of Shakira’s previous release, Pies Descalzos. With the backing of a mega producer, Shakira polished her sound and introduced a new array of influences into her repertoire. The album boasted the mariachi trumpets of “Ciega, Sordomuda,” an opener that remains among the most memorable in Spanish-language pop; creative balladry on “Moscas en la Casa” and “Tú;” a sense of grunge and defiance on “Inevitable”— and, of course, lightning-fast, tongue-twister verses that listeners tried in vain to repeat back just as quickly.

Still, critics familiar with her work did note that some of the songs on Dónde Están los Ladrones? followed the same pattern of her established megahits. Billboard’s Leila Cobo, then writing for The Miami Herald, called out “Que Vuelvas” as a “virtual remake” of Shakira’s earlier track “Estoy Aquí.” But many other reviews at the time skimped on nuances like this, focusing instead on introducing Shakira to the Anglo masses and finding analogues for her in the English-speaking world (Alanis Morissette and Joan Osborne were common comparisons at the time).

Shakira was still a new phenomenon in the U.S., despite her success in Latin America, and many Anglo outlets tried to crack exactly what she and the album represented. They painted her with broad strokes — a singer on her “way up,” peddling “forlorn lovesick testimonials” — and focused on tracks that stood apart on the album, in particular, “Ojos Así,” which writers highlighted for its nod to Shaki’s Lebanese roots.

Remezcla plunged deeper into the archives to find what else critics were saying about the album at the time. Here’s what their takes were following the album’s release: