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Natalia Lafourcade's Abortion Rights Fight

by Krutika Pathi

Natalia Lafourcade is known for her poetic and haunting lyrics that focus heavily on embracing Mexican culture, including its social and political problems. She's never been one to shy away from using her music to push for something bigger, which is what she is doing in the United States on Sept. 10: Lafourcade will perform at the All Access concert in Cleveland, along with other artists and comedians in a collaborative event to raise awareness for abortion rights and reproductive justice.

Lafourcade's album, Hasta la Raíz, took home the award for "Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album," at this year's Grammy Awards. Now, Lafourcade turns her attention to advocating for abortion rights on American soil. "The concert has an extremely powerful message for women and for their right to decide what they do with their bodies and their lives. Pro-choice, that's the word isn't it?" Lafourcade says in an interview with Bustle.

For Lafourcade, the biggest hurdle in the path to achieving women's rights and equality lies in the lack of access to education and information. "It's a very important matter because women and girls all over the world don't always know that they have a right to get the information they need. access to such tools is radical in some ways," she tells Bustle. This concert for her is just that — a platform for her to show her support for a cause in a way she excels, which is through her music.

"With messages like this, with issues like this, music is extremely powerful," she says. "Having music in your hands, in your voice, is also about owning the responsibility of a message you share with the public."

When it comes to issues as contentious as abortion access, Lafourcade isn't the only one to show support. The All Access concert is being headlined by Sia and will be hosted by Comedy Central's Jessica Williams, and Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones joining, as well. The concert is organized by the All Access Coalition, which includes the ACLU, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Planned Parenthood.

In a statement, Sia chimed in her support for the initiative at the heart of this concert. "All Access is such an inclusive group that I'm proud to be a part of," she said. "We all need to stand together and be a part of creating the future we hope to see. There is so much support out there for an inclusive, equitable society and it's time we showed our collective power."

Lafourcade agrees, telling Bustle that performing music in a setting that is supportive is what she set out to do in the first place. "For me, that is all I want to be able to do in my career, there is a sense of responsibility."

This isn't the first time Lafourcade has advocated for women's rights. She tells Bustle that she also performed in El Salvador in association with Amnesty International this year. It was in collaboration with its campaign to decriminalize abortion in El Salvador. "In El Salvador, they were jailing women for having abortions," she says. "This concert was also raising awareness around this issue, and now, I'm in America, doing the same!"