Why is Shakira doing a 12-date residency in Madrid? Because she was tired of seeing the mistreatment of Latinos worldwide, the singer recently revealed. <\/p>\n
In an op-ed for the Spanish newspaper El Pais<\/a>, the \u201cDai Dai\u201d singer spoke about the emotions overtaking the Latino community.<\/p>\n \u201cThis began with pain. It began when I saw our people persecuted simply for being Latino, families forced to live in fear,\u201d she wrote. \u201cFaced with that, anger is legitimate. But I chose to respond with a celebration: the biggest we could possibly imagine. Because the most powerful response to fear is to exist with all the strength, all the joy, and all the dignity in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Shakira did not explicitly call out the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents<\/a> across the U.S or the agency\u2019s recent surge of arrests<\/a>. <\/p>\n She did, however, point to the Spanish government as an example for how countries could respect the humanity of Latino immigrants.<\/p>\n In April, Spain finalized an amnesty<\/a> allowing up to 800,000 undocumented immigrants to apply for legal status. <\/p>\n The limits of Spain\u2019s more welcoming borders were recently tested when 72,000 migrants arrived on the country\u2019s southern shores within a 48-hour period, triggering a humanitarian crisis<\/a> that led to the death of nearly 100 migrants.<\/p>\n Even amid ongoing immigration-related issues in the country, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez has defended<\/a> his government\u2019s recent legislation.<\/p>\n Shakira said it is because of those progressive policies that she chose to host the residency in the European country, which she previously called home. <\/p>\n \u201cSomething happens [in Madrid] that the world deserves to see: Latin American immigration isn\u2019t tolerated, it\u2019s celebrated,\u201d she wrote. \u201cSpain has embraced it, and that embrace has made it younger, more vibrant, more creative. … It\u2019s said of Madrid that whoever isn\u2019t from anywhere else is from here.\u201d<\/p>\n The Colombian pop star said she utilized her musical platform for this cause because Latino culture is \u201ca culture that transformed pain into rhythm, that learned in five centuries of mixing that no one is saved alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Her residency begins Sept. 18 and wraps up Oct.11. <\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time that Shakira has spoken out about the ongoing fear permeating the Latino community over the last couple of years. <\/p>\n