translated from Spanish: Olivia García-Huidobro: the Chilean singer-songwriter who makes abortion, rape and the need for sexual and reproductive rights visible through her music

Women’s sexual and reproductive rights have been in check this year due to various situations, from denial of care due to the pandemic, to failed contraceptive batches that resulted in countless unwanted pregnancies; they have shown that there is still a long way to go in our country to make visible, respect and promote the correct fulfillment of this human right recognized by the UN.
It is in this context that, in a new #EntrevistaEmpoderada in The Braga Counter, Chilean singer-songwriter Olivia García-Huidobro, winner of the 2020 Talentoso festival, presents her debut EP “Canciones Que Acunan”. A three-song musical work that rescues Latin American folklore and fuses it with elements of alternative pop to create an atmosphere of nostalgia, shelter, love/heartbreak, sadness, uncertainty, passion and struggle.
“Yanara”, is based on a story written by Julia -Olivia’s sister-, which puts on the table a harsh reality that as a society we must take charge of: gender violence, clandestine abortions and the narrow and unusual expectations towards women and girls who are forced to make decisions contrary to their wishes.
The story highlights the urgent need for “comprehensive sex education to decide, access to contraceptives free of charge so as not to have an abortion, and the legalization and decriminalization of abortion so as not to die.” All this makes the song “Yanara” a feminist struggle song.
In the interview, Olivia, who is also a feminist activist at the Tremendouss Action Platform and Foundation, notes that she connects her activism through music, of “composing songs about the themes of the movement.”
It is a very interesting proposal because it includes elements of Latin American music, “that is something very challenging because it is not the pop that people are used to listening to, there is something new there that I wanted to dare to show”, he says.

Original source in Spanish