NDLON THANKS ANGELA AGUILAR FOR UPLIFTING IMMIGRANT WOMEN AT MUSIC AWARDS

Los Angeles, CA – At the Billboard Music Awards on Saturday night, the rising Latin music star Angela Aguilar accepted the Breakthrough Award at the Billboard Women in Music gala at the YouTube Theater in Hollywood Park. In an emotional acceptance speech, Aguilar, 20, dedicated her award to the women who came before her, including immigrant women who sacrifice so much to build a better life for their families.

Aguilar spoke to “the women who leave behind everything they know crossing borders with nothing but hope in their hearts, only to find themselves living in uncertainty and fear. For the immigrant women in the country who work tirelessly building and nurturing, sacrificing, yet still remain unseen, unheard and unprotected, this one is for you. I see you. I honor you. You deserve safety, dignity, the right to dream. And if my voice and my music and my presence on this stage can remind you are not invisible, then I will sing for you every single time.

The following is a statement from Omar León, Cultural Director of NDLON:

“Thank you, Angela Aguilar. We have all seen and heard your amazing talent and admired your musical soul. Now the world also knows your courage, wisdom and compassion. Thank you for using your voice to lift up those who are made invisible by a system that exploits and degrades immigrants and causes millions to live in silence and fear. Your courage is a powerful statement and witness of the courage of our families, that we at NDLON honor every day”

“We hope that every artist, every performer, every immigrant and child of immigrants, everyone who relies on and appreciates the love and sacrifice of immigrants — will take your brave words into their hearts and spread this message for everyone to hear.”

Honoring Angela’s great speech on our social media here.

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AGUILAR’S SPEECH:

This Breakthrough Award means a lot to me, because this year almost broke me. And honestly, I have had to stand on stage and sing through the tears and I have had to cry the weights of judgement and speculation of a story that I have not even told, and of a story that has never hit my voice. And yet, here I am. I’m still singing, I’m still standing.
Because music is who I am. It’s the thread that connects me to every woman that came before me, like my grandmother Flor Silvestre, and it’s taught me that these women here today are not my competition because we are each other’s legacy. And she taught me that you can fight in silence and the music speaks way louder than what other people say.
To every young girl that’s watching this and is wondering if she should make herself smaller to fit in to someone’s ideas about who they are, don’t. In this world they’ll try to write your story for you; don’t let them. Sing your truth and when they tell you to be quite, if it’s what you want, if it’s truly what you want, sing even louder.
Lastly, I want to take this moment to raise my voice for the women whose voices are not always given a stage, for the women who leave behind everything they know crossing borders with nothing but hope in their hearts, only to find themselves living in uncertainty and fear. For the immigrant women in the country who work tirelessly building and nurturing, sacrificing, yet still remain unseen, unheard and unprotected, this one is for you. I see you. I honor you. You deserve safety, dignity, the right to dream. And if my voice and my music and my presence on this stage can remind you are not invisible, then I will sing for you every single time.
So tonight I accept this award for every woman who has ever had to break through. For my grandmother. For my mother, who’s honored tonight. And to every woman who has paved the way for every young girl to be able to dream. We are not breaking down. We are breaking through. Gracias, ¡y que viva México!
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