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USA Today reports that Shakira is starting a charitable foundation with a respected author.

Shakira joined with fellow Colombian and Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez on Tuesday to launch a star-studded foundation to fight child poverty in Latin America.

Backed by the two Colombians and other luminaries of entertainment and finance, the Latin America in Solidarity Action — whose Spanish acronym is ALAS, or “wings” — took flight with a promise to tackle poverty that kills 350,000 children each year in the region.

“We all have to do our part to fight against inequality,” Shakira said in a news release issued prior to the launching ceremony at the National Theater.

“Latin America has some devastating statistics,” added Garcia, citing the 350,000 children under 5 who die from causes linked to poverty, and the 40 million minors who work in the street.

Other musicians supporting the effort include Ruben Blades, Juanes, Ricky Martin, the rock group Mana, Aleks Syntek, David Bisbal and Alejandro Sanz.

My eyes are all f*cked-up. This is the second headline I misread today, and initially thought it said “Shakira is Nobel Prize Winner…” and I was like “uh….”.

You know Ricky Martin’s just in this to meet men.

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