Madonna aún Pelea

And in this corner, Madonna: 49, married lady, mother of three and still fierce in some glorified undies.

Y en esta esquina: Madonna. 49 años, casada, madre de tres niños y aún feroz en ropa interior.

With an album dropping in late April and a documentary about Malawi, I Am Because We Are, due to be released this year, the not-so-material-anymore girl sat down with Interview magazine's Ingrid Sischy for the editor's final issue to talk Africa, albums and freedom. Read on for excerpts!

A punto de salir su nuevo álbum, la chica ya no tan material se sienta con Ingrid Sischy en su último número como editora para el magazine Interview.

On working with Justin Timberlake:
"I really enjoy writing with Justin... We had psychoanalytic sessions whenever we wrote songs first. We'd sit down and we'd start talking about situations. And then we'd start talking about issues or problems or relationships with people. That was the only way, because you know, writing together with somebody is very intimate... that was fun, because he's open and he's got talent. He's a songwriter. I haven't worked with a lot of songwriters where I'm instantly connected and start riffing and playing with the rhythm of the words. He's as interested in the rhythm of the words as the meaning of the words."

"Me encanta escribir con Justin, nos psicoanalizábamos antes de escribir. Nos sentábamos y hablábamos de situaciones, problemas, las relaciones con la gente, y era la única manera, ya sabes que escribir con alguien es algo muy íntimo, y era divertido. Es muy abierto y tiene talento, no he trabajado con muchos letristas con los que tenga conexión inmediata, le interesa tanto el ritmo de las palabras como su significado".

On adopting her son David:
"He wouldn't have lived if I hadn't taken him. It's not even a possibility."

"Mi hijo David no hubiera vivido si no le hubiera adoptado, no es ni una posibilidad".

On gaining perspective:
"We live very comfortable lives, and unfortunately, we have to have our noses rubbed in other people's pain and suffering to realize how much we have and how much we have to be grateful for."

"Vivimos muy agusto, y tenemos que meternos en el dolor y el sufrimiento de otras personas para ver lo que tenemos y lo mucho que tenemos que agradecer".

On bringing daughter Lourdes with her to Malawi:
"She spent several weeks working in the orphanages, particularly one with newborn children, and most of them were HIV-positive. She so came into her own and was so responsible and stayed for eight hours every day and worked tirelessly. I thought, Why am I babying her so much? She's capable of so much more. We don't let kids do anything. We think, Oh, they're kids — they can't take care of other kids; they can't do this; they can't do that. And after you go to Africa, you drop all that silliness."

"Mi hija Lourdes pasó semanas trabajando en los orfanatos, en concreto en uno con muchos recién nacidos seropositivos. Trabajaba con mucha responsabilidad, por sí misma, incansable, ví que es capaz de muchas cosas. A veces no dejamos a los niños hacer nada, pensando que son sólo eso: niños, pero después de que vas a África se te quita toda esa tontería".

On freedom:
"Freedom is a funny word because when we think we're free, we're not really. I think freedom is quite illusory... When I stop thinking about myself all the time and put other people before me on a regular basis, that's real freedom. When I can love unconditionally... then that's real freedom. So it's something to strive for, but I'm not free."

"Libertad es una palabra divertida porque cuando pensamos que somos libres no lo somos. Creo que es una ilusión, auténtica libertad es cuando dejo de pensar en mí y antepongo otras personas a mí misma, cuando puedo amar sin condiciones... eso es la auténtica libertad. Es algo por lo que hay que esforzarse, pero yo no soy libre".