'The revolution will be feminist,' musicians advocate against gender-based violence

Trigger Warning: This article speaks about gender-based violence such as rape and femicide. 

Feminist musicians in Latin America are denouncing governments that uphold patriarchy at all costs, protecting killers and abusers and backing the misogynistic dynamics that violate women’s rights. 

It’s clear that rap, corridos and rancheras have been historically used as an outlet for poetry and storytelling, but these artists go further. They rap and sing about the systematic, social, economic and cultural factors that come together to meet at the intersection of violence against women and gender nonconforming people. 

The World Health Organization estimates that one in three women globally have experienced physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.  

According to a report, the investigation on cases of gender-based violence and femicide or feminicide are “severely flawed due to inaction and negligence”  because the authorities often lose or misplace evidence and lines of questioning and investigation aren’t followed correctly. Other cases don’t apply the necessary gender-based violence component that would identify the case as an act of violence against a woman or gender non-conforming person.

Worldwide statistics don’t account for the real number of cases that happen regularly because policy and law protect perpetrators through property rights and under dogma, citing religious teachings as the base of violence or abuse against their wives. 

Renee Goust is a queer, nonbinary, musician from Sonora, Mexico. Their number one most played song on Spotify is Querida Muerte (No Nos Maten). Goust has formed part of a revolution – outing previously misogynistic and sexist lyrics – replacing them with lyrics about gender-based violence, femicide and a lack of justice in a genre of music historically reserved for heterosexual men. 

“No todas correremos con la suerte

Estar de suerte ahora es estar viva

Ahora estar de suerte es que tu novio

No resulte violador, abusador o femicida

Ahora estar de suerte es que a la muerte

No le guste tu cintura y en su troca no te siga,”

Goust’s lyrics remind other women that not all are so lucky to be alive. Now, being lucky means that their boyfriend’s don’t end up being a rapist, or a killer.  

During the time they wrote the song, they were dating a person from Puerto Rico. They made Goust aware of the femicide happening in their home country and this is when they began to put in perspective that femicide and gender-based violence happens everywhere.  

“That’s when I sat down and started writing about my own experiences being raised differently than my brothers, all the street harassment and sexual violence I’ve [experienced],” said Goust. “Unfortunately, I’ve been through a lot of violence in my life, with so much of that happening during my college years.”

Goust says that most songs take them “forever” to write, but Querida Muerte was written in 30 minutes. 

“‘Se me pone la piel como gallina when I hear my song being used in marches in Sonora, porque yo soy de Sonora,” said Goust, using both languages they grew up with. 

This popular Spanish saying roughly translates to ‘“I get goosebumps.”’ Adding that they feel especially proud when they hear the song being used in marches across their home state of Sonora, Mexico. 

They believe that their activism now and passion for breaking the status quo comes from growing up queer and hating the gender norms that were imposed on them. They became especially terca, or stubborn, when they became popularized by their music dedicated to sapphic romance. 

“There was a song I wrote called “A Una Mujer,” that a [male musician] wanted to license to sing, and I said, ‘No,’” said Goust. “If he sang it, it would just kill the song. It was meant to be a queer ranchera and if he sang it to a woman, it would become a heterosexual song. I didn’t want that.”

Goust has other songs like “La Muchacha Alegre,” in collaboration with Nancy Sanchez. The song is a powerful corrido that aims to unite women, cheering them on for breaking the traditions that have historically oppressed them.  

Prania Esponda is a 23-year-old rapper from Tlaxcala, Mexico who is contributing to the growing number of women and non-male rappers to emerge from Latin America, using her platform to speak on injustices. Earlier this year, Esponda released her latest album, “DesobedientA.” 

The album features song titles like“Las Más Buscadas,” a corrido tumbado in collaboration with Vivir Quintana – another musician who is part of the revolution – singing about women who are hunted down by the government for seeking justice for their murdered mothers, daughters, partners and friends. 

Quintana calls the song a tumbado, using a play on words to signal the call for action to use the song to dismantle patriarchy. In the song, Esponda responds to her by saying that the patriarchy won’t fall on its own, they’re all going to accomplish it together. 

Esponda also has a song that is heard like a poem being recited against the background of sublime tunes, in “DesobedientA.” The album’s title is purposely misspelled with a feminine ‘a,’ placing the word in the center of her feminist stance. The song “Nuestra Revolucion,” is written in collaboration with Yolitzin Jaimes, an LGBTQ+ activist and feminist from Guerrero, Mexico. 

“Las mujeres no estamos pidiendo permiso de como hacer la revolución,

Nuestro corazón es el tambor de esta lucha.

Es por y con las niñas. 

Es por y con nuestras ancestras.” 

The lyrics state that women are not asking for permission on how to fuel this revolution. Their hearts are the beat of the drum that fuels their battle. This is all by and for the young girls, this is by and for their female ancestors. 

Esponda’s rap lyrics are original and self-written, fueled by a state of injustice that she experiences daily.

“In 2020, I remember that someone killed Ingrid Escamilla. Her aggressor had brutally dismembered her and photos and videos of her body were later circulated widely on social media,” said Esponda in Spanish in an interview with CALÓ News. 

Esponda recalls around that same time, Fatima Cecilia, a seven-year-old child, was kidnapped from the door steps of her school. Authorities later identified her body, confirming a brutal death. 

The two cases sparked a fire in Esponda, making her realize she could use her platform and talent to tell their stories. 

Her song, “Las Que Nacieron Peleando” features rap lyrics that go beyond just a beat. It starts with Esponda calling 911 to report the violence on women. 

“911- tengo una emergencia, 

No conozco a una mujer que no haya sufrido violencia…

…el estado se calla, cuando es de mujeres

…el gobierno siempre falla. 

…Soy todas las morras que rompen lo establecido… 

…mis hermanas muertas duelen mas que tus paredes.”

“Violenta es la forma en que nos matan, no la forma en que luchamos

Esta es una emergencia.

Dime como les digo, como les hago entender que aquí nos están matando.”

At only 23, Esponda has already received death threats for being a trailblazing activist in her hometown, outing her abusers through her music. 

This gender-based violence is affecting women and gender non-conforming people across the globe, with an alarming concentration of cases in Latin America, Africa and Palestine. 

Quintana gained popularity after performing “Cancion Sin Miedo,” a corrido featuring the powerful voices of a chorus of women. 

The song features Mon Laferte, who is a Chilean-Mexican singer, songwriter. She has released many songs across different genres about love, pain and failure. In 2021, she released a Spanish-English album 1940 Carmen, with a song titled “A Crying Diamond” where she sings about a 40-year-old man grooming a 13-year-old girl, promising her fame.

“Love cannot be a sin

Says a 40 year old guy 

While rubbing in between the legs of a 13-year-old girl…

God has chosen you, that’s why we are together

I will be your savior and I will make you a superstar

He says while he f—s her in an alley at night…”

Laferte is set to release the documentary about her journey through her tour in 2021-2022, titled Mon Laferte, Te Amo. The documentary produced by Blackstar Productions, will premiere exclusively on Netflix on August 1st, featuring deep insight of her private life and struggles throughout her tour and journey into motherhood. 

Ana Tijoux is a French-born, Chilean rapper who recently appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk series wearing a keffiyeh in support of Palestine’s liberation. She has gained mainstream popularity for using her platform in support of women’s rights and denouncing patriarchy. 

Rebeca Lane is a rapper and activist bringing this human rights issue to the mainstream music scene in Guatemala with the “Queen of Chaos,” title. She has built her career on rallying the victims of gender-based violence and telling the stories of the thousands of women who tirelessly fight for justice. 

Guatemala is known to have one of the highest rates of femicide in the world, with a large concentration of victims being indigenous women and gender nonconforming people. In Guatemala, there is impunity for all crimes associated with violence against women, meaning that there are no consequences to pay for violence inflicted or killings. 

Nearly all her music features women empowerment lyrics such as her most played song, “Ni Una Menos” and others like “Reina Del Caos,”“Siempre Viva” and “Libra, Atrevida y Loca,” collaborating with other voices like Ali Gua Gua and Miss Bolivia. Lane is the founder of Somos Guerreras, a project creating opportunities for women in the Hip Hop industry.

Lane collaborated with Audry Funk and Nakury on a short documentary in 2018 featuring workshops, meetings and concerts from the project, with some of the leading voices of Mexico and Central America. The documentary is titled Somos Guerreras: Hip Hop Feminista. 

Funk is a body-positive, all-gender inclusive, feminist and singer-songwriter from Puebla, Mexico. She raps about capitalism, body-positivity and breaking the status quo that marginalizes women and gender nonconforming people. 

In February, Funk released a new single titled “Todxs Lxs Cuerpxs,”about body inclusivity and breaking the status quo associated with body standards for women. 

Nakury has a song titled “Para Mi Gente” that she released with Barzo in 2020. The lyrics are about confronting war and hostility with happiness from rebelling, singing melodies from the heart. 

“Enfrentando la guerra

La hostilidad. 

Somos alegres de pura rebeldia.

Curamos la agonia. 

Cantando melodias

Del corazon.” 

Kasbeel is representing Colombia as an up-and-coming Latin alternative pop artist, singing about sexual violence. Kasbeel uses her platform to shed light on the misogynistic expectations that men have for women. Her song “Don Jose,” specifically sheds a light on sexual violence and the long-lasting pain that comes from surviving. The song is set to a melody mix of pop and reggae, with lyrics that build the story of a neighbor lusting over a young girl until he attacks. 

Mare Advertensia Lyrika is a feminist rapper and singer-songwriter from Oaxaca, Mexico. She’s known as the “voice of Revolution” in Oaxaca, rapping alongside many other feminist rappers. Mare Advertencia Lyrika composed a song titled “Elefanta: Que Ninguna Se Quede Balanceando Sola,” which is a remix of a popular children’s nursery rhyme that usually refers to the elephants in male pronouns.

She remixed it to be about women supporting women and how the patriarchy will continue to flourish if women step over each other in their attempts at success. The song is featured in a short film with A-list celebrities like Kate Del Castillo and Yulitza Aparicio, who are vocal about women’s rights. 

Krudas Cubensi are a queer, nonbinary, activist Hip Hop duo from Cuba, writing lyrics about justice for gender-based violence, breaking the status quo and challenging the sexist views that the patriarchy upholds. They have multiple songs like, “Ella Lucha,” “Mi Cuerpo Es Mío,” “Levanta” and “Se Busca,”with lyrics about bodily autonomy, women’s struggles against gender norms and more.

The duo raps in both English and Spanish, both major worldwide audiences. Their latest single is a song dedicated to nonbinary people throughout the world, “They/Them Les Elles.” 

Pantera Blanca is a Chilean rapper, who currently has less than a thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, calls herself “La Virgen del Perreo.” She is one of the many up-and-coming artists who are reclaiming what it means to have sex appeal without being sexualized. 

In 2022, she released a song that went viral, La Revolución Sera Feminista. 

In the chorus, she sings: “The revolution will be feminist-led or won’t be at all.” 

Feminism has become a notoriously hated movement for many reasons, but mainly because it calls for accountability from men, while also dismantling the patriarchal beliefs that uphold violence against women and gender nonconforming people. 

At best, the simplest explanation for a lack of justice and accountability is that there is a systematic problem that can’t and won’t be fixed with one cut-and-dry solution that can be applied globally. 

Finding solutions relies on governments looking at their own systematic policies that uphold impunity and holding institutions themselves accountable when cases aren’t properly investigated. 

This also involves each culture and community re-establishing what it means to be a woman or gender non-conforming person and giving them equitable rights and protections. 

Feminist musicians across Latin America continue pushing boundaries, breaking norms and speaking up against violence in historic numbers. This trend is likely to continue as many of these musicians have realized, it’s the only way people will listen. 

If you or someone you know has been impacted by femicide or have family members or friends disappeared, please reach out to us at CALÓ News.