"Canción sin miedo" ("Song without fear" in Spanish) is a regional Mexican song by Mexican composer and singer Vivir Quintana, first performed on March 7, 2020. It speaks of missing women, feminicides, and women's struggle for justice,[2] and has become an anthem for feminist protests.[3]
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Origin
editOn February 25, 2020, Chilean musician Mon Laferte asked Vivir Quintana if she would be interested in writing a song about femicide and performing it in the historic Zócalo square in Mexico City on March 7, 2020, the day of the Marche mondiale des Femmes and the eve of International Women's Day. Quintana reportedly wrote the song in 9–10 hours on the same day, also drawing inspiration from the feminicide of a friend in Coahuila.[2][4][5]
"Canción sin miedo" was first released on Quintana's YouTube channel on March 7, 2020, performed in collaboration with the "El Palomar" women's choir, with a choral arrangement by Chilean chorister Paz Court. Later that day, Laferte joined the group in performing the song at Zócalo as part of the Tiempo de Mujeres (Women's Hour) festival. The song was repeated during feminist rallies the following day.[1][6][7][8]
Reception
editThe original YouTube video garnered 330,000 views in the first two days after its release[1] and 20 million by March 2023.[6] The Mexican newspaper Vanguardia has described the song as "a call for a revolutionary awakening".[2]
Notable performances of the song include at the occupation of the National Human Rights Commission of Mexico in September 2020;[8] in the 2020 Netflix documentary, "Las tres muertes de Marisela Escobedo (The Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo)", about the assassination of Mexican activist Marisela Escobedo Ortiz in 2010;[8] and during the protests and funeral following the murder of Ecuadorian lawyer María Belén Bernal in September 2022.[9][10]
The song has been performed all over the world, including in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, Honduras, Peru, Greece, and France.[5] In December 2020, the song was partially translated into Mayan and adapted for a Yucatán context. This adaptation was released as a music video by Belle Delouisse.[11] In 2021, a mariachi version was released, performed by students from the Escuela de Mariachi Ollin Yoliztli.[12][13] In 2022, Quintana translated it into Tlahuitoltepec, an Ayuujk or Mixe language spoken in Oaxaca.[14]
Lyrics
editA cada minuto, de cada semana
Nos roban amigas, nos matan hermanas
Destrozan sus cuerpos, los desaparecen
No olvide sus nombres, por favor, señor presidente
Cantamos sin miedo, pedimos justicia
Gritamos por cada desaparecida
Que resuene fuerte "¡nos queremos vivas!"
Que caiga con fuerza el feminicida
Excerpt from the song
The song describes the Mexican reality of violence against women, including disappearances and femicides, and also talks about the struggle of women for justice. In the words of the composer:
It is a case study of how pain really makes us so close. It connects us women, not only in Mexico, but also in Latin America and the whole world. It is like an oxymoron of sweet joy but also bitter sweetness.[3]
In an interview with Milenio a year after the song's release, Quintana said:
I'm very happy that the song has spread and people like it, but on the other hand, it hurts me that it's for the same story, over and over again. But it has let me connect with the women who fight, the woman who has the courage to go out in the street to put her body, her hands, her face in service of the fight. So now I can say that "Canción sin miedo" has given me a broader perspective on what it means to be a woman in Mexico.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c "'Canción sin miedo', el himno feminista mexicano contra los feminicidios que retumbó en el Zócalo y en la marcha". CNN Español (in Spanish). 2020-03-09. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ a b c 'Canción sin miedo'; de Vivir Quintana llega a Netflix con 'Las tres muertes de Marisela Escobedo'. Vanguardia (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ a b "'Canción sin miedo': el himno de las protestas feministas que pone voz al dolor de mujeres en México". Infobae (in European Spanish). 8 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ^ "La historia de la 'Canción sin miedo' que acompaña la lucha por María Belén Bernal". Ecuavisa (in Spanish). 2022-09-25. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ a b c "A un año de 'Canción sin miedo', que se volvió un himno feminista". Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ^ a b "A un año, 'Canción sin Miedo' se ha convertido en himno de la lucha de las Mujeres". Billie Parker Noticias (in Mexican Spanish). 2021-03-07. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ^ "'Que suene con fuerza nos queremos vivas, que caiga con fuerza el feminicida': el nuevo himno feminista que hace frente a los femicidios en México". El Mostrador (in Spanish). 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ a b c Galván, Melissa (2020-11-25). "Vivir Quintana, la mujer que canta sin miedo y contra la violencia de género". ADNPolítico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-10-08.
- ^ "'Canción sin miedo', el himno feminista que retumba en Ecuador". Primicias (in Mexican Spanish). 2022-09-23. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ "'Cantamos sin miedo, pedimos justicia': el himno feminista que entonan con dolor las mujeres ecuatorianas por el asesinato de María Belén Bernal". El Universo (in Spanish). 2022-09-23. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ "'Canción sin miedo' adaptada a Yucatán, un himno contra la violencia". El Diario de Yucatán (in Spanish). 2021-03-07. Archived from the original on 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
- ^ "'Canción sin miedo' ya tiene versión en mariachi". CNN Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ^ Canción sin miedo - Vivir Quintana y Mariachi Mexicana Hermosa (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ^ Vida, Melissa (2022-03-08). "The Latin American feminist songs powering Women's Day protests". Global Voices. Retrieved 2024-10-08.