“Women that make noise” - Francisca Valenzuela’s Ruidosa, the festival challenging Latin American patriarchy.

 

One day after the mass Ni Una Menos protest, which demanded women’s rights and safety against rising instances of domestic abuse and femicide in Latin America, Chilean pop star Francisca Valenzuela talks to us about using music as a platform to campaign for women’s equality. In November she will bring Ruidosa, a feminist-focused music festival, to Mexico City.

“Domestic abuse, femicide and this perpetuation of machista culture is something very prevalent in Latin America. This was the first time I have felt, seen and heard the concern and the actual empathy and understanding of rape culture in the voices of men and the people who before were unconvinced – even women.”

Francisca Valenzuela is speaking to us a day after the Ni Una Menos (Not One Less) protest, which took place in Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, El Salvador, Mexico City and other locations in Latin America. The protests came about after the heartless killing of sixteen-year-old Lucía Pérez, who was drugged and raped multiple times in Argentina’s Rio Plata, dying as a result of her injuries. Outrage and horror provoked thousands of women to take to the streets in Buenos Aires – sparking a chain reaction in other cities of Latin America, where incidents of domestic abuse and femicide are rising.

“...as last week has been so intense, with this catharsis of women telling their stories, men and women are becoming conscious of things that activists and feminists have always been aware of” she continues.

Women protest on the streets of Buenos Aires EITAN ABRAMOVICH (AFP)

Valenzuela participated in the protest in her hometown Santiago. She is an active campaigner of women’s rights, understanding the importance of bringing women together to share their stories and experience of mistreatment and injustice. In March this year she launched Ruidosa in Santiago, a music festival dedicated entirely to addressing misogyny in the music industry. In between a series of concerts which took place throughout the day, female musicians and music industry professionals came together in panel discussions to share tales of their own personal struggles in the male-dominated industry.

“… it was not only a great outcome in terms of people that came, but the participants themselves really became involved, making the project their own, which was something important - to have that collective feel” she reflects. “It was interesting to have a very specific agenda in terms of addressing the problems of this patriarchal culture.”

 When we spoke last March, she cited Mexico as a country where she experienced a deeply entrenched machismo culture in the music industry. “It was absolutely intentional to bring the festival to Mexico. Mexico has very prevalent sexism, but also it is an important epicentre of Latin American music; it has an amazing thriving scene -  impacting both South America and North America.  There are all these women who are professionals in the industry that never have had the opportunity to share experiences and speak from Mexico to the world”

Taking place on the 4th and 5th of November, Ruidosa will bring female authors, artists and musicians together in the free festival in Mexico City, with the aim not only to discourage sexism, but also to celebrate, encourage and empower women - in all industries and societies.

“...the music industry is the initial approach, but of course the intention is for it to grow, drive change and look for answers in other areas of culture and creative industries” Francisca stresses.   

 

 

Valenzuela has addressed the issue of sexism and sexuality in her songs, most markedly in 2015’s ‘insulto’ - a song which defies the patriarchal ‘norm’ in support of gay rights. Twenty-nine-year-old Valenzuela is currently one of Chile’s most successful musicians, with large fanbases in both the US and Latin America. In her activism, she follows a Chilean tradition of combining music with socio-political statements, ranging back to 50s-60s folk icons Violeta Parra and Victor Jara, to contemporary compatriots such as rapper Anita Tijoux.

Is there a sense of obligation and responsibility for Chilean musicians to use their influence to initiate change?

She reflects on this for a moment. “I don’t think it is an obligation, sometimes there is a grave responsibility placed on musicians, especially in Chile.  I think it is a good thing, in that you feel very connected and involved in your local context. Sometimes some musicians just want to do their music and create - that doesn’t mean that is the wrong thing to do.” She pauses. “But there is a sense of responsibility, and for me there is a great impulse to combine my interest as a citizen and humanist with an artistic drive...”

“...so it is compelling for me to use music as a platform, whether it is in songs or storytelling or the impact I can have locally.  I do think there is a synergy with between my intention and interests to do music and use it for issues that concern me.”

Ruidosa takes place on the 4 & 5th of November in Mexico City.  For more information, click here.

Additional information: franciscavalenzuela.com,

 

Comments

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with
regards