Anamaría Merino (1977) is better know by her stage name of Ana Tijoux. Along with her Chilean parents, Ana lived in France during the political exile of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. Ana's first language was French but quickly picked up Spanish when she moved back to Chile as a teenager. She jumped into the Santiago Hip Hop scene and formed many bands, the most well known being Makiza or her collaboration with a Mexican singer/songwriter Julieta Venegas.
The change from her sweet and pop-like duet "Eres para mi" (translation: I want to tell you what I feel right now/ you are for me/ I hear it in the wind all the time/ you are the one for me) is so tangible and politically charged that Ana seems to be a different person entirely, or at least wishing to express a different stage in her life. Her song that gained her fame in the streets of Santiago contain lyrics like this (from her song SHOCK)
Venom: your monologues,
your colorless speeches,
you don't see that we AREN'T alone,
millions from pole to pole!
NO nations, only corporations,
who has more, more actions,
fat slices, powerful decisions for very little.
Pinochetan constitution,
opus dei rights, fascist books.
Guerilla disguised as a pardoned elitist,
the drop falls, the stocks fall, the occupation takes the broken machine.
the street doesn't keep quiet, the street scratches
the street doesn't keep quiet, as wide as it is.
The Allende v Pinochet debacle of '73 is still a very relevant conversation that is held by Chileans young and old. No person seems to have the same viewpoint about what happened on September, 11th and everyone talks with a grain of salt, not wanting to severely offend. I commend Ana or Anita (she goes by both) for not only singing about such strong topics but bringing her message world wide.
Whatever your opinion is, share it,
rach
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