MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� Two days before her new album was launched, musical icon Vivir Quintana was behind barbed wire at a women鈥檚 prison in . The singer had spent the past 10 years visiting women incarcerated after defending themselves and, in doing so, killing their abusers.
Their stories became part of 鈥淐osas que Sorprenden a la Audiencia鈥� (Things that Surprise the Audience), Quintana's latest album, released Thursday.
It tells the story of 10 such women but in a first, Quintana does it through 鈥渃orridos,鈥� a typically male-dominated and controversial Mexican music genre that鈥檚 soared into the spotlight in recent years.
The album, Quintana explained, was born out of her desire to dive into the more complicated aspects of gender-based violence.
鈥淭his album has a different heart,鈥� Quintana, 40, said in an interview, donning bright red boots, her signature streak of gray slicing through her black hair. 鈥淭his album wasn鈥檛 made to sell, it鈥檚 to change minds.鈥�
'So many times I didn鈥檛 defend myself'
The songs are meant to raise awareness about across Latin America 鈥� human rights groups estimate that an average of 10 women are killed in Mexico every day 鈥� and a justice system that many believe protects abusers and silences women's voices.
In many cases, women like the ones in Quintana鈥檚 corridos are charged with 鈥渆xcessive legitimate self-defense," charges that have fueled outrage among many in Mexico.
鈥淪o many times I feared for my life. So many times I didn鈥檛 defend myself,鈥� Quintana crooned, cradling her guitar as her booming voice echoed through the halls of her record label building on Wednesday. 鈥淣ow I live locked up in a prison, and I feel more free than I did in my own home.鈥�
Amplifying women鈥檚 voices has been a hallmark of Quintana鈥檚 career, and and beyond.
In 2020, her 鈥淐anci贸n Sin Miedo鈥� (Song Without Fear) became an anthem for Mexico鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Day march and the feminist movement in Latin America.
In 2022, she co-wrote a melancholy hymn about healing and freedom for the album of the Black Panther sequel. And last year, she was recognized at the Latin Grammys as one of four Leading Ladies of Entertainment.
A cultural reckoning
Quintana's new music goes further. She uses 鈥渃orridos,鈥� a type of northern Mexican ballads that has seen both an international renaissance and a backlash, with critics claiming that 鈥渘arco corridos鈥� 鈥� songs that glorify cartel violence and use misogynistic lyrics 鈥� have dominated the form.
The topic has grown so heated that the of members of one band who projected the face of a drug cartel boss onto a large screen during a performance.
Instead of banning the corridos as a growing number of Mexican states have done, the country's first woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has proposed that the government promote a new style of corridos that .
鈥淲e鈥檙e not banning a musical genre; that would be absurd," Sheinbaum said recently. "What we鈥檙e proposing is that the lyrics not glorify drugs, violence, violence against women or viewing women as a sexual object.鈥�
鈥業 didn鈥檛 want to die by his hands鈥�
Quintana's corridos turn the genre on its head, paying tribute not to violence or criminals, but to women who have been criminalized for defending themselves.
The first song on her album, 鈥淓ra 脡l o Era Yo (It Was Either Him or Me) tells the story of for killing a man who was raping her and threatened to kill her in 2021.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 justice,鈥� Ruiz said after the court ruling. 鈥淩emember, I am the one who was sexually assaulted by that man, and after he died because I defended myself 鈥� because I didn鈥檛 want to die by his hands.鈥�
Mexican prosecutors later withdrew the case against her after a countrywide outcry.
One song tells of a 14-year-old girl in the southern state of Tabasco who killed her father when he was abusing her mother. Another tells of Yakiri Rubio, who was kidnapped by two men, taken to a hotel and raped. After killing one of the men, she was taken to prison and charged with "homicide by excessive legitimate self-defense."
With each song, Quintana would follow local news reports, interview the women in prisons and spend time with their families, hoping to capture their personalities 鈥� and not just the violent act that transformed their lives.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something painful that the state tells you that if you defend yourself, we鈥檙e going to punish you,鈥� Quintana said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like up until what point do we care about women鈥檚 life?鈥�
Shifting the conversation
Quintana's inspiration stemmed from a childhood memory of a classic corrido she first heard at the age of 5, played at parties and on the radio in her native northern Mexican state of Coahuila.
The ballad is about a woman named Rosita Alv铆rez, violently killed when she tried to go out to dance. Later, when she was 15, Quintana's best friend was , the slaying of women because of their gender. It was then that the brutality of the lyrics sank in.
Quintana's album seeks to shift the tone of the corridos to capture the harsh realities Mexican women face, she said, and explore ongoing violence against women and other kinds of 鈥渕achismo鈥� with nuance.
Her purpose, she added, is to lift up survivors of gender violence and to provide a point of connection for incarcerated women like those in her ballads.
鈥淭hey tell these women, you defended yourself, you killed someone and you're in prison, you don't have the right to feel joy, enjoy life, you don't have the right to anything,鈥� Quintana said.
鈥淏ut it's important to dance to these things, no?" she added. "Because people have to understand that they have the right to music, the right to art, and more than anything, the right to beauty.鈥�
Megan Janetsky And Fernanda Pesce, The Associated Press
