To Sing and To Live Without Fear in Mexico: An Interview with Vivir Quintana

Abstract

Vivir Quintana, trought her musical creative process, tells us about her experience in the Mexican music industry and her insertion into current feminist. Above all, her reflection leads us like a mirror to think about feminist activism, music as a political tool, and the importance of collective work to build bridges that allow to denounce and make visible the reality that women experience every day in a country like Mexico. At the end, she shares with us a bit of the creative process that frames “Canción sin miedo”, but above all, it is possible to see the importance of collective work, one of the most fundamental characteristics of current feminisms. In this interview, conducted remotely through the Zoom platform due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Vivir shares a little bit of her life, her experience and the creative process that allowed her to acknowledge her feelings, emotions and thoughts about the context of violence and the high rates of femicides that are experienced in Mexico. This interview, rather than just a series of questions as a traditional way to do an interview, is the result of a dialogue with a female artist. We held a sensitive dialogue about her experience as a northerner, a way of identifying ourselves as originating from a state that is in the north of the country, living in Mexico City and as daughters of normalist (rural teachers’ college) parents. As an extra note, I must share that much of her experience was a mirror of the feelings and experiences that women live in this country.