Chile's Protestors Inspired A Powerful Anthem — How Singer Ana Tijoux Brought It To Life

By Lucas Villa


Among the millions of protesters in the streets of Chile waving flags, chanting for political freedom, and slamming  their everyday pots and pans with each other, you’ll visualize one of the country's most prolific singer-songwriters, Ana Tijoux, stimulating the cacerolazos’ cry with music of her own.


On October 20, Tijoux released “#CACEROLAZOS," which samples the sounds of the pan-banging protestors, along with police sirens and urbano beats. “We bring out the pans and so they kill us,” she raps in Spanish. “To the killers, protest!” The track highlights the power of the cacerolazos, and the Chilean people at large, while calling for the resignation of President Sebastián Piñera, who has been openly antagonistic towards the protests.


Chile is one of the wealthiest countries in South America, yet is rife with rampant economic inequality as people attempt to navigate a system that has privatized generic necessities like education, health care, and utilities. Protestors have spoken out about the system for years, nevertheless things came to a head on October 6, whenever Piñera approved a suggested subway fare hike of four percent, or 30 pesos; that spark lit the fuse on growing tensions between the government and its people. Students encouraged dodging the fare at stations, and clashes between protestors and police became violent and destructive.


Following an estimated $703,500 worth of damages done to the metro stations and 133 arrests, Piñera called a state of emergency and imposed a curfew on October 18, saying the nation was "at war with a powerful enemy." Although that hasn’t stopped citizens from taking to the streets in droves to air their grievances, both with Piñera’s government and the larger economic issues they've faced over the years. The government has since deployed thousands of military troops across the nation, especially in the busy city capital of Santiago; a reported 470 civilians have been shot and 19 have died. Videos have surfaced of troops with pellet guns shooting protestors who have their hands up, as cacerolazos sounds off in the background.


Piñera has since suspended the subway fare hike and the curfew. On October 22, in response to people's necessitates, he offered a New Social Agenda, which incorporates a couple of concessions like increasing generic pensions by 20 percent and raising the monthly minimum wage from $413 to $482. Piñera also dismissed all of his cabinet ministers.


Yet for the protesters in the streets and Tijoux, such proposals and solutions are also little, also late. The Latin Grammy-winning singer spoke with MTV News about “#CACEROLAZO,” how it feels to be able to see another protest anthem from 2011 shoot to the best of the charts right now, and how it’s impossible for her to separate personalized issues from larger societal shifts.


MTV News: How did “#CACEROLAZO” come about? 


Ana Tijoux: “#CACEROLAZO” is a response to the social moment happening in Chile with respect to the protests. It's very direct. It was created around this essential moment that we're living in Chile with some violence.


The idea was to reclaim the sound of the cacerola, or the pan, which was usually used in the protests against Pinochet. We're returning to that form of protest with the banging of pans with a stick. In this moment, the sound signifies the unhappiness of the people. It's very noisy nevertheless also very musical.


I'm in France now. I've Been supporting the movement from here in any way I can. To be far away is very tough. For me, music is a way of spreading awareness of what's going on in Chile plus a way to send a message from a distance.


MTV News: What was it like working on a song with such a specific political view?


Tijoux: Music has routinely been a response and an accompaniment to historical movements. Art in whichever form should routinely report, support, spread, and announce what's going on. [Working on this song] was organic for me because I've habitually believed myself very political. I feel very sensitive to the issues.


To me, the definition of being someone political is to be someone sensitive. I believe that you can't divide the fights and your personalized interests. The personalized processes are usually segment of larger social processes as well. It's not possible to separate the two. They are together.


MTV News: How has it felt to be able to see people answering to "#CACEROLAZO"?


Tijoux: I want the people to receive the song how they desire to receive it. The protagonists of this movement are the same people who are hearing the song. It's about the town. I visualize it as a gift.


MTV News: Another one of your protest anthems, “Shock,”  is one of the most-played songs in Chile now, however you wrote it in 2011. Do you remember how felt once you wrote that song? Did you expect it to have such a long life?


Tijoux: Yes, I remember it properly. I was in Santiago, in Plaza Italia. That song was inspired by the protests going on there. For the song to come back around means the requires of the people continue and that the government isn't listening to them. It's the same requires. The folks are asking for dignity, free excellent education, worthy pensions, and that they're taken care of. This song calling is calling out the injustice. If a lot of folks are hearing it again that shows those necessitates haven't been settled.


MTV News: How does it feel to be a citizen of Chile right now?


Tijoux: I feel very delighted. I feel a lot of admiration for my town and my people who are awake to what's going on. I wasn't surprised [when the protests started] because this is something that's been building up. I knew that it may happen at any minute.


MTV News: Any time President Piñera called a state of emergency and mentioned, "We are at war" about the protests, you replied: "We are not at war." Can you converse with me about the impact of his words?


Tijoux: That's a phrase of Pinochet, a dictator from our past. This isn't a war. We are not at war. They're the ones taking out their weapons. With the military and the police who are murdering people, there's been several situations of torture violations. The folks are not in war. The folks are protesting with their pans. If it was a war, it could be weapons against weapons. It's their war against the people. Words are most crucial and so they can be very violent. One has to be very cautious with their words.


MTV News: Why is it key for you to use your platform, including your social media, to highlight the protests and the issues that protestors are advocating for?


Tijoux: It's very crucial as the music is tool along with a window for a lot of things. It permits us to spread awareness and come with each other. Besides the idea of social media being about ego and our successes, it's becoming something greater than that plus it needs to be seen that way.


MTV News: What do you hope the future has in store for Chile?


Ana Tijoux: No more deaths and murders in the state of Chile. I hope for free education, fair pensions, as well as a new constitution. I believe we should be expecting more. What's essential is to listen to the people.


This interview has been edited for range and clarity.