Music as a Powerful Medium: Women Who Kill Their Abusers in Mexico
In Mexico, a deeply troubling paradox exists within the criminal justice system and society’s treatment of women defending themselves from abuse. While an estimated 90% of murders in the country go unpunished, women who kill their abusive partners often face incarceration and harsh convictions—sometimes charged with “excessive use of legitimate force.” Against this stark backdrop, Mexican singer-songwriter Vivir Quintana has created a compelling body of work using traditional Mexican musical forms to tell the stories of these women. Her efforts highlight the complex realities of gender-based violence and challenge societal and judicial responses to survivors.
The Landscape of Gender-Based Violence and Justice in Mexico
Mexico faces alarmingly high rates of gender-based violence. Human rights groups estimate that on average, ten women are killed in Mexico every day, many victims of femicide whose cases are rarely resolved or investigated effectively. This pervasive violence is compounded by a justice system that more often protects abusers and fails to deliver justice for survivors who retaliate.
Some women, driven by desperation and years of abuse, take fatal action against their assailants. However, rather than seeing this as self-defense, many face incarceration under charges such as “excessive use of legitimate force”—a legal grey area that criminalizes survival responses. This reflects the broader difficulty women encounter in accessing legal protections and challenges the narratives around culpability and victimhood.
Vivir Quintana: Using Corridos to Tell Untold Stories
Vivir Quintana, a respected Mexican singer-songwriter, chose to engage with this issue through music, particularly using the genre of corridos—a traditional Mexican ballad form historically dominated by male voices and commonly associated with narratives of crime and heroism. Quintana’s work breaks ground by adopting this typically contentious and masculine genre to center women’s voices and stories, shattering barriers in content and perspective.
Her album, titled “Cosas que sorprenden a la audiencia” (Things That Surprise the Audience), is a collection of ten songs that narrate the experiences of women imprisoned after killing their abusers in self-defense. The album emerged from a decade of immersive research, including interviews with incarcerated women and visits behind prison bars. Quintana aimed not to sell records but to catalyze a change in public perception and raise awareness about the systemic violence women face.
Through evocative lyrics and compelling melodies, Quintana paints intimate portraits of resilience and tragedy. Songs recount stories such as a 14-year-old girl in Tabasco who killed her father to protect her mother from abuse, and Yakiri Rubio, a young woman who, after being kidnapped and raped, was imprisoned for killing one of her attackers. These personal accounts give voice to women otherwise marginalized or silenced, inviting listeners to grapple with the moral and social complexities of self-defense under extreme circumstances.
Beyond Music: The Role of Artistic Protest
The significance of Quintana’s music resonates beyond artistic expression—it is an act of protest. The singer’s work aligns with a growing movement across Latin America confronting rampant femicide and violence against women. Songs such as “Si Me Matan” (If They Kill Me), by Silvana Estrada, have also risen in prominence, becoming Latin Grammy-nominated anthems against domestic violence.
These artists harness their platforms to spotlight systemic failures, humanize survivors, and disturb complacency. By using accessible musical forms that reach broad audiences, they bypass traditional institutional barriers and evoke empathy, sparking conversations in urban centers and rural communities alike.
Societal Reception and Impact
Quintana’s genre defiance and subject matter have brought considerable attention. She has performed in venues from nightclubs to women’s prisons, demonstrating her commitment to connection with affected communities. Her advocacy insists that these women’s stories merit justice and dignity, challenging entrenched stigmas around female perpetrators of violence.
Media coverage across NPR, The Independent, and major news outlets amplifies the album’s message, highlighting how cultural production can influence social discourse about gender-based violence. By putting a human face on judicial statistics, Quintana’s songs interrogate the often cold legal language that obscures the lived realities of survivors.
The Broader Context of Music and Activism in Mexico
Mexico’s history with music as a vehicle for social commentary is rich. Corridos themselves historically chronicled struggles involving revolution and crime. Recently, however, a controversy around narcocorridos—ballads glorifying drug cartels—has led to bans reflecting political and social tensions.
In contrast, Quintana’s work redeploys corridos to disrupt narratives glorifying violence that victimizes others, focusing instead on survivors’ perspectives. Her artistry reflects a shift toward harnessing music as a tool for social justice, not only entertainment.
Conclusion: Changing Minds Through Storytelling
Vivir Quintana’s music embodies the potent intersection of culture, social justice, and gender dynamics in Mexico. By choosing a traditionally masculine genre to share women’s harrowing stories of violence and survival, she challenges societal norms and legal frameworks that often criminalize victims rather than protect them.
Her album stands as both a memorial and a call to action, making visible the silent struggles of countless women who have had to resort to deadly self-defense in situations where the state has failed them. In doing so, Quintana’s songs urge listeners to reconsider assumptions about justice, victimhood, and the societal structures that perpetuate violence against women.
This music is far more than melodies—it is a resonant voice pushing for empathy, awareness, and change in Mexico and beyond. Through storytelling, Quintana reclaims agency for survivors and invites collective reflection on what justice for women truly means in a society mired by violence.