Global Roundup: Mexican Musician Sings of Women Incarcerated for Self Defense, Baloch Women Activists to Fore, Indigenous Women's Well Being, Sierra Leone Bike Ladies, Arab Women's 1st Supercar Rally

Mexican singer Vivir Quintana, center, and band members join hands before the introduction of her new album “Cosas que Sorprenden a la Audiencia” or Things that Surprise the Audience, in Mexico City, Thursday, April 24, 2025. Quintana’s first “corridos” album tells the stories of women who were incarcerated for killing their abusers while defending themselves. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)

Two days before her new album was launched, musical icon Vivir Quintana was behind barbed wire at a women’s prison in Mexico. 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 “Cosas que Sorprenden a la Audiencia” (Things that Surprise the Audience), Quintana’s latest album.

It tells the story of 10 such women but in a first, Quintana does it through “corridos,” a typically male-dominated and controversial Mexican music genre that’s 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.

This album has a different heart. This album wasn’t made to sell, it’s to change minds. -Vivir Quintana

The songs are meant to raise awareness about soaring levels of violence against women across Latin America — human rights groups estimate that an average of 10 women are killed in Mexico every day — and a justice system that many believe protects abusers and silences women’s voices.

In many cases, women like the ones in Quintana’s corridos are charged with “excessive legitimate self-defense,” charges that have fueled outrage among many in Mexico.

“So many times I feared for my life. So many times I didn’t defend myself,” Quintana crooned, cradling her guitar as her booming voice echoed through the halls of her record label building. “Now I live locked up in a prison, and I feel more free than I did in my own home.”

Amplifying women’s voices has been a hallmark of Quintana’s career, and rocketed her to fame in Mexico and beyond.

In 2020, her “Canción Sin Miedo” (Song Without Fear) became an anthem for Mexico’s Women’s 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.

Quintana’s new music goes further. She uses “corridos,” a type of northern Mexican ballads that has seen both an international renaissance and a backlash, with critics claiming that “narco corridos” — songs that glorify cartel violence and use misogynistic lyrics – have dominated the form.

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 avoid glorifying violence and discrimination against women.

We’re not banning a musical genre; that would be absurd. What we’re proposing is that the lyrics not glorify drugs, violence, violence against women or viewing women as a sexual object. -Claudia Sheinbaum

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.

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 — and not just the violent act that transformed their lives.

It’s something painful that the state tells you that if you defend yourself, we’re going to punish you,” Quintana said. “It’s like up until what point do we care about women’s life? -Vivir Quintana