Ana Tijoux gives revolution a beat on “CACEROLAZO”

The French-Chilean rapper supports her country’s protests by paying tribute to their pot-banging tradition

Chile has been living an unprecedented wave of protest since early autumn. In a year where anger erupted on the streets around the world, this was one of the biggest in South America, rooted in public anger at inequality in one of the continent’s richest economies.

Ana Tijoux has contributed to the social movement with an ode to a Chilean specialty, banging pots during protest marches. She makes percussion out of their noise and complements it with street sounds and sirens. It has an effect like Public Enemy’s early revolutionary songs, where the only music was a collage of menacing, confrontational noises. On top of this forceful beat, Tijoux raps in her placid, unruffled flow, the juxtaposition making it sound even more determined.

Tijoux is known to most only thanks to the inclusion of her excellent track “1977” in a memorable scene of Breaking Bad, but she has been a voice for change and revolution for decades. Her older track “Shock” was one of the anthems of Chilean protesters until she gifted them this new one.

In a year where people power has manifested itself everywhere, there has been curiously little music that is tightly bound to this rebellious spirit. “#CACEROLAZO” is that rare rousing song that we need more of today.