Viral Chilean protest anthem ‘A Rapist in Your Path’ calls out global lack of action on violence against women
- Video of the catchy dance with its unforgettable chorus has spread around the world since a feminist group first performed it in Chile in November
- The viral protest anthem highlights violence against women and calls out those who belittle sexual assaults
It begins with a group of women, mostly blindfolded, and an electronic beat. There is a side-to-side shuffle, chanting and squats. And there is the unforgettable chorus, done to a finger-snapping dance: “Y la culpa no era mía / ni dónde estaba / ni cómo vestía” – And the fault was not mine / nor where I was / nor how I was dressed.
The action ends with the group pointing straight ahead and repeating the refrain: “El violador eres tú.” The rapist is you.
This stirring performance, titled Un violador en tu camino (A Rapist in Your Path), was first brought to life by a feminist art collective at a protest in the port city of Valparaíso, Chile, late last month, as a way of drawing attention to violence against women. Since then, it has gone viral in Colombia, Mexico, France, India, the United States and Turkey.
Naturally, video of the catchy dance and song is all over the internet.
Earlier this month, a group of more than 200 women – old, young and in between, with a few school-aged girls and a couple of dogs in the mix – gathered outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in California and performed it again.