Ana Tijoux Won’t Stop Rapping for Palestinian Solidarity
"Colonialism, racism, femicide, territorial occupation, ethnic cleansing, Palestine contains all forms of violence in a single territory, which is why it calls to many people around the world." - Ana Tijoux
Travellers to Santiago, Chile may be surprised by the constant presence of Palestinian flags—hanging from shop windows, displayed in the streets, printed on football shirts, and even seen on bumper stickers. While other countries have shied away from, and have even banned, any visible shows of Palestinian solidarity, Chileans embrace it.
There's even a professional football club, Club Deportivo Palestino, founded over one hundred years ago by Palestinian diaspora with the intention to make their home country's name visible and in the papers with every single fixture.
This is because Chile has the largest Palestinian population outside of the Middle East. The first immigrants made their way across in the late 1800s, with waves of migration continuing ever since. This fierce stance for Palestinian rights in the country is strengthened by a shared history of oppression, colonisation and struggle for rights.
"There's a larger plan that has to do with territorial appropriation and also with the expulsion of the native people," rapper Ana Tijoux tells Trippin. Hailed as one of the best Spanish-language rappers of all time, Tijoux has long been on the forefront of Chilean solidarity with Palestine.
In 2015, she released an Arabic-Spanish protest anthem 'Somos Sur', which clocks over 17 million views on YouTube and is experiencing renewed popularity in the context of the ongoing war in Gaza. In the song, Tijoux draws parallels between the struggles of Chile's Indigenous population and Palestinians. Currently, Chile's largest Indigenous population, the Mapuche, are struggling to defend ancestral lands from unregulated private enterprises who are displacing communities.
"Whether it's the forestry companies in southern Chile or this plan from a U.S. spa company to create a tourist center in Gaza, we're talking about occupied territories—it's the same thing," she says.
In late October, weeks after the war broke out, Tijoux organised a solidarity concert to organise funds for Palestinian families. Last year, she wore a keffiyeh for a performance at NPR's Tiny Desk —the first artist to do so. The show quickly went viral, leading to other artists using the show as an opportunity to platform Palestinian rights.
At a time when international artists, including Kehlani and Kneecap, are being censored and castigated for expressing solidarity for Palestinians, Tijoux’s actions feel evermore important. She’s currently embarking on a European tour and plans to travel with a Palestinian flag as a staple part of her show.
She has had received threats, discrimination and had concerts shut down in Europe, notably being kicked out of a Parisian venue because of her refusal to be silenced.
"Why would I be afraid to carry a flag of a country that is experiencing genocide? I think the real problem is silence—that's what would really scare me" she says. "The music industry has claimed that it's complex, that there's a fear around losing work. But what's so complicated? There's nothing complicated about this!"
"The real problem is silence"
Tijoux grew up in France, after her family were exiled during the Pinochet dictatorship in the 1970s. Her decades-spanning career has been defined by socially conscious lyrics and fierce activism.
"I come from a family that witnessed the civic-military repression in Chile during the Chilean dictatorship. I was taught as a child that convictions are carried to the grave, that you can’t live in fear."
While travellers to Chile will be welcomed for donning Palestinian shirts, keffiyehs or other solidarity wear during their stay, sadly across the world, this still carries risk. Tijoux stands by the following advice: "Denounce. Break the silence. If someone is afraid to speak for the rights of life, I don't know what we're future we're building for our children."