Along with the Todo Mejora Foundation, Chilean/American singer, Francisca Valenzuela has released her third single and video “ Insulto ” from her latest album, Tajo Abierto. The video is a tribute to those young people who have suffered discrimination, bullying, or have been abandoned by their families because of their sexual identity.
To learn more about the song and video, we had the opportunity to talk to Francisca and here we share an excerpt of our conversation.
Al Borde (AB) How did the song “ Insulto ” come about?
Francisca Valenzuela (FV) The song Insulto is a manifesto against what one is supposed to be, so basically is a song against authority and doctrine; things that are based in tradition as far as sexual orientation and sexual identity which is very present, especially in Latin America.
AB -Homosexuality is still a very taboo subject in Latin America and even in some parts of the U.S. and Europe, how did you find the way to depict what young people are going through in such a subtle, but at the same time, very powerful way?
FV -The concept of the song was consolidated after reading a book by a French philosopher Didier Eribon called “Insult and the Making of the Gay Self” where it coins the term “insult” for people that are being stigmatized and creates hostility just because of the way they are, and it triggered the whole idea and closed the concept.
AB – I really liked the way the video depicts the story of young people showing their strengths and insecurities, and then it slowly introduces the fact that the protagonist is a lesbian, which I believe it was a good approach to introduce the subject becomes it mirrors the realities of life of a person in the process of accepting their homosexuality or coming out to their friends and family, tell us about the concept of the video.
FV – We wanted to show what young people go through as they are dealing with the confusion of not knowing how to deal with their homosexuality and the peer pressure. Young homosexuals often have not only the pressure of their parents or elders, but also their peers and that can be very hard on their self esteem; also most people talk about their homosexuality after they have come out of the closet and there’s very little information or assistance for those young people who are going through the process and that is why we wanted to do something oriented for young people.
For more information about the Todo Mejora Foundation, you can visit their website: www.todomejora.org The single “Insulto” can be downloaded at iTunes and to learn more about Francisca Valenzuela, you can follow her on the links below:
facebook.com/franciscavalenzuelamusic
twitter.com/franciscamusic
instagram.com/franciscamusic
youtube.com/franvalenzuelamusic
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*Live photo – Carlos Müller
