ENJOY / SHARE “PA’ PODER VIVIR” LYRIC VIDEO
Ani Cordero will release El Machete on Sept 20 via Panapén Records, a full-length album of deep emotional range, with songs about feminism, colonialism, anger, love, loss, and healing. Today, she releases the feminist anthem “Pa’ Poder Vivir,” a reckoning with the societal norms that suffocated her as a child.
“Pa’ Poder Vivir” is a really important song for me,” declares Cordero. “The song talks about reconstructing the society like you would a house — to make space for us as women to live the lives we want to live. We’ll have to break down walls, create windows to let the light in, build passageways…It’s a struggle, but we’re going to make space for all of us.”
For the song, she gathered many badass women in her life to sing the chorus “LUCHA” (fight/battle). In the bridge/outro, it features Puerto Rican feminist poet, musician, and filmmaker, Macha Colón and on backing vocals, Mexican queer feminist Renee Goust.
“It was a super powerful experience to be surrounded and supported by so many strong and talented women.”
To announce El Machete, Ani shared the video for “Pan Pan (Sin Mantequilla),” written out of frustration with corruption in Puerto Rico. NPR Music says, “Read the news, learn about the injustice and play ‘Pan Pan (Sin Mantequilla)’ very loud.”
El Machete refers to a dream in which Cordero fought off enemies with a wooden machete, and references Puerto Rican resistance group, Los Macheteros, which supports independence for Puerto Rico. Ani has a long history of activist and feminist music projects, having played in groups such as Os Mutantes and Pistolera, and is co-founder of PRIMA (Puerto Rico Independent Musicians and Artists), which provided emergency grants after Hurricane Maria and aims to highlight and support the work of Puerto Rico’s independent music community and strengthen its ties with the diaspora.