For a few years, activists and people in general have pointed out the implicit violence in some popular songs, including “Mátalas” by Alejandro Fernández, which has been criticized for alluding to femicide. Despite the defenses that the theme received at the time, the interpreter and the composer have decided to modify the lyrics to avoid further controversy.
In his presentation in Viña del Mar, Alejandro Fernández changed “Mátalas” to “Ámalas”, which was applauded by some and criticized by others who considered that the original lyrics should be respected. It is worth mentioning that Fernández is not the author of the song, but the composer Manuel Eduardo Toscano, who was interviewed on the program “De primera mano” to talk about the lyrics and the controversy that he has generated.
Toscano explained that he never intended to allude to a crime against women with the lyrics of “Kill them”, but was inspired by the phrase “I’m going to kill you with kisses”. According to him, composers are always looking for the right word to achieve the right phrase, and in this case he searched for a rhyme for the word “chimeras”, which resulted in the controversial stanza.
The original lyrics of “Kill Them” read: “Dude, I’m going to give you some good advice. If you want to enjoy their pleasures, get a gun if you want, or buy yourself a dagger if you want, and become a woman killer. Kill them with a overdose of tenderness”. However, Toscano proposed a modified version that maintains the essence of the song but softens its tone: “My friend, I’m going to give you some good advice. If you want to enjoy his pleasures, become an expert in what you want, learn to give him everything you want.” you want, and become a murderer of women. Kill them with an overdose of love.”
In short, the controversy surrounding “Mátalas” highlights the need to reflect on gender violence in music and the responsibility of composers and artists when choosing their lyrics and messages.