Home Amandititita’s Anarcocumbia Tour: A Love-Hate Letter to Mexico City

Amandititita’s Anarcocumbia Tour: A Love-Hate Letter to Mexico City

Sofia Mendoza-ClarkeJune 19, 20263 Mins read41

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The air in Mexico City is a vibrant tapestry of contrasts, a sentiment deeply understood by Amanda Lalena Escalante, famously known as Amandititita. Born in Tampico but a chilanga by adoption, the singer-songwriter has continuously woven the city’s complex spirit into her music, a capital she still struggles to fully comprehend, love, and hate.

A City of Extremes: Amandititita’s Enduring Connection

In an interview with Chilango, Amandititita reflects on her profound bond with Mexico City: “My work is very much centered in Mexico City because I still haven’t finished getting to know it, understanding it, or finishing hating and loving it. That is, my relationship with Mexico City is the most intense thing I’ve ever experienced.”

This relationship began with a painful chapter when she lost her father, the legendary Rockdrigo González, during the devastating 1985 earthquake. The city, she notes, constantly reminds her of its fragility. “In the city, you always feel like you’re walking on glass, on ice, because you don’t know what’s going to happen, if it’s going to shake or if you’re going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and even so, you have to keep going,” she shares.

Yet, Amandititita’s story in Mexico City isn’t solely defined by loss and upheaval. It’s also a narrative of triumphs, the most recent being her tour across the city’s 16 boroughs. Part of the “Cuícatl: the city that sounds” initiative by the capital’s Secretariat of Culture, this free tour, which began on May 3rd and concludes in September, brings her face-to-face with the very neighborhoods that have inspired her songs for years.

From Cows to Concerts: A Journey Through the Music Industry

Amandititita recalls an absurd yet telling anecdote from her early career, a moment that encapsulates the quirky realities of the music industry. During an interview at Televisa, she found herself backstage, waiting alongside a cow that Vicente Fernández was about to milk. “I told her, ‘Neither you nor I should be here,'” she recounts with a laugh, remembering the cow’s equally bewildered expression.

While she didn’t always relish the spectacle of television appearances, she acknowledges their role in promoting her music during a time when exposure was hard-won. “I would go there and sing ‘La Criada’ or ‘Metrosexual,’ and then I would perform another song to give people the opportunity to see that there are artists of all kinds,” she explains.

Now, with a consolidated career, Amandititita is using her platform to uplift emerging talent. Each stop on her Mexico City tour features guest bands from various corners of the capital, far from the mainstream music industry’s glitz and glamour. “I had the opportunity to choose the opening acts. There was a call for entries, and people sent their music. There were boroughs full of incredible projects, and others where there was only one project; those were where there is more money. In the poorest boroughs, there were a lot of really cool projects. That’s art, our need to escape reality, and thank God these spaces exist,” she emphasizes.

For Amandititita, this tour is more than just performing for thousands; it’s about giving back, offering the same opportunity she once sought: a space to be heard.

Connecting with the Soul of the City Through Music

After years of serenading the city from the stage, Amandititita is now experiencing a more intimate connection with the audience that has profoundly influenced her repertoire. “What I love most about this tour is being able to go to their borough, making it easy for them to get there and have a family Sunday. It’s like a fever dream,” she expresses.

This desire for intimacy has led her to adopt a different approach from her usual festival performances. The Amandititita touring the boroughs will present a more reflective side of anarcocumbia, one that emphasizes dignity and addresses social issues. “I have always spoken about discrimination, about seeking for human beings to feel valuable, despite not having had the education or the physique imposed by social media and television stations. That is, I have always wanted to dignify,” she notes.

In a city where cultural access often depends on one’s financial means, Amandititita views these free concerts as a small victory. They are for her long-time followers and for those who rarely have the opportunity to afford a concert ticket or a night out. “People who don’t like it think that the poor have no right to anything, that only those with money have the right to go to a Lunario. Art transforms, and that’s why it’s important to bring it to public spaces,” she asserts.

Even as Mexico City remains a land of stark contrasts, Amandititita’s journey with it is far from over. For now, she will continue to traverse its neighborhoods, plazas, and boroughs, singing to the capital that, amidst love and disillusionment, never ceases to inspire her.