LASTESIS
Performer
Chile


Protesters performing outside of Chile’s national stadium.

Women in Los Angeles performing 'A Rapist in Your Path' // Los Angeles Times

LASTESIS with Pussy Riot // Manifesto Against Police Violence
LASTESIS’s outspokenness also placed them on the police’s radar. On May 27, 2020, they collaborated with Russian feminist art collective Pussy Riot on a video titled “Manifesto Against Police Violence / RIOT x LASTESIS.” In the video, LASTESIS is shown standing in front of a police station in Valparaiso, Chile, as they chant: “Chile is a country that humiliates those who inhabit it; patriarchy, cops, politics of state hardened to silence and blind injustice.” In a way, the manifesto is a continuation of “Un violador en tu camino,” which also condemns police violence against women, a reality that was exacerbated by the pandemic. COVID-19 hit Chile and nearby countries incredibly hard, fueling a rise in police violence, domestic violence, and economic inequalities that have only further jeopardized women’s safety. In “Manifesto Against Police Violence,” LASTESIS and Pussy Riot denounce the police partaking in murder and assault, pushing to dismantle a force of authority that does not protect its citizens.
Ironically, their message resulted in an immediate backlash from Chilean authorities. After the video was published, the police sued LASTESIS for allegedly “inciting violence” against their institution. When asked for more evidence by the prosecutor, they investigated “Un violador en tu camino,” which resulted in a second lawsuit filed with what the police felt was “stronger evidence” of hate speech.
“These harassments are absurd,” says LASTESIS, “but they demonstrate that institutional violence is present all the time and that the government and the law support it, which puts us in a situation of extreme vulnerability.”
The government’s attempts to censor LASTESIS didn’t deter public opinion, however. Their performance of “Un violador en tu camino” garnered over a million views on YouTube, from countries all over the world. Just a month after LASTESIS’ performance, a crowd in France performed the song in front of the Eiffel Tower. In Los Angeles, over 200 women gathered to perform the song in Spanish, though it has also been translated into many languages. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted the original video, expressing solidarity with Chile. In 2020, LASTESIS made the TIME 100 list of most influential people. On January 4, 2021, the charges against LASTESIS were dismissed.
Despite the difficulties they have faced, LASTESIS have also proven that art can help foment change: on October 25, 2020, Chileans voted overwhelmingly to rewrite their constitution, heralding a potentially new age of equity and justice in the country. Nevertheless, even as this future is envisioned, institutional misogyny and police violence remain, and LASTESIS continue to speak out. In the Manifesto Against Police Violence, they declare: “The police do not guard me, my girlfriends do.”
By Statz Tatsumi Saines, February 2020. Statz is a recent graduate of Mount Holyoke College, where she received a BA in English.