"Because Tijoux grew up in French culture, it took time and effort before she could speak Spanish comfortably. She says she still has plenty to learn about the Latin side of her identity — which is why she probably won't make an album in French anytime soon.

"All the countries in South America — I was just in Peru, Columbia and Brazil — every time it's like, 'Wow, I have to travel more, I've got to mix more with Latin American music, I've got to know more of where we come from!'" she says. "And I've got to be honest: I love to rap in a language where I can go to Mexico and they understand me, [or] I can go to Panama. I love when people can understand what I'm talking about.""

"The song “Shock” from Ana Tijoux‘s new album, La Bala, has become an anthem in Chile.

Protesters there are calling for educational reforms and Tijoux’s song has generated buzz.

Anchor Marco Werman speaks to the Chilean-French singer about the song and the student protests in Chile."

"I've always admired Tijoux's ability to melt the Spanish language like plastic and reconstitute it, putting accents and inflections wherever she pleases. But something has hardened in her, and that's not a bad thing.

There was speculation that La Bala (The Bullet) was named after an incident — for which Chilean police have taken responsibility — that killed 16-year-old Manuel Gutiérrez Reinoso during a protest in Chile. In a recent interview, Tijoux denied that. I'd say she herself is a bullet: strong, steady and piercing.

In that same interview, Tijoux said she believes there's no such thing as a coincidence. The petrifaction of Tijoux's ire in the period between 1977 and La Bala and its parallels in current politics speak to something we children of Latin American runaways know quite well: Those who spend their youth shadowboxing their parents' political boogeymen tend to grow into good fighters. (Or fantastically talented rappers.)"