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IT WAS NOVEMBER 20, 2019, and the streets of Chile were (literally) on fire in a generalized social revolt against the country's neoliberal economic model, the biggest uprising since the end of dictatorship in 1990.1 On that day, a couple of women and gender dissidents took to the streets of Valparaíso, dancing to an electronic drum, with masked eyes, chanting loudly, "the rapist is you!" Pointing at the police, at the church, at the president's house, at the judges, they collectively denounced the institutional violence against women and sexual and gender dissidents that is endorsed and practiced by the state, with a simple choreography and a potent set of lyrics.2
These performers were responding to a call by the interdisciplinary collective Las Tesis, formed by four young artists - Sibila Sotomayor, Lea Cáceres, Daffne Valdės, and Paula Cometa - all of them recent graduates of the University of Valparaíso. Because of the growing unrest and violence in many cities, the country was under "constitutional emergency status," and Las Tesis was not able to present their play in a theater, as initially planned. So, they decided to adapt the performance to a form that could be presented collectively in a public space, joining the ongoing social upheaval. To do so, they put the word out on social networks, calling women and gender dissidents to perform "Un violador en tu camino" (A rapist in your path), which was inspired by the feminist theorizing of authors Rita Segato and Silvia Frederici. In a clear synergy between feminist theory, art, and activism, the performance offers the possibility of critique and denunciation in women's own voices, based on their shared experiences. Through the performance, the broader outraged chorus of the Chilean social revolt also becomes feminist.
Five days later, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the performance was replicated in a massive event in the capital, Santiago, attended by more than 2000 people.3 A week later, it was staged again by Las Tesis Senior in front of the National Stadium, which brought together older women who had experienced the violence perpetrated in the dictatorial period.4 In a few days, the performance traveled rapidly through social networks and turned into a contemporary feminist anthem chanted in...