We Don’t Always Have To Be A “Bichota”
During Hispanic Heritage Month, we at Strike feel it’s essential to cover Latin stars making their mark in the music industry. In this article, the subject is Karol G. She’s been in the music industry for a while now, but at 33 years old, her career just skyrocketed. Her most recent albums, Mañana Será Bonito, and Mañana será bonito (Bichota Season), landed her a North American stadium tour. As she gets ready to tour South America, it’s essential to understand her impact on Latinas.
The stereotype that Latinas are feisty is overused. As a Latina myself, it’s tired, boring, and the last thing I want to be called. What many confused feistiness for was passion, and that goes for the whole community, not just for females. Whether it’s our foods, our sports teams, our music, or our culture as a whole, passion drives us. Passion is in everything we do as Latinos.
This includes those sometimes unwanted feelings, such as sadness, anger, and remorse. Another harmful stereotype is that Latinas are always strong, which sounds like a nice thing to be, but it’s unrealistic. Just like anyone else, we all have bad days, but that doesn’t mean we can’t show our emotions. This is where Karol G comes in.
From her KG0516 album, “Bichota” is one of the most significant songs of her career. Bichota, a sexy, daring, and empowered woman, quickly became what fans call the Colombian singer. “We are all super ‘Bichotas’ inside. It’s about believing and working so that the rest of the world can see it too,” she tells Billboard. While we all want to be hard-working women, it’s hard to do so when so many things are stacked against us. Latina women make 0.52 cents to the dollar white men make and we’re slowly losing rights over our own bodily autonomy.
Even so, the term “bichota” has some underlying sexism throughout. In simpler terms, Latina women are seen as mothers, caretakers, housekeepers, chefs, and more. Meanwhile, Latino men are only seen as breadwinners and must be cared for when they get home from work. It’s the mindset we believed everyone to have in the ‘50s here in the U.S., but it continues to live on in Latin countries. Before we can think about ourselves, we have to care for our theoretical husbands, kids, parents, etc.
Karol G herself has faced a lot of controversy in the past, not because of what she’s done directly, but because of the people she used to have around her. Anuel, a reggaeton artist, was her on-and-off boyfriend for several years before eventually calling it quits. As exes enjoy doing, he constantly tries to crawl back into her life. He has worn a shirt with an intimate photo of them out in public to stir the pot and even publicly called out her new boyfriend, Feid.
It can’t be easy to deal with such a person, and despite all that happening after the album’s release, that doesn’t mean that more hasn’t happened in the past. All in all, she’s someone who needed to heal. Since society holds us to such high standards, we tend to follow them as best we can for lack of knowing better.
With Mañana Será Bonito directly translating to “Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful,” the main theme of the album is obvious. Her songs talk about making bad decisions, getting back with your ex, and healing yourself after all that. As Latinas are not usually pictured by society as the type to get sad and need time to heal, this album was pivotal in reminding everyone that these traditional views don’t belong anymore. This album taught many, including myself, that you don’t always have to be the strong, feisty woman that society expects you to be.
Now, Karol G has recently dropped Mañana será bonito (Bichota Season). As you can assume, she’s in what many of us would call her “hot girl era.” She’s healed, and she’s out having fun with this album. Club-ready songs have her listeners, who healed with her, learn to have fun again.
As women learn to heal from the generational trauma or curses imposed on us, Latina singers such as Karol G have become pillars in the Latina community to remind us that times have changed and that you can be both soft and strong.
Strike Out,
Emily Fiorini-Casamayouret
Boca Raton
Emily Fiorini-Casamayouret is the Senior Editor and Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca Raton. When she isn’t writing, this Cancer enjoys listening to music, reading, doing some retail therapy, & eating pasta. You can reach her on Instagram @emilyfiorini, or at emilyfiorinic@gmail.com
