Lido Pimienta Sings About Earth’s Most Precious Resource On “Agua”
“A poem that speaks directly to the fragile strength of Earth, and our problematic, almost morbid, relationship with her.”
Many of us fill our glasses, kettles, and pots from taps without thinking twice. But increasingly, whether its through debates over the price of bottled water, or major crises involving localized contamination, the natural resource is becoming increasingly politicized. Lido Pimienta, a Colombian singer and producer based in Toronto, uses this tension as the basis for "Agua," a song that "speaks directly to the fragile strength of Earth, and our problematic, almost morbid, relationship with her."
For the song's video, premiering today on The FADER, Lido and her team took a more playful approach to a serious issue, mixing digital and analog footage and editing. It was shot at different 'nature' spots from around Toronto, including the city's massive aquarium which opened in 2013.
In an e-mail to The FADER Lido explains the song's origin. "It's a chant to the water, canto-al-agua, which is also a movement lead by Indigenous people that I've been following from when I lived in Colombia. My family is Indigenous from the Wayuu territory, so the poem is also to them, and the immigrant in me, singing to that connection through water and a water crisis in our land, which mirrors the same issues affecting First Nations in Canada as well."
