Amanda Miguel | The scorned women in Latin music
Amanda Miguel is an Argentine-Mexican singer-songwriter. El me mintió (he lied to me) is a ballad oscillating between anger and despair. The single is among the most successful in the pop star's career. This song is a staple on karaoke bars and Sunday's family carne asadas. It's a song your Tias would sing after a few drinks.
Amanda Miguel sining Él me mintió.
I had originally planned to release one long article on 5 scorned women in Latin music. However, their stories are so rich, I decided to do a series instead. Opting to give each woman the time and care she deserves. The first in this series is Shakira. Head over to the introductory article to find out about the other women on the list.
The song starts with a few sorrowful piano notes. Then, it slowly increases in instruments and tension, adding an arpeggiated guitar and other string instruments. The music dials back a little, and the drums hint at the entrance of Amanda Miguel's voice. She softly sings, "He lied to me."
In the MV, we are greeted by a closeup of Amanda Miguel's eyes. She's standing alone at the center of a soundstage. She stares down the camera and performs as much theatrically as a copla singer would.
Amanda Miguel is dressed in black, and an accusatory light shines above her. The soundstage turns into an interrogation scene. Her black attire resembles that of a black widow, and the hints of red that line her jumpsuit hint at murder.
Her outfit and styling could easily place her as a woman confessing to murder in Chicago's Cell Block Tango. With this song, she confesses that "he had it coming." Only Amanda Miguel's mantra is, "he lied to me." She sings almost hypnotically, "he told me he loved me, and it was not true." Her stare changes from dissociation to outright anger.
The camera closeup on her eyes frames the rage she communicates. Everything about her styling, her vocal color, and her theatrical acting are bold. She wears her signature bold, fluffed-out curly hair. She has strong makeup that accentuates the sharpness of her emotions. Her body acting is imposing and daring. The stage around her is black, except for hanging red bead curtains. She continues:
He lied to me.
He dIdn't love me.
He never loved me.
He let me adore him
He lied to me
he lied to me
She repeats the phrase "he lied to me" 14 times throughout the song. Her inflection makes you wonder if she is saying, "he lied to me," incredulously or naively. Or is she confessing, and this is her raison d'etre, her justification? Is she saying "he lied to me" with hopelessness in her words or as a vengeful catchphrase?
It was just a game and nothing else
It was just a cruel game for his vanity
He lied to me
In the first act of the song, Amanda Miguel sets the scene and the action. This is a song about a man who lied for games and vanity. Her anger is palpable but contained, and the music compliments her emotions well.
In the second act, her reflection turns inwards. Now that she realizes that a man lied and used her, she expresses her own sadness. She sings of crying and wishing she were dead. We are shown that the fallout of betrayal is not only outward anger but anger towards oneself.
The second act paints a picture of immense sorrow and explosive anger. Understanding that you have been betrayed after trusting someone so boldly and blindly can leave you feeling hopeless and blaming yourself. It's a deep wound to the self that is not easy to repair.
The production grows with electric guitars and power drums. Amanda Miguel's voice is powerful, and her acting is just as grand.
With a shattered heart and wet face,
I am so ill-fated,
I wish I would die.
Lies,
everything was lies,
words said to the air. (meant to be blown air, not set in stone)
Just a whim the boy had.
Many women, before and after, have expressed such wounds. I keep thinking of Olivia Rodrigo, lamenting, "I used to think I was smart, but you made me look so naive." The already explosive song builds up in a crescendo of rage.
She starts listing everything he lied about. She is pleading her case with the listener. These are the reasons she feels this way. Maybe these are the reasons she metaphorically hints at the murder of her ex-lover.
all of the love he swore to me
there was never anything there
I was just simply another woman who loved him
lies
everything was lies
the kisses, the roses, the false caresses that made me quiver
In the climax, she pleads with God to free her body of any existence he could have left on her. It's a screeching sound where shame and anger shine through her vocals, as a listener, chills run down my body once we hear her eagerness to erase all evidence of his existence on her.
Lord, you who are above in the heavens,
you who are so kind,
Don't let a single one of his fingerprints
linger on my skin
he lied to me
he lied to me
he lied to me
Her last "he lied to me" is shouted tearfully at the camera with resigned hopelessness to her tone. It resounds through the speakers, almost nagging. It's an explosive resolution of rage and sorrow.
She had been containing the emotions within her, almost physically vibrating by how strong and overflowing they had been. In the song's third act, she throws them to the audience and leaves us to deal with the emotional fallout of his betrayal. The phrase hell has no rage like a woman scorned, describes this performance perfectly.
He is a man who lied to her and told her he loved her when he never did. He let her fall for him and adore him; he accepted her love only to inflate his childish ego. And he let her suffer just as another victim of his would, as many other women who were harmed by him. He lied to her and made her believe in a relationship they never had.
Reminiscent of a flamenco drama, the song instrumentals continue while she strikes poses at the camera. The visual of the dramatics is as essential to the delivery of the song and instrumentals as the dramatics of her voice.
Her final poses are daring toward the audience. They show her accepting herself in her anger and owning her vengefulness. It's like she confessed to a murder and is daring anyone to come at her and prove her wrong. She has finished her vengeance, and she owns it. She is magnificent in her rage. This is an ode to women's anger and a celebration of angry women.
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