I don't sing just to sing

Voices of resilience rise from the heart of rural Chile

I don't sing just to sing follows the life and voice of Mauricia Saavedra, a poet and cantora campesina from central Chile who has been devoted to her country’s traditional singing since childhood. Rooted in the heritage of the guitarra traspuesta and canto a lo humano, her art becomes both a form of expression and a path to survival. As a single mother and openly lesbian woman, Mauricia has faced violence and discrimination throughout her life, yet she channels those experiences into song, turning personal struggle into poetic resistance.

The film observes how Mauricia’s music extends beyond her own story to accompany other women in their journeys of healing. In workshops, community gatherings and intimate encounters, she listens, sings and shares her experiences, helping others to recover their voices and their sense of worth. Through her practice, she contributes to dismantling the cycles of violence that still mark the rural landscape of Chile.

Directed by Ana L’Homme, this documentary weaves together performance, testimony and landscape to create an intimate and powerful reflection on art, gender and resilience. In doing so, Yo no canto por cantar becomes both a celebration of Chile’s living folk traditions and an affirmation of the transformative power of women’s voices.