The Veracruz-born singer was known for speaking out against macho culture in songs like ‘Rata de dos patas’. Francisca Viveros Barradas, the beloved Mexican singer known by her stage name Paquita la del Barrio, has died. She was 77. The Veracruz-born singer was known for speaking out against macho culture in songs like “Rata de dos patas” (”Two-legged Rat”). “With deep pain and sadness, we sensitively confirm the death of our ‘Paquita la del Barrio’ in her home in Veracruz. She was a unique and irreplaceable artist who left an indelible mark on the hearts of everyone who knew her and enjoyed her music," read the statement, which has been translated from Spanish.
![[Paquita la del Barrio during a campaign rally in Veracruz in May 2021, when she was a candidate for the Citizen Movement Party (Movimiento Ciudadano)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/02/17/18/25/GettyImages-1233193604.jpg)
"At this time of great pain, we respectfully ask all media outlets and the public to give us space and understanding so that her family can grieve in privacy and peace. We appreciate your support and respect during this difficult time. May she rest in peace. Her music and legacy will live on in our hearts forever.”. No cause of death has yet been announced. Barradas was born in Alto Lucero, Veracruz on April 2, 1947. She began singing from an early age, and while still a teenager she met and married her first husband, Miguel Gerardo Martínez. He was 18 years her senior, and it later emerged he was already married and had another family.
In the 1970s she formed the duo Las Golondrinas with her sister Viola, and in 1979, at the age of 32, she moved to Mexico City to further pursue her musical dreams. There she performed at La Fogata Norteña, where she met her second husband Alfonso Martínez. They remained together until his death in 2001. In 2021, she ran for political office in the state of Veracruz as a candidate for the Citizen Movement Party (Movimiento Ciudadano). That same year she was awarded the Billboard Artistic Career Award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards ceremony.
