“Si fuera un animal, sé que sería un galgo”: Becoming-animal in Belén Aguilera

Abstract

The intersections between contemporary pop music and studies of the human-animal boundary are examined through the artistic work of Spanish artist Belén Aguilera, with the main objective of exploring how (hum)animality operates in her body of work. While acknowledging the multi-textual nature of pop songs, for methodological reasons, this study focuses its analysis on the lyrical and narrative dimensions of four songs: “GALGO,” “LICÁNTROPO,” “CAMALEÓN,” and “camuflo,” as well as on the direct dialogue established between the songs and the visual imagery of their single covers—where applicable. The theoretical framework is grounded on posthumanism, human-animal boundary studies, and, primarily, in Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of becoming-animal. Aguilera’s use of animal figures transcends mere metaphor, articulating instead strategies of disidentification and affective modulation. Ultimately, the analysis demonstrates the validity of pop music as a legitimate space for articulating critical and complex discourses on gender and subjectivity.