What is the relationship between ‘my baby fiu fiu’ and a political scandal in Peru?

The surprising success of the song ‘My little baby fiu fiu’ (fiu fiu as the sound of when you whistle at someone), written by music producer Tito Silva, which has become a trend in recent weeks, reaching first place in the ‘ranking’ of Spotify’s 50 viral songs , has turned against the Peruvian musician, bringing him not only fame, but also a headache.

The lyrics of the musical parody, performed by Tefi C, are inspired by the affectionate messages that the former Peruvian president, Martín Vizcarra, and Zully Pinchi, a former candidate for Congress, supposedly exchanged on WhatsApp, wrote the local media.

«I love you, I need to give you a hug and you don’t know how much I miss you, you are my baby, you are my king», reads one of the messages from Pinchi to Vizcarra, released a few months ago by the media. «I love you, see you later», replied the former president, who became the subject of criticism for the alleged infidelity to his wife, Maribel Díaz Cabello.

Meanwhile, the famous «fiu fiu» refers to the whistle that Pinchi «launched» on WhatsApp in response to a photo allegedly sent by the politician.

The song soon went viral on global music platforms, while celebrities like Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny and Venezuelan singer Lasso, or even Real Madrid’s official TikTok account, joined the trend by performing the song or as a background music for their videos.

However, the song ended up being withdrawn from Spotify due to copyright issues, as the ‘hit’ is based on the melody of the song ‘Stan’ performed by Dido and Eminem.

Despite the fact that Tito Silva himself affirms that it is a simple «parody» and maintains that «it is totally legal and lawful to make parodies of songs without the need for a permit», the musician was soon forced to withdraw his musical ‘parody’ from other platforms. 

In a video posted on his Instagram account, Tito Silva explained that the people who manage the rights to the original song knew that it was a parody, although «the Peruvian political context» could cause them «some discomfort», so he decided to remove his musical ‘parody’ from streaming platforms and his social networks.

What was the scandal in Peru?

The ‘song’ originates from a political scandal that shook Peru in 2020. That year, some WhatsApp messages that were exchanged between the former president of Peru, Martín Alberto Vizcarra, and his lover, Zully Ramírez del Castillo, a former candidate for the Peruvian Congress were leaked to the public. These messages revealed the extramarital relationship that both had.

As its creators have explained, this parody arises with the aim of reflecting that particular story that caused a great scandal in Peru in 2020.

During the scandal, some of the audios that the lovers sent each other were made public. In these voice notes they said everything like “Please kiss my lips. Soak me up like chocolate candy and roll me up like powdered sugar in a showcase pionono».

Artists like Bad Bunny have sung the song on social networks , even Marvel has used the song to promote its new movie Thor: Love and Thunder.

In fact, this is one of the verses of the song. You can also read words like «my baby», «my little baby» and «fiu fiu», which is where the chorus and title of the song came from.

Martín Alberto Vizcarra, is a 59-year-old politician from the El Perú Primero political party, who was substitute president from 2018 to 2020, in Peru. Before devoting himself to politics, he worked as a civil engineer.

Vizcarra has been Minister of Transport and Communications, Ambassador of Peru in Canada, Supreme Head of the Armed Forces and National Policy, Congressman of Somos Perú and Governor of Moquegua.

However, in 2020, a year earlier than expected, Vizcarra had to leave the presidency of Peru due to an ‘influence peddling’ investigation. This investigation was the one that uncovered the chat that inspired the viral song.

The leak generated great controversy in Peru because it uncovered the secret relationship between Martín Alberto Vizcarra and Zully Ramírez del Castillo. The former president is a family man married in 1992 with Maribel Díaz Cabello.

The marriage has four children Martino Vizcarra Díaz, Diamela Vizcarra Díaz, Daniela Vizcarra Díaz and Diana Vizcarra Díaz. However, despite the controversy, Vizcarra and Cabello are still married and the family is united.

‘My baby fiu fiu’ is a viral phenomenon

The song has made this love story become an international phenomenon. The theme has become the most seen on TikTok and other social networks, such as Twitter, and has ‘worked’ especially well in countries such as Colombia, Mexico and Argentina.

It ‘landed’ a few months ago with force in Spain, then it disappeared and now it has returned, becoming a trend. What’s more, Bad Bunny himself has allowed himself the luxury of singing the song in a live session with his followers on Instagram.

The authors of the original song and the record company with which they produced the song have not commented on the matter and everything indicates that since it is a parody, no action will be taken in this regard.