The “Encanto” Effect: The Power of Representation
When I first heard The Walt Disney Company was making a film about Colombia I was thrilled. My expectations were high as I had loved the Coco production representing a traditional day in Mexican culture.
When the trailer came out, I felt excited. I loved the colourful scenes and the characters. Once the film finally came out, I couldn't help but feel emotional when they showed, in a very subtle way, a hard reality for most families (including mine) in Colombia. My country has experienced several inner wars, between radical political parties and guerilla groups, the pattern is the same. Families being forced to abandon their homes and trying to find new places to settle.
Picturing the conflict and its consequences wasn't an easy task for the producers, but the fact that it was included in the movie shows that they did understand why family is valuable for us, why we have such strong bonds to the place where we grew up, and how our casitas always feel magical.
Aside from the story, it was great to see how well the film was doing in other countries and that’s when it really got interesting. Encanto has started a trend on TikTok where people are singing the songs from the film, especially everyone’s favourite, “We Don't Talk About Bruno”, which has now become more popular than Frozen’s “Let It Go”.
Seeing kids and adults joyfully enjoying the songs, promoting the film, and learning about our cultural diversity and rich landscapes, brought out a true sense of Colombian pride. A pride I have to confess usually gets lost in translation. For once we are saying: “Yes, I am Colombian and yes we eat arepas and have different skin tones”.
Finally, I saw a path to let go of all the bad publicity and stereotyping that Colombia has received over the last few decades. Just because I'm Colombian it does not mean I knew or am related to infamous drug dealer Pablo Escobar. It might be disappointing but not everyone has a paisa accent, women don't look like Sofia Vergara and we don’t know the local dealers.
Instead, I can talk about the things I loved, like Maribel’s dress because it is a traditional outfit and I have pictures with similar clothes from school dance presentations. The Ruana, like the one worn by Bruno, is a piece that everyone has, or had at some point, including me. It is not only a cultural and fashion statement, but in London's cold weather it has become a life saver.
The scene where Isabela shows all the different flowers reminded me that, beyond cocaine, we export beauty. In a way, the diversity of our flora symbolises the diversity of our people. There is a famous song “Las caleñas son como las flores, que vestidas van de mil colores”. Which compares colourful flowers to the beauty of the women from Cali.
Like this song, the movie is filled with messages that enhance our culture, people, natural resources and, of course, our contagious rhythms. More and more positive reactions are getting registered on social media, such as different ethnicities feeling represented by the characters, which brings us together. The little girl in the video will remember this movie and see that not only European-looking princesses are role models, but that looking the way she looks is also beautiful and film-worthy.
Little things like the way the characters’ clothes or hair looks can do wonders for our self-esteem and identity: this boy who sees himself in the film will love his looks even more, and I'm hoping that feeling will be enough for him to embrace his ethnicity and be comfortable in his skin for his whole life.
Sometimes we forget how beautiful we are, or we compare ourselves to others trying to fit a “beauty” standard, but seeing all the different body shapes, skins and hair in Encanto, I believe it's a great starting point to talk about self-appreciation and acceptance.
Now, all I can say is thank you for Encanto, and thank you for showing a more colourful and joyful picture of what Colombia is and can be.
