![]() ![]() Nine civil wars between liberals and conservatives during the 19th century resulted in an unsolvable national schism where the only overlap between the two sides was the exploitation and dismissal of a mostly racialized rural underclass. The genocidal conquest by Spain, as well as the subsequent decade-long independence process, set the stage for a very messy 200 years of history. There’s nothing more Colombian than the desire to find a home in an inherently broken country.Ĭolombia’s problems are so intrinsic that being aware of them from birth almost seems necessary to feel Colombian at all. That quest to save her beloved house makes Encanto not just a story set in Colombia, but about Colombia as well. It’s up to Mirabel, the least special Madrigal, to find out what’s endangering their miracle and to protect the home that has protected her family all these years. The movie follows Mirabel as she sees that the house, their Casita, is starting to crack at the foundations, which her Abuela adamantly denies in an effort to maintain order. ![]() ![]() As The Violence caught up with them, killing their Abuelo, the candle gave the surviving Madrigals a home: a magical house that became a source of refuge, comfort, and the subsequent generations’ special gifts. They are given to the family by a magical candle the Madrigals call “our miracle,” a force that saved Abuela and her three kids when she was young when they were forced to flee their hometown. But Mirabel was never given a special gift, and her lack of powers is a regular source of tension between her and her Abuela. One of her sisters is super-strong, another can produce flowers out of nowhere, her mom can cure any ailment with her food, and so forth. Once we learn that the central family, the Madrigals, like millions of real Colombians, have been displaced from their home by that abstract, omnipresent force we tend to simply call The Violence, it seemed evident that Bush, Howard, and Smith weren’t just coming from a place of understanding, it was also a place of love.Įncanto tells the story of Mirabel Madrigal, who was born into a magical family where everyone has a special gift except her. These concerns all found a place amid the collective Colombian excitement as Encanto’s opening night approached, but for me, at least, they disappeared a few minutes into the movie’s prologue. ![]() Their company’s recent track record of representation was certainly a good sign, but Hollywood’s history of portraying Colombia was reason enough for doubts. Encanto writer-directors Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Charise Castro Smith wanted to explicitly set their story in the very real country of Colombia. Its nods to Polynesian culture aren’t just set-dressing, they’re key components of her story and its themes.Įnter Encanto, which isn’t just set in a pastiche of similar cultures, like Disney’s Latine-inspired show Elena of Avalor. Moana found its heart in the amalgam of cultures it was portraying. Still, it marked a clear turning point in the way the studio handled its non-white characters and settings. A few years later, Moana was generally well-received, but suffered its own criticisms from Pacific Islander communities. While she herself has become a popular figure, her movie took immediate flak for its handling of race. Even beyond the clear cases of “This film was made in a different era,” such as the portrayal of Native-Americans in 1953’s Peter Pan or the softened racism of 1995’s Pocahontas, Disney creators still struggle with clichéd depictions of people of color, which understandably come under endless scrutiny in today’s more race-conscious environment.ĭisney’s first Black protagonist, The Princess and the Frog’s Tiana, was introduced in 2009. Disney has a complicated history of depicting non-European cultures. So when Disney announced Encanto, a new animated feature that takes place in my home country of Colombia, it was admittedly exciting and validating. But who can blame them? They mostly learned about Colombia from movies and television, and there isn’t much room for nuance in the exoticism of 1984’s Romancing the Stone, the cartel violence of Netflix’s Narcos series, or Gloria’s humorous otherness in ABC’s sitcom Modern Family. If the questions I repeatedly answered on first dates while living in Los Angeles were any indication, Americans tend to think of Colombia as a violent, drug-ridden failed state, half-slum and half-jungle, which also happens to be the source of their coffee and Sofía Vergara. ![]()
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