Disney’s 'Encanto': Colombia presents its enormous diversity to the world

Encanto, produced by Byron Howard, Jared Bush and Clark Spencer, the same creators of Zootopia — the Oscar-winning animated film from 2017 — tells the story of the Madrigal family, who live deep in the mountains of Colombia in a traditional town called Charm.

There, each of its inhabitants has a magical ability and powers they use to help the community and their natural environment.

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The family is made up of Mirabel, the main protagonist of the story; her grandmother and matriarch of her family, Alma; her parents, Julieta and Agustín; the sisters, Isabela and Luisa; as well as her uncles, Félix and Pepa, and her cousins, Dolores, Camilo and Antonio. The mystery is brought to the story by Bruno, Mirabel's uncle that no one is allowed to talk about.

Byron Howard, director of Encanto, assured at a press conference that his film is a story about families, an adventure in which we can recognize that we do not always know what is happening in the lives of our loved ones.

The yellow butterflies, made famous by the Colombian Nobel Gabriel García Márquez, open the story while mountains also provide the perfect setting to appreciate Colombia's official tree, the wax palm.

Among the pets of the Madrigal family are endemic species, such as the jaguar, the toucan, the macaw and, the one who that stole the show, the capybara — the largest rodent in the world and exclusive to Central and South America.

Although the voices of the version dubbed into Spanish will be 100% Colombian, it is worth noting the inclusion of artists from thie country to bring these characters to life in the original English version

Maluma, the famous Colombian reggaeton player, lent his voice to the character of Mariano, while Diane Guerrero, a Latin actress with a Colombian family, will be the voice of Mirabel's sister.

Other Colombians involved in the production are María Cecilia Botero (Grandmother Alma), Angie Cepeda (Julieta) and Carolina Gaitán (Pepa).

After being part of the team that traveled to Colombia in search of inspiration, Miranda, who had already been chosen for Moana and is considered the most important Latin artist of the moment in the United States, composed eight of the original songs that will be heard in the film.

Another legendary Hollywood Latino is Colombian John Leguízamo, who provided his voice for the character of Bruno Madrigal, Maribel's mysterious uncle.

Colombian singer Carlos Vives, winner of two Grammys and 11 Latin Gramys, performs the original song heard in the trailer, a piece he says celebrates the magical diversity of Colombia. Likewise, Sebastián Yatra, a young Colombian pop star contributes the song “Dos oruguitas.”

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