Encanto’s ‘Colombian’ Soundtrack: A Diffuse Charm Unveiled Through Analysis

In the imagination of non-Latin, or even Latin foreigners, Colombia is mostly stereotyped as a country of drug trafficking, dealers, and violence. Although it is a social and politically transversal problem that has violently affected the country for decades, national and international TV shows such as Pablo Escobar: El Patrón del Mal (Colombia, 2012) or Narcos (United States, 2015– 2017) have posed narco-cultura as an ideal; they have glorified the power and enrichment of drug production, turning it into a desired lifestyle. However, in 2020, Disney announced that its next animated movie, Encanto, would be set in Colombia, thus presenting a chance to reformulate the long-time established stereotypes and to show the diversity of Colombia’s different cultures. The story follows the journey of a multigenerational family, and by intertwining real-life situations with magic, the writers honor magical realism, a literature genre of which the Colombian Nobel Prize winner, Gabriel García Márquez (1927–2014), was one of the most prolific exponents. The film has been praised for its detailed representation of traditional elements, and the soundtrack broke records throughout social media and Billboard charts. The score, by American-born composer Germaine Franco, featuring songs by American-born songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, uses folkloric instruments such as acordeón, arpa llanera, tiple, and marimba de chonta, musical genres such as bambuco, salsa, cumbia, and tropipop, and mixes them with Hollywood cinematic musical resources. Through this paper, I aim to question whether Disney’s movie Encanto depicts an appropriate representation of Colombian music. I will try to achieve this by analyzing the rhythms and instrumentation of two tracks and comparing them to traditional folk songs from Colombia.