A Review of Coco’s Nostalgic Soundtrack

September 15 marked the start of Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx Heritage Month. This is the time of the year where we take some time to acknowledge the contributions that members of the Hispanic, Latino, or Latinx community have contributed.

To celebrate the start of the month-long celebration, I decided to write about one of my favorite movies’ soundtrack, “Coco,” the Disney Pixar movie released in 2017 that follows Miguel, a 12-year-old boy as he finds out more about his family history during one the most emblematic celebrations Mexico has “Día De Los Muertos,” which translates to “Day of the Dead” (Harcourt, 2018). As a Mexican-American and Latina, this movie has meant a lot, but its soundtrack really captured the nostalgia that made me remember the music I grew up with. Each song reminded me of a Christmas family celebration, a birthday party, or a simple summer night spending time with my grandparents.

The soundtrack from the movie includes:

1. Remember Me (Ernesto de la Cruz) – Benjamin Bratt
2. Much Needed Advice – Benjamin Bratt & Antonio Sol
3. Everyone Knows Juanita – Gael García Bernal
4. Un Poco Loco – Anthony Gonzalez & Gael García Bernal
5. Jálale – Instrumemental – Mexican Institute of Sound
6. The World Es Mi Familia – Anthony Gonzalez & Antonio Sol
7. Remember Me (Lullaby) – Gael García Bernal, Gabriella Flores & Libertad García Fonzi
8. La Llorona – Alanna Ubach & Antonio Sol
9. Remember Me (Reunion) – Anthony Gonzalez & Alanna Ubach
10. Proud Corazón – Anthony Gonzalez
11. Remember Me (Dúo) – Miguel & Natalia Lafourcade

These are all the songs from the first disc, the entirety of the soundtrack includes 3 full discs, including the Spanish versions of the songs interpreted by the cast who brought the characters to life in the Spanish version of the movie (The Disney Wiki, 2017).

The music for the film was mainly written by Michael Giacchino, an Academy Award-winning composer and musician, who has written music for movies like Inside “Inside Out” and “Zootopia”. The songs were written by Germaine Franco, Adrian Molina, Robert Lopez, and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Both Lopez and Anderson-Lopez brought in their expertise and praise from having written the music for the movie “Frozen” (Prahl, 2017). This soundtrack was also able to incorporate great musicians such as Mexican Institute of Sound, Natalia Lafourcade, and Miguel for the American version of the movie and incredible artists like Marco Antonio Solis, Carlos Rivera, Bronco, and La Santa Cecilia (The Disney Wiki, 2017).

Every song on the first disc of the album plays an important part in the movie. The songs and the style of the songs add cultural richness to the storyline and overall depiction of Mexican culture. The songs keep the movie feeling authentic and nostalgic without losing the central theme of the movie, family.

There a few standout songs from the soundtrack that convey the perfect amount of nostalgia and emotion. These are my favorite picks from disc one:

• “Remember Me”
• “La Llorona”
• “Un Poco Loco”

“Remember me” is a perfect mariachi ballad, it is also a significant and emotional song in the movie. Throughout the movie, you start to realize how this song really becomes the thread that puts the story together, especially, when it comes to “Mama Coco’s” story. We see the song transform from a popular song interpreted by Ernesto De La Cruz to a lullaby written for Mama Coco by her father. This same song becomes the very thing that prevents Mama Coco from forgetting her father when Miguel sings it to her. This particular scene, when Miguel sings to Mama Coco, brings me to tears every time I watch it. It reminds me of my very own grandmother and all of the things that have made me remember her throughout my life even after her passing. The version of this song interpreted by Miguel and Natalia Lafourcade is also very powerful. Having a Mexican singer like Lafourcade and Miguel, an American artist with both black and Mexican heritage duet this song was probably the best decision ever made. The complexity that comes with not just their wonderful voices and can be heard on the song, but the merging of both of these identities is a compelling statement.

“La Llorona” has a very Mexican folklore sound to it. It reminds me of the music of Chavela Vargas, a Costa Rican-born Mexican singer known for singing rancheras. Vargas was a true icon and known for singing the popular Mexican traditional song “La Llorona.” In the movie, the song titled with the same name and interpreted in the movie by Mamá Imelda is very similar to Vargas’ popular song and can be seen as an homage to Mexican regional music, folklore and quite possible to the very own, Chavela Vargas. This is definitely a song that reminds me of growing up with Mexican traditions, such as Day of the Dead, where everything is centered around family gatherings, music, singing, and listening to family elders share stories and remember how life used to be.

“Un Poco Loco”, which literally translates to a little bit crazy, is a cute and catchy song about love. This is a cute and catchy song that also follows the classic love theme that a lot of Mexican regional music songs have. This one in particular talks about how the love he is feeling for his partner has him feeling a little crazy. This song specifically reminds me of parties and cookouts I attended when I was a child growing up and people would start dancing to songs that sounded similar to this one.

This soundtrack has a lot of nostalgia built into its DNA, it triggers memories and feelings that remind you of family, tradition, and belonging. While the movie is beautifully made and stunning visually speaking, what really made this movie stand out was how every song appealed to nostalgia, love, culture and tradition, and family. These are true universal feelings that no matter what language you speak are felt through the music and songs of this great film.

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References

Harcourt, S. (2018, January 9). Review: Coco (soundtrack). Retrieved from NerdSpan: https://www.nerdspan.com/review-coco-soundtrack/ 

Prahl, A. (2017, December 13). BWW Album Review: COCO Embraces the Power of Music and Tradition. Retrieved from Broadway World: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Album-Review-COCO-Embraces-the-Power-of-Music-and-Tradition-20171213

The Disney Wiki. (2017). Coco (soundtrack). Retrieved from The Disney Wiki: https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Coco_(soundtrack)