'Encanto': Lin-Manuel Miranda ushers Stephanie Beatriz into the Disney 'princess club'
The Madrigal family in Disneyâs animated musical fantasy âEncantoâ (in theaters now and on Disney+ now) features 12 major characters and more cool superpowers than your average Avengers squad. So the idea for songwriter Lin-Manuel Mirandaâs opening number seemed fairly obvious.
âOur job is to introduce them to you as clearly as possible,â Miranda says of the âEncantoâ clan. âAnd that's when I kind of raise my hand and say, âHey, music can do this.â â
The movie centers on a Colombian family who lives in a magical house and each member has a gift, from shape-shifting to communicating with animals. In âThe Family Madrigal,â the first of eight tunes Miranda wrote and produced for âEncanto,â 15-year-old Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz) introduces each of her relatives and what amazing things they can do, with the twist being sheâs the only one without a gift.
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The song shows how proud Mirabel is âof who she is and where sheâs from,â says Beatriz, 40, who is Colombian on her fatherâs side. âI didn't have that sense of pride in myself and my ancestry and my DNA that Mirabel has. I got it much later, but Maribel's got it. It's so deep for her."
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Beatriz, best known as aggressively angry TV cop Rosa Diaz on âBrooklyn Nine-Nine,â didnât have too hard a time channeling her inner 15-year-old: âThat is basically where I am living inside of myself at all times.â And her friendship with Miranda dates back to âour starving early 20s togetherâ in the New York theater scene, Miranda says. âThe cosmic joke is that the world got introduced to Steph with her voice two octaves down (as) Rosa Diaz when it's actually one of the most expressive, bubbly musical instruments maybe on earth.â
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Miranda wanted to include as much Colombian influence in the songs as possible, like having an accordion be the lead instrument of âThe Family Madrigal.â
âI have roots in Puerto Rico and Mexico. To travel to Colombia and do our research, it was like going to your cousin's house. I see the way in which my music and this music is similar,â says Miranda, who discovered that the specificity of Colombian culture unlocked story elements. Mirabelâs big solo number âWaiting on a Miracleâ is in 3/4 time â true for a lot of folkloric Colombian music â while every other number is in 4/4, explaining musically that âshe's out of time with the rest of her family.â
Writing a Disney âI wantâ song like âWaiting on a Miracleâ is the hardest type for Miranda because âyou can't attack the blank page without thinking about âInto the Unknownâ or âPart of Your Worldâ or âI Just Can't Wait to Be King,â â says the Tony-winning musical theater icon, who âlocked myself in my childhood bedroomâ to finish âHow Far Iâll Go,â his Oscar-nominated number from 2016âs âMoana.â
Beatriz gets emotional discussing âWaiting on a Miracle,â which is in âthe grand tradition of the Disney heroine opening her mouth and letting out every single dream and fear,â she says. âThose are the songs that you sing to yourself in the mirror because you, as a kid, don't exactly know what to do with all the feelings and thoughts. And somehow this song has given you a gateway into trying to figure out who you are in the world and what you want, where you belong.â
And Miranda points out that Beatriz was singing the song while actually âwaiting on a miracleâ: They recorded the tune over Zoom last summer during the pandemic when Beatriz was nearly nine months pregnant with her daughter. âIt wasn't easy!â says Beatriz, who worked with a vocal coach to use proper breathing techniques and âmake sure that I was supporting myself because you're growing this whole human and they are like elbowing your lungs the whole time, just chilling out there with a foot up smashed against your ribs.â
Mirandą would also âsneaky textâ her during their sessions: âIâd be like, 'You're going to be in a club with Jodi Benson and Anika Noni Rose and Lea Salonga. You're in the princess club, lady.â â
Beatriz adds: âAnd I'd send back the flooding tears emoji.â