“Coco” is getting the Latino community right. From featuring an all-Latino cast and hiring cultural consultants to help with the portrayal of Mexican culture in the film, “Coco” has won the hearts of the Latino community in Mexico and the U.S.
“It’s not very often that we as Latinos or Mexicans are represented on screen in a way that celebrates the things that make us beautiful, confident and powerful,” said Adrián Molina, “Coco” co-director adding, “with this film, I wanted… to showcase all of the things that we see in ourselves but don’t necessarily see on TV.”
The movie “Coco,” which premiered in Mexico during the month of October leading up to Día de Los Muertos, and opened in U.S. theaters nationwide on Wednesday, Nov. 22, is themed around the annual Mexican holiday which honors the dead. “Coco” has broken box office records in Mexico, and creators are hoping it gets the same response in the United States. One of the consultants hired to help consult in the making of “Coco” was acclaimed Los Angeles-based syndicated cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz.
“Hollywood is lazy when it comes to trying to be authentic, especially when it comes to Latinos. So, this is still 180 degrees from that, and I still can’t believe it’s happening” said Alcaraz. “When I was growing up we never dreamed of seeing anything like this on TV or film that shows a little brown boy with his Mexican family, being normal and reflecting us.”
Alcaraz hopes that “Coco” will serve as an example to other Hollywood executives that it is possible to make a good, successful film that features people of color authentically.
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