How Encanto is Helping Latinos Breakdown And Come to Terms With Intergenerational Family Trauma

Courtesy of Disney

Disney's Encanto has been breaking down barriers since its release. From winning the Golden Globe for Best Animated Motion Picture to bringing the enchanting realism of Gabriel García Márquez to the forefront, the film has won over the hearts of people across the globe (and is continuing to do so).

While a bit more subtle—a credit to its masterful storytelling—is the core element of its story: the breaking down of intergenerational family trauma that is often found in Latino families but thoroughly ignored.

Encanto focuses on the true power that a family can possess when they not only accept others for who they are, but also accept themselves with the same understanding and compassion.

Despite her best intentions, Abuela Alma's overprotection didn't leave room for compassion and understanding, forcing everyone into a set role with a singular focus of protecting the town and the miracle they were given.

"For Abuela Alma, a huge part of her family was unjustly taken away from her and her children. In her grief, as we see when she puts on the black shawl after Pedro is killed, she knows she has to become strong and resilient in order to be there for her children and fulfill her duty as matriarch," says Leslie Priscilla Arreola-Hillenbrand, founder of Latinx Parenting.

Courtesy of Disney

According to Zero to Three, people's childhood and lived experiences actively influence how they parent. So the idea that she would hold on as tightly as she did to her family is no surprise, as the fear of loss was a big motivator of everything she did.

Arreola-Hillenbrand explains, "If we imagine Abuela Alma as a cactus or a rose, Abuela's behaviors towards Mirabel and the family are like the thorns that she had to grow in order to protect the sweetness of the miracle. It is very clearly a toxic strategy, but the intention is to keep it together and remain strong."

The trauma Alma experienced, after her town's persecution and loss of her beloved husband, heavily influenced how she would care for her family—casting those who didn't fit her neat classification system off to the side (namely Mirabel and Bruno).

Arreola-Hillenbrand notes, "There is always going to be fear around what we don't understand. This is important to recognize because Bruno was severely misunderstood, his gifts were rejected, and he was made out to be an easy target for a villain when people needed somebody to blame."

While Bruno was positioned as the villain of the film, Arreola-Hillenbrand says he is far from it: "Bruno was not to blame for any of what he was being blamed for, he was simply telling people what he was seeing, and they did not want to hear it because it would have required them to take responsibility for their actions, he was an easy scapegoat. It always begins with us."

Encanto/Instagram Encanto

"When we don't seek to approach people with curiosity, it is easier to villainize them. This happens in families so frequently that some of us may feel like we are, as Maribel puts it, the "family weirdo" because of this lack of understanding for our gifts and unique expression. These things may be scary for elders or people who don't have curiosity about the potentially beautiful aspects we hold," the #EndChanclaCulture advocate says.

Bruno's story can also be seen as an allegory for how Latinos approach sensitive topics like mental health—like how if you go to a therapist, you must be loco.

Arreola-Hillenbrand explains, "Bruno's story also speaks to the stigma around mental illness in Latinx families. Fortunately, this is something that many are working to shift in our culture, and the film has catalyzed a deepening of the [surrounding] conversation. Even though it may make us uncomfortable, we need to be able to see the Brunos in our families as people who hold value and are not at all disposable."

Where the film truly shines is in reminding everyone, that there is more to them than the "gift" they were born with or what they can provide their loved ones.

"Encanto offers us the opportunity to go beyond our survival towards collective thriving. We need to allow for reciprocal community care to rebuild our own 'Casitas,' and we need to become more and more open to shining light on ourselves to find our full potential, accepting ourselves with all gifts and limitations," details the parenting coach.

Through Mirabel, the proverbial glue, the family is able to break free of whom they think they are supposed to be and actually be who they want to be. Her gift is that she sees everyone for who they are, not what they can provide or give others, and loves them just the same.

"Mirabel's gift is the ability to be herself and to be that mirror for others of their own selves. This is why the scene where she is given the door handle is powerful: Mirabel is seeing herself for the first time as not having a gift, but being a gift," Arreola-Hillenbrand affirms.