I can’t stop talking about Bruno. Both in reference to the film Encanto along with the elephant-in-the-room that is COVID-19. I had managed to evade a positive test result for two years now, but alas, there’s only so much you can do before it catches you. This isn’t so much a commentary on the past two years or a break-down of how my symptoms presented themselves, but rather insights into what I have learned through my experience with COVID-19. And luckily enough, I had the power of Disney to teach me these life lessons through story and film, as Disney has taught us for years.
Now, if you have yet to see one of Disney’s latest films, Encanto, you clearly haven’t been locked down or isolated with children under the age of 10. It has been on repeat in our home and the lyrical earworms have moved into my brain. So stop, reading and start streaming, otherwise you’ll have no clue what I’m going on about.
Every cold, every sniffle resulted in my daughter staying home from school these past few months. And having gone to the end of Netflix and back (I’m embarrassed to say), we shifted to Disney+ and hopped on the Encanto bandwagon. It is a magical story of the Madrigal family in Columbia who each is blessed with a gift from the Miracle, which saves their Abuela and established the Encanto, a safe enclosure in a new, mountainous village. Each family member’s gift is different and unique and is bestowed upon them on their 5th birthday. Everyone, that is, except Mirabel.
She doesn’t know why she is different, but this became the theme of her life…always “waiting on a miracle”. One day, their family home, the Casita, starts cracking. As it begins to crack, parts of the family dynamic begin to break down. Or, as they come to learn, the breakdown of their family is represented in the literal home breaking.
Anyway, without spoiling the film, it is a beautiful story of family, subconscious family pressure, redemption, owning mistakes, and being yourself no matter what. This is easily the best Disney soundtrack I’ve heard in a long time. If you were a fan of Hamilton, you’ll love Lin-Manuel Miranda’s songs in this number. They are so clever and speak such truth. Don’t argue with me, this is the best movie I’ve seen in a long time.
So, whilst isolating for real this time, we turned to our favourite movie for joy, for comfort. This film has the greatest number of main characters in a Disney film. To highlight them all would be a lengthy task, so I’ll stick with the ones that resonated most to me during this strange season of my life. One character is the quirky uncle, Tito Bruno, who had the gift of prophecy, but felt like the black sheep of his family. One day, he leaves them for their own good, because of a terrible prophecy he produced. After his disappearance, the elders of the family always said they don’t talk about Bruno…despite talking about Bruno.
Bruno is COVID-19. It’s the black sheep of society. We always are talking about it, wondering about it, but we don’t actually talk about it when we get it. It’s embarrassing. There’s a certain level of shame to have caught it, despite doing all the preventative things not to. We don’t talk about Bruno, but we also can’t stop talking about Bruno. And in not addressing the elephant-in-the-room, we are perpetuating family drama…or in this case, the societal stigma of catching COVID. So here I am- telling you all as a paranoid Type-A germaphobe… I caught it. I am Bruno. And I didn’t need a prophecy to tell me it would happen. I already knew it was coming, it was just a matter of time. We also don’t want to be a Bruno…be the outcast in your family, be the only one who gets sick. Why is there so much shame in accidental illness?
Moving along, Mirabel’s older sister Luisa has superhuman strength, but when the cracks in the house begin, she starts to feel weak. Moms of the world are Luisa. Carrying the literal weight of the world on their shoulders. I am Luisa as a mom, but also as an eldest sibling. There is a weightiness to having to manage familial expectations, alongside the day-to-day tasks in a home. Luisa literally carries the town’s donkeys back to their pens and lifts a bridge into place, while striving to seek Abuela’s approval.
I am working for the family every night and day, and maybe not moving mountains, but getting stuff done. And guess who was the only one to fall ill and test positive for COVID in my family…me! Turns out even Moms need breaks and as Luisa comes to learn, it’s okay to ask for help and okay to rest. Even the town comes to the aid of the family in their time of crisis, and I have been blessed with love and porch drop offs during this season. I am Luisa.
Mirabel’s aunt Pepa’s mood and demeanor affects the weather. When she is stressed about her son’s gifting ceremony and her niece’s engagement, a literal storm circulates in the Encanto. She sings in a song that on her wedding day ‘there wasn’t a cloud in the sky’ until Bruno predicts some bad news and she then gets ‘married in a hurricane’. As pressure from Abuela fills the home, Pepa is followed by a perpetual storm cloud.
I have had a literal rain cloud following me for two years. Always stressing about catching COVID, always on high alert, always paranoid about spreading it to my elderly loved ones or amidst other vulnerable people I support. I have been waiting for the rain to finally come. And when it did, it wasn’t a light sprinkling, it was some heavy rain, with moments of thunder and lightning. But now that it has finally rained, I can see the rainbow on the other side. I am Pepa.
And lastly, our heroine, Mirabel. Just a teenager without anything ‘special’ about her, who her Abuela comes to realize IS the miracle, ‘the miracle is you, all of you!’. I am just another average citizen who did her part. I stayed home. I rolled up my sleeve. I would say I didn’t take any big ‘risks’ in the past two years, and yet, I caught it and I don’t even know from where.
I’m not special, but I am thankful. I am thankful I was one of the lucky ones. I am thankful to have had quality time with my little family these past two years. I am thankful for access to resources and medications. Thankful for amazing friends in North Simcoe who rally alongside us in our time of woe. I have grown in many ways, while navigating a strange time in a strange world. I am Mirabel.
If you haven’t watched Encanto, this is your sign to do it. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. I sob every time. It just hits my soul. As the Casita cracks in the film, I can see how COVID has caused many cracks in our own homes and in society. But a strong sense of community has remained. May we all be able to rebuild and be reunited once more.
If you’ve been blessed with health, I am thankful you have been. If you’ve been taken out in the game of COVID dodgeball and are riding the pine pony, I see you on the other side of this. It hasn’t been an easy season for any of us. Harder for some of us. May we all press on as things change. May we continue to talk about Bruno, so maybe one day we don’t have to talk about Bruno anymore.