I have never seen a Mexican Mariachi band perform live in my life but that’s what was going own inside El Paseo restaurant on Olivera Street in Downtown Los Angeles! It was something to see and then on top of that, we got to watch Actor Anthony Gonzalez perform and boy does he have an amazing voice and spirit! I really enjoyed the dancers, the costumes, the music, the food and the experience. Disney and Pixar knows how to throw a party and they went all out for us. I have more pictures and our interview inside with Anthony, who is the voice of “Miguel” from the hit animated movie, CoCo! Check it out inside…..
Mexican Mariachi band, they were so good!
I loved their costumes, very festive!
You just gotta have a margarita right?
How do you identify yourself with your character?
AG : Well, when I first went to audition for Miguel, I really wanted to do this role because well I identified myself so much with him. And that is because we both have this passion for music. I grew up with music, singing with my brothers here in La Placita Olvera. And just to be part of a movie where I can sing because I’ve been doing that since I was four years old, is amazing. So that’s one way I identify with Miguel.
Another way I identify myself with Miguel is we both know how important our family is and we know to really do our traditions. Just like Miguel’s tradition is to celebrate the Day of the Dead. And I actually have celebrated the Day of the Dead as well because my grandfather- my grandfather passed away when I was six years old, but well in the Day of the Dead it was a chance for me to be with him again and connect with him. And that’s another way me and Miguel connect.
Now that the movie has come out, how do you feel it’s changed perspective on the Day of the Dead?
AG: Yeah in fact I think it’s made a big change in our community because there’s some people like people tell me, wow I didn’t even know this was a holiday. Now I’m going to start celebrating it, because well, my father and my uncle passed away and I can be with them again and connect with them, it’s a celebration. And yeah that’s actually my home school teacher told me that her daughter didn’t even know this happened. And her friend passed away and then now that she knows about the Day of the Dead she can be with her friend again, which is amazing. And I think that has been a really good change in the community.
What has been your most memorable experience in the course of doing the film and afterwards?
AG: Wow, there have been do many. Well one of them was I got to go to D23 and I had the honor to sing with the one and only Benjamin Bratt, which was so cool yeah [LAUGHS]. And I’ve gotten to go to places that I never thought I would go to like Canada and I love Canada because it’s so cold and cold yes. And actually I actually never thought I would go to Pixar and I just love going to Pixar so much, because there’s like a soccer field and I love soccer so I get to play soccer every time I go there, every time on my break I got to play soccer. And also the food there is is is delicious.
What was your favorite scene from the movie?
AG: Well, that’s a good question. I have a lot of favorite scenes. One is like I love all the scenes where Miguel is interacting with Mama Coco, I think that’s just so sweet, like I used to go like this and now we’re like this which is way faster, I love that. I also love when Mama and Mama Imelda agrees to tell give Miguel his blessing. But the only condition is that he can never play music ever again, and then he says okay. But then right when he goes back he gets a guitar and then he goes straight back to Mama again.
And another one I love is when Miguel is getting ready to sing Poco Loco and then Hector teases him about the grito and then the first time he tries it, he does horrible but then when he does it on stage, he nails it.
What got you into acting?
AG: Actually it all started with singing. So I started doing street performance, I started singing here. And also my older sister auditioned for like reading in Spanish on this television show called Univision. And she started reading books in Spanish there and then my other sister started doing reading books in Spanish as well. And then my brother started doing it and it all came out Thursdays in the morning at six AM on channel thirty four Univision.
Yeah. And then well I would just see them on the TV reading books and I wanted to do it too. So the reason I’m here is because my older brothers they inspired me, they inspired me to sing, they inspired me to do things I never thought I would do without them. And well I started reading books in Spanish as well, like when I was four years old as well yes. And one day, when we were reading books in Spanish, a director came to the show and she told my parents, she thought we’d be very
good actors, because she saw how we would do our facial expressions and everything.So she gave us an agent and he’s right there [LAUGHS] and I’ve been with him since I was four years old. And yes- I’m just so thankful for that director and I’m so thankful for my agent.
Disney•Pixar’s “COCO”
Crosses Over Digitally in HD, 4K Ultra HD™ and Movies Anywhere on Feb. 13th
and 4K Ultra HD™ & Blu-ray™ on Feb. 27th.
Social Media
Facebook: Facebook.com/pixarcoco
Website: movies.disney.com/coco
Twitter: Twitter.com/pixarcoco
Instagram: Instagram.com/pixarcoco
About “Coco”
In Disney•Pixar’s “Coco,” Pixar Animation Studios’ 19th feature film, Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz (voice of Benjamin Bratt)—despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Héctor (voice of Gael García Bernal), and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.
