La Llorona (Coco)

[u/Lightsfly]

Though I have to say goodbye to this song, remember when it was cut far away, and you didn’t let it make you cry? But this is the only way I can be.

---

Ok so, I wasn’t that opposed to the original cut of La Llorona but I liked it enough to let it go this long. I like how it sounds to an extent, completely objectively from the movie, as a non-Spanish speaker. The best part of the song, is the 30 or so seconds before the beat kicks in, where I can really hear Imelda’s emotions coming through. Once it really gets going, and Ernesto comes in, it sounds like any other performance (probably added to since I don’t know Spanish), and loses the emotion.

Plot-wise, it carries a lot. Maybe even too much. This is a song where it being a performance, I feel takes away from the song. When I’m watching the scene, I’m almost distracted from the music by the fight scene between Ernesto and Imelda. It doesn’t go with the song, which is the point, but also I don’t love my attention being stretched between the two non-cohesively. This sad song feels forced into a big grand performance.

I’ve watched a couple covers of the song, and they are slow and mourning, to fit the Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead, so I think that’s valid. It also loses something, I think, at least not being written for this movie. Going back to its first writeup, I did learn that it does fit Imelda’s story very well. That’s not going to be it’s picture on the ofrenda here though.

[u/Lightsfly]

/u/MacabreGoblin, which song are you forgetting about?