First, you hear them, for they are loud and zestful.
Then you see them, flying right above you,
for they are easy to witness with their
bright red, blue, yellow, and green plumage.
Shuffling from tree to tree, discovering their surroundings
while continuing their journey toward the sky.
– EH de la Espriella –
How do you define the rich culture of Hispanics across the world in one single inclusive visual representation?
That was the question posed on me when a couple of months ago I was honored as a Disney Latino artist with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring to life the creative direction for The Walt Disney Company’s enterprise celebration of the 2021 Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month.
When it came down to discussing the possibilities for this effort, there were already some ideas tossed around when I became involved. These included designs using flags, tiles from various countries, even some muted colors that didn’t really speak of our culture at all. While those were all good, they were not pushing the boundaries of creativity and they were missing the heart of who we are as a community. We are more than a flag or a tile design. We are loud, vibrant, and colorful.
As I was going through my weekend chores at home back in mid-July, I began to form ideas by recalling my past living in Panama to see where this would take me. I talked to several of my Latino friends and colleagues and asked them about their Latino experiences growing up. Incredibly so, we all had a strong connection to the land we grew up in, including the flora and fauna. Burned in my memory are images of my family going to the beach out in the countryside or walking down the Rio Piedra near Colon, where I was born, and hearing the “guacamayas” (macaws) screeching for everyone to hear, as if saying “here we are, look at me.” And the sight of these beautiful birds was something that never departed my mind. The gradient of coloration in their bodies became even more exotic as the macaws expanded their wings or moved about against the bright sunlight. Coincidentally, many of my friends and colleagues had very similar experiences growing up.
Flora and fauna found all across Latin America.
COLOR
Color can express individuality, it can express the mood of a person or a story. Color is incredibly important in Disney storytelling. Each film scene displays a color model that expresses the mood of the characters which is echoed in the color scheme of the environment, from the background to the costumes and lighting in the scene. As a predominant emotional element in film production, I began to see how we utilize color to emphasize ideas and build on attitudes and highlight important parables.
Use of color to represent mood, personalities, and for identification. © Disney
Then, I started to make color connections to my culture. In Latin America, we paint our houses with bright and happy colors, we dress in the same manner, and we speak at a higher volume than most, perhaps to balance the brightness of the sun of the tropics. All our cultures revere color, both the factual and the philosophical. This can be seen in the folklore of the dance and costumes as in the Polleras of Panama, or the way that homes are painted in the little town of Guatapé, Colombia; or the colorful designs of Spanish and Portuguese azulejos (tiles), and how Mexican culture celebrates death with colorful and lively meaning. Our cultures celebrate color every day of our lives in everything we do from the clothes and patterns we wear to the way we connect to one another with warm tones of love and kindness.
From left to right: Guatapé, Colombia; Mola designs from the Kuna Yala, Panama; Spanish and Portuguese tile designs.
Use of color dominates the beautiful folklore of the Hispanic Latinx culture as seen in these examples.
It was definite that color would be the foundation to represent our rich heritage. And what better way to do that than by paying homage to the macaws and the brilliant gradient of color their bodies enjoy. There is more to macaws than just their beautiful feathers. Just like us, most macaws mate for life, they share their food with their mates and enjoy grooming each other. They are also highly intelligent and very social birds. Macaws also possess individual traits similar to our fingerprints with distinct yellow feathers framing their faces.
There is something quite magical to discover when examining the feathers in the body of a macaw in detail. No feather has just one color. They all work together, like united voices (Voces Unidas) to create the most amazing rainbow of colors. And with that, I leave you with this year’s Hispanic Latinx Heritage Month visual story, from my heart to everyone at the Disney enterprise and beyond. This is not only a celebration of our culture, but also of our sacrifices, struggles, love of family and community, and most important of all, a celebration of life. Happy Hispanic Latinx Heritage Month amigos!
Examples of the finished branding/design.