Jessica Darrow ‘Felt a Sense of Purpose’ While Voicing Luisa From ‘Encanto’

Luisa’s the strong one — she’s not nervous. As a member of the magical Madrigal family, Luisa appeared in the Disney animated film Encanto, quickly becoming a favorite of many viewers. This character was voiced by Jessica Darrow, with the actor sharing that Luisa gave her “a sense of purpose.”

Luisa from ‘Encanto’ sings the original song ‘Surface Pressure’

The Madrigal family is full of magic. Camilo is a shapeshifter. Antonio can talk to animals. Mirabel’s older sister Luisa, voiced by Darrow, has superhuman strength. This character puts her powers to good use, constantly helping her family and the surrounding neighborhood. 

Although this character is as tough as the crust of the earth, she sometimes carries too much weight. That was highlighted with Luisa’s original song “Surface Pressure,” also performed by Darrow. 

“When you hear from Mirabel’s sister Luisa it’s a very contemporary, Colombian, reggaeton sound,” Miranda said during the Disney featurette Encanto: A Journey Through Music. “Because she’s got this very cool, very tough exterior, and then I wanted to kind of peel away and destruct that over the course of the song.”

This track became a favorite of many Encanto viewers, earning over 145 million Spotify plays since its debut. What made Luisa even more special was her relatability. Even the songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda said “Surface Pressure” and Luisa were a “love letter” to his older sister, who also dealt with extra family drama growing up.

‘Encanto’s’ Luisa Madrigal gave Jessica Darrow ‘a sense of purpose’

Following her appearance in Encanto, this actor visited the podcast The SPOUT, detailing her experience voicing this character. With the new role in Disney’s animated film, Darrow explained that for one of the first times she “felt a sense of purpose.”

“There is a whole world inside of me and stories that I want to tell, especially things that come from the dark places that I’ve experienced, things that I’ve gone through in my head that I know my friends are going through as well, let alone my family,” Darrow said. 

“People who are so close to me and the fact that we don’t talk about that, and the fact that we don’t try to bring that more into the stories that we’re telling in the art that we’re making into network television is crazy to me,” she added

Other characters enjoyed solo songs in Disney’s ‘Encanto’

Other cast members for Encanto included Stephanie Beatriz, who voiced the main character Mirabel. This self-proclaimed “family weirdo” performed the solo song “Waiting On a Miracle,” discussing her yearning to fit in with the rest of her family.

Isabela Madrigal, voiced by Diane Guerrero, performed the song “What Else Can I Do.” However, one of the most popular songs from this production is “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” which even surpassed the popularity of Frozen’s “Let It Go.”