¡Feliz Día de los Muertos!
(That's "Happy Day of the Dead" for us gringos and gringas.)
For those unfamiliar with the tradition it may sound bleak, but it's actually a holiday of joyful celebration rather than just a time of somber mourning.
So for today's SoundTRAX selection we're enjoying the uplifting music from the Disney/Pixar animated film, Coco.
The movie involves a 12-year-old boy named Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) who is accidentally transported to the "Land of the Dead" where his deceased musician great-great-grandfather attempts to return him to his family among the living and to reverse his family's ban on music.
It's absolutely delightful and also features the voices of Benjamin Bratt, Gael García Bernal, Renée Victor, and Edward James Olmos.
Michael Giacchino composed the music with Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez— the couple also responsible for the music in a little movie called Frozen — as well as Germaine Franco and co-director Adrian Molina, who also contributed original songs.
One of those songs is used in a variety of ways in the film, within a variety of contexts, in a very moving and affecting way. So much so, it won the Academy Award for "Best Original Song" in 2018.
There's a mariachi version, a lullaby, and a more nostalgic rendition from the past.
But for today's SoundTRAX selection I'm going with the more modern version that plays over the credits.
In honor of Día de los Muertos, from Coco, it's Miguel with Natalia Lafourcade and "Remember Me."
