Not just ‘cocaine and war’: Colombian pride at Oscar-winning Encanto’s positive portrayal

The performance of We Don't Talk About Bruno at the Oscars on Sunday night. The film leans heavily on the work of Gabriel García Márquez. Photograph: Myung Chun/LA Times/Rex/Shutterstock

When Encanto was announced the winner of the Oscar for best animated film on Sunday night, Martín Anzellini – the Colombian architect who helped develop the film’s representation of his home country – had little idea. Instead, he was watching Encanto at home with his twin toddler daughters, who had yet to see it.

“Once we finished watching the film, I checked my phone and saw my WhatsApp was going wow!” Anzellini said. “It was so exciting, I almost cried. And I hugged my daughters, as my work on the film was for them.”