'Encanto' songwriter Germaine Franco thanks El Paso, mom for music influences, support

Germaine Franco, who scored the Disney hit "Encanto," is grateful her upbringing in El Paso inspired her first musical influences, but she's especially thankful for her mother Alicia Franco's support, she said Saturday evening at the Plaza Theatre.

Franco, who participated in a Q&A for the Plaza Classic Film Festival, was warm and humble as she talked about her path to working on successful Disney films, including "Bolt" and "Coco." She co-wrote and produced five of six original songs in "Coco" with co-director Adrian Molina, including "Un Poco Loco" and "Proud Corazon."

She is the first Latina to score a Disney animated film, and the first person of color to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Score.

"All my music teachers, and Mr. Al Mendez, they inspired me to continue to practice to make music and so all of my roots from my entire musical career start here in El Paso. And I want to thank El Paso and El Paso Independent School District for having a great music program," she told film festival director Doug Pullen.

Franco said she is a proud Irvin High School Rocket and also recalled her years at Canyon Hills Middle School, rolling her instruments up and down the hill on a skateboard. According to her mom, she said, she connected with music very young, even tapping the keys on her sister's piano way before she received any formal training.

She mentioned the names of well-known El Paso musicians and teachers, including Jaime Olivas and Kenneth Capshaw, and playing with the El Paso Youth Symphony at the University of Texas at El Paso.

"I think had I been brought up in Ohio, I might not have been able to deliver for 'Coco' and 'Encanto.' But growing up here and going to Juárez and having these great experiences has been awesome," she said. "It shaped me as a musician, so I feel so happy that you all are here tonight and I feel such a love for El Paso and am thankful for this historic city."

Franco said she grew up loving different kinds of music, from jazz to mariachi, and music from Veracruz, as well as classical music like Bach.

"Lots of funk, too, because we had a drum line at Irvin, and thanks to Mr. Olivas not making us march all around, we would go into the middle. And there were kids from Fort Bliss in that area, so half the drum line was black and half was Mexicano and we jammed for hours every day," she said. "And it was funny because on one of the films I did, called 'Little' ... (someone asked) 'How did you get funky?' Well, drum line."

Franco said she talked to Lin-Manuel Miranda over the phone to see if she would get the opportunity for "Encanto," and they found a connection through music and Texas.

"And it turns out Lin actually has Texas roots, too, on his mother's side. So, we talked about salsa music and how much we love Latin music," she said.

Even though the familia Madrigal's story is set in Colombia, it was not difficult for Franco to bring those beats and sounds into her score. She told Pullen how all Latin music is connected in some way, even with instruments having different names, made of different materials and with different sounds, in different cultures.

"I have always loved a cumbia, so that was my door into Colombian music and then also because Latin music is all connected. In Mexico, and the Caribbean, all of the musicians would share. Cuban musicians would go to Mexico. Mexican musicians would go to Cuba, to Colombia. I don't know if you know, but they actually have mariachi music in Colombia."

Toward the end of the evening, Franco got emotional talking about her mom and how she appreciated her for driving her around when she was young to her lessons. She said being able to take her to the Oscars was a dream for her and a way to show her how much she loves her. Franco's mom received much applause from the audience, thanks to her daughter's heartfelt words.

Franco received the Plaza Classic Film Festival Award, with its inscription of "El Paso Proud." The Plaza Classic Film Festival continues through Aug. 7.

More:Rita Moreno, Latino cultural icon, attends the Plaza Classic Film Festival in El Paso

María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @EPTMaria on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 'Encanto' songwriter Germaine Franco thanks El Paso, mom at film fest