Adassa, Stephanie Beatriz, Mauro Castillo, Carolina Gaitan and Diane Guerrero were joined by Megan Thee Stallion, Sheila E., Becky G and Luis Fonsi at the 94th annual Academy Awards.
The cast of Encanto incorporated the 2022 Oscars into the first live performance of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” Performers Adassa, Stephanie Beatriz, Mauro Castillo, Carolina Gaitan and Diane Guerrero were joined by Megan Thee Stallion, Sheila E., Becky G and Luis Fonsi to sing the fan-favorite song during the awards show on Sunday.
Despite not being nominated in the best original song category, Encanto fans were treated to the first live performance of the song during the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre.
In the ensemble piece written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Beatriz-voiced protagonist, Mirabel Madrigal, asks her various family members about her mysterious uncle, who has vanished.
The cast brought the magic from the animated film to life during the live performance, which began with Gaitan singing in the audience while accompanied by only an acoustic guitar. More instruments began to play before Castillo joined in to sing along with his co-star.
Beatriz, Adassa and Guerrero sang their characters’ verses before Megan Thee Stallion took center stage to rap, debuting original verses referencing the 2022 Oscars and those in attendance. “Lin, you see what you have done / On Hollywood’s biggest night / Best in all cinema,” she rapped.
Meg later pointed out Zendaya as she continued, “I need to see Oscars / Zendaya over there / Oh, no we got three hosts / These women are the best and they’re killing all the jokes / So many nominees all of them are nervous / I seen all the envelopes, they’re behind the curtains.”
The performance concluded with Becky G and Fonsi singing along to the chorus as dancers in colorful costumes twirled behind them on stage. “We’re here to celebrate Oscars,” the performers sang in unison.
Before the cast took the stage, John Leguizamo, the actor who voiced Bruno, spoke about the “great representation” for the Latinx community at the awards show. “Fun fact. You know the Oscar statue was modeled after a Mexican-American actor, Emilio Fernandez, in 1928?” he said. “That’s right, and he still looks great because brown don’t break down.”
He then explained that his fellow Encanto co-stars were about to perform the song for the first time. “They’re gonna do that ‘Bruno’ song, which they didn’t ask me to sing even though I am Bruno,” Leguizamo said. “I’m sure you’ve heard this song before. It’s been played more times than ‘Happy Birthday.’”
