Disney's Encanto featuring Stephanie Beatriz and Diane Guerrero has gotten a lot of well-deserved attention since its release, and many people have written at length about its insightful narrative and how the film depicts generational trauma and familial burdens. However, there are many smaller pieces of the film that deserve exploration as well, and one of those pieces is Luisa, played by Jessica Darrow.

Luisa’s storyline in the film seems pretty straightforward. She’s strong and solid, the person everyone relies on, but she wishes she could have a break sometimes. At the end, she gets a chance to rest as the family begins to heal from the fractures caused by their Miracle. Her arc is more of a side plot, but it’s arguable that she has one of the most important roles in the film, and it’s due to her role in the family: the older sister.

RELATED: How 'Encanto' and 'Tangled' Succeed at Showing Domestic Dynamics for Children

encanto-luisa
Image via Disney

It’s not uncommon to see elder siblings in media depicted as perfectionists, the glue that holds the family together by supporting parents and siblings. They’re strong, capable, and do what’s necessary to help the family. Both Isabella and Luisa fill this role in Encanto, but Luisa comes out as being slightly more relatable to older siblings, and in particular, eldest siblings. She has a perfectionist mentality, shown in her need to carry all the weight her family puts on her and worrying that if she fails, she’ll be of no value to those surrounding her. She is used to everyone saying that she can carry the load, and she feels she can’t refuse, lest it cause trouble for everyone else. A lot of older siblings feel like this; they become a parent to their younger siblings, a confidant for their parents, and a contributing member of the household at a young age. They’re often asked to go above and beyond the usual responsibilities and to do so without complaint.

luisa surface pressure
Image via Disney

It’s no wonder that Luisa resonates with people in this same position. Her struggle is one that is written well in Encanto, even if it is often played for laughs. Her solo number Surface Pressure explains the struggle perfectly. The first time you hear it, there’s so many lyrics that stand out. Each time Luisa says “give it to your sister,” she follows it with reasons that most older siblings have heard: older, stronger, it doesn’t hurt, never wonder if the same pressure would have put you under. When you’re the older sibling, it’s common for people to hand things off to you, especially younger siblings. You’re older and stronger, more reliable, and you can handle the pressure without crumbling. Because of this, people feel like they can keep adding to the responsibility. Luisa mentions this, too: “watch as she buckles and bends but never breaks.” Handling responsibility is hard, and with each new addition, the weight grows greater. When you’re like Luisa, who has everyone counting on her to keep things balanced, breaking is failure. You have to let yourself become flexible, to compromise, or else you will be crushed by the weight. Each time you buckle or bend but remain upright, people applaud your courage to persevere and admire your strength. But when you break…

No one acknowledges how strong you’ve been. They acknowledge how you’ve failed, how you’ve disappointed them.

luisa donkey
Image via Disney

Which leads into perhaps the most hard hitting line of the song: “I’m pretty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of service.” This line is something many people can relate to, especially older siblings. It’s part of the demand for perfection a lot of older siblings internalize; they feel like if they aren’t the person people can rely on, or if they aren’t doing what people expect of them, then they have no purpose. If everything they do isn’t for the good of someone else, they feel like a failure. It’s something a lot of people have to unlearn as they grow older and realize that the burdens placed on them by their family aren't theirs. Encanto does a good job of making it known that the pressure put on the family by Abuela is wrong and unfair. That’s an important lesson for the audience; it isn’t right to force expectations onto your children, and it isn’t right to ask them to bear every family weight.

encanto family copy
Image via Disney

This is ultimately why Luisa loses her Gift first. She is one of the people most affected by Abuela’s expectations, the person everyone offloads onto without thinking twice, and this makes her loss more impactful. Without her strength, the cracks in their family dynamic begin to show more prominently. She is the reason the journey of the movie exists at all; had she not been in her position and lost her Gift, it may have taken far longer for the family to notice anything wrong with their Miracle. Luisa not only loses her Gift as a lesson to the family, but as a lesson to herself; both of those lessons strictly relate to her role as an older sibling and her fight with her need to be a perfect, compliant anchor for her family.

Luisa’s character is one that many older siblings can relate to. She is asked to carry a lot of the family’s weight, to do it without complaint, and she worries that if she can’t fulfill that request, then she has no purpose in the family or in life. This is a struggle a lot of older siblings face, and that’s why her song Surface Pressure is an anthem for people like Luisa. It’s all about the weight of being someone the family relies on endlessly and the desire to be strong enough to hold it all while also wishing people would help relieve the pressure. Luisa is part of the reason Encanto’s message is so impactful; the issues of a family often fall to older siblings, and they have to keep the peace, even if it’s to their detriment. She is an integral part of the overarching narrative of generational trauma, healing, and finding yourself.