Mariano Guzmán is a character who appears in Disney's 2021 animated feature film Encanto. In addition to being Señora Guzmán's son, he was also Isabela's fiancé before becoming Dolores Madrigal's boyfriend.
Background[]
- “♫ You talk so loud, you take care of your mother and you make her proud. You write your own poetry every night when you go to sleep.
And I'm seizing the moment, so would you wake up and notice me? ♫” - ―Dolores confessing her feelings to Mariano.
Born into the Guzmán family, Mariano is one of the inhabitants of the Encanto village and living with his mother Señora Guzmán. Unbeknownst to him, at some point in her teens, Dolores, the second granddaughter of the Madrigals with the power of super hearing, listened to Mariano over the years, getting to know his tastes and friendly personality, to the point of falling in love with him. However, because she had received a vision from her uncle Bruno that showed her that the "man of her dreams" would be out of her reach because he would be engaged to someone else, Dolores would not dare confess her feelings to Mariano.
In the present, Mariano is introduced as Isabela's fiancée, the first-born granddaughter of the Madrigal family, by the will of the village head, Abuela Alma. He would agree to the marriage, although it is ambiguous whether he was truly in love with Isabela or accepted the engagement to make his mother proud. Although she is kind to him, Isabela deep down did not want to marry Mariano and initially she refused to admit that she did not really love him for fear of disappointing her family. At some point when everyone was rebuilding the Casa Madrigal, Isabela eventually cutting off their engagement and Dolores gained the courage from finally tells him her true feelings for him, which he corresponds and both start a relationship, to their respective families' joy.
Personality[]
According to Dolores, Mariano talks loud, takes good care of his mother and makes her proud. Contrary to the macho persona Camilo and Mirabel assume of him, Mariano is a kind gentleman who is always polite and soft-spoken towards others. He is also sensitive, writing his own poetry every night before he sleeps. He is shown to have a merciful heart, not holding a grudge against Isabela for humiliating him twice. A romantic, Mariano is eagerly quick to rush into the prospect of marriage with Dolores. However, Mariano also shows he is not obsessive and can take no for an answer, especially from the women he is enamored with, acceptant of Isabela not returning his feelings, despite his dejection, and never losing his smile as Dolores gently tells him to take their relationship slow, possibly even impressed that she chose to speak her mind rather than be compliant.
Physical appearance[]
Mariano is a young Colombian man with black hair to his shoulders, dark brown eyes, thick eyebrows, a mustache, a beard, and thick chest hair. He is also quite burly and broad, maintaining a muscular physique. He wears a white long-sleeved shirt, brown pants, and brown shoes. When he in the dinner to propose to Isabela, he is wearing a light blue long-sleeved shirt, white pants and the same brown shoes.
Role in the film[]
Mariano's first appearance is with his mother in "The Family Madrigal", where he gazes dreamily at his fiancée, Isabela as she uses her powers to sprout beautiful flowers in the town for the gift ceremony celebration of the youngest member of the Madrigal family, Antonio. Mariano is then quickly introduced by Mirabel to the Town's Kids as the handsome fiancée of the family's golden child, much to Mariano's confusion, without either of them realizing that Isabela was walking next to them, ignoring them.
At the preparty of Antonio's gift ceremony, Mariano is seen in the Casa Madrigal, along with his mother, who pushes some of his hair that fell out while he was eating one of the sandwiches that Luisa was carrying and lovingly eyeing Isabela, who was dancing with some of the townspeople. Mariano is present to hear Alma's speech about the Miracle Candle that blessed the Encanto and witness how Antonio received his magical gift of speaking with animals. Later, he danced with Isabela at the celebration party before the event was interrupted.
The next day at the Madrigal family breakfast, Dolores comments when asked that Mariano plans to propose to Isabela that same night, to which Alma joyfully adds that the pair would bring a new generation of "magical blessings" and make both families stronger, much to Isabela's discomfort. In "We Don't Talk About Bruno", while she watching him from a distance, Dolores sadly reveals that she had always had feelings for Mariano, but couldn't confess it because Bruno gave her a vision of the future about the man of her dreams being out of her reach. As Abuela and the Guzmáns approach Casita for dinner, Camilo takes the opportunity to mock Isabela and hilariously yells at her about Mariano's arrival at the house before again morphing and flexing as the man.
At the moment when everything was ready for the imminent proposal and before everyone eats, Mariano and Isabela hear Alma say that the union between the Guzmáns and Madrigals would be good for the families and for the Encanto, to which Señora Guzmán jokes about hoping that the night goes well and that it doesn't turn out to be a horrible disaster. When the dinner begins, Dolores accidentally causes a chain of whispers among her relatives due to fear of Bruno's vision of the fading magic and the imminent destruction of the house, causing Félix spitting out his water on Mariano much to his displeasure.
In the dinner, Mariano shows concern for Mirabel, who was trying to hide Bruno's vision. However, she just rushes the proposal, trying not to do anything that seems suspicious. Mariano tries to propose to Isabela but everything starts to go wrong, from Luisa crying over the loss of her super strength to Dolores screaming that everyone is doomed. As the fear in the madrigal family increases, several cracks begin to appear around the house, with Isabela gets shocked, and conjures a plant that hits Mariano's nose hard. A nervous Pepa causes a storm cloud that soaks everyone in the dining room and when the doors of the house are open due to the storm clouds, Mariano then proceeds to exit the house with Señora Guzman, holding his nose in agony.
During an argument in her room with Mirabel, Isabela reveals that she never wanted to marry Mariano and was only doing it for the family, the confession causing her to sprout a cactus and realize she can grow more than just flowers. At some point after her discussion with Agustín and Julieta, Alma goes to town to approach Mariano and his mother to apologize for the dinner incident and presumably salvage his engagement with Isabela. However, during "What Else Can I Do?", while Isabela is growing a series of exotic plants and expressing her true self, she accidentally hurts Mariano's nose a second time when she unconsciously conjures another flower bud that strikes him while dancing with Mirabel. While Señora Guzman is concerned for Mariano's well-being, Alma is shocked by the chaos Isabela is causing at the Encanto.
The next day after the destruction of the Casa Madrigal, the Madrigals gather at the ruins of the house to rebuild their home when they hear the townspeople approaching to help them. Despite the humiliations by Isabela, Mariano and his mother are at the front of the line to lead the rest of the townspeople to help rebuild the Madrigal family home in as thanks for all the magical family had done for them over the decades, much to family delight. At some point, when everyone in the Encanto rebuilds the Casa Madrigal in "All of You", Isabela eventually cutting off their engagement and Mirabel notices that Mariano looks down sadly, in which he tells her that he "has so much love inside", referring to his break-up with Isabela.
When Mirabel tries to introduces him to Dolores, she suddenly appears gaining the confidence to confess her feelings to Mariano, and interrupts Mirabel when she tries to speak for her. As Dolores begins to relate the things she likes about him, such as her admiration the his care for his mother and love of poetry, Mariano is stunned and confused at first, but then his eyes widen in surprise and he quickly reciprocating Dolores feelings, falling in love with her. The two become a couple and Mariano jokingly says that they should get married, to which Dolores gently tells him to take things slow, with their warm smiles showing a healthy relationship.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Mariano, Señora Guzmán, and Abuela Alma can be seeing dancing when Abuela says "Oye, Mariano's on his way" and when Camilo says "Isabela, your boyfriend's here."
- As Mariano's walk during "We Don't Talk About Bruno" has become a TikTok trend, assistant choreographer Kai Martinez shared the reference footage animators used to create that walk.[1]
- Mariano's name means "manly."
- His name shares a religious theme with Dolores and Isabela. The name Dolores means "sorrow" and is derived from one of the many titles given to the Virgin Mary "Lady Of Sorrows". This is a hint that Mariano is meant to be with Dolores, not Isabela.
- According to Jared Bush, Mariano's relationship with Isabela after the events of the film is probably a good one, as neither was a hundred percent invested in the engagement.[2] Considering his mother's familiarity with Alma, it's possible Mariano also wanted to marry Isabela to make her proud, similar to how Isabela wishes to do so with her grandmother.
- Mariano is one of five characters to be voiced by the same actor in multiple versions of the film, the others being: Abuela Alma, Julieta, Pepa, and Félix Madrigal, as Maluma voiced Mariano in the English and Latin American Spanish dubs of the movie.
- According Jared Bush, the book Mystery in the Rainforest and the Deluxe Junior Novelization, Mariano and Dolores do eventually get engaged, much to the joy of their respective families.[3]
- Mariano wanted to first sing a song he wrote for Isabela before proposing at the proposal dinner, this is an intentional sign he's not suited for her. Isabela is initially related to about visual beauty and appearance, to her a proper gift would be something like a flower arrangement or a painting. However, Dolores not only likes his singing voice by being able to hear it with her super hearing, but her concept art revealed that she likes music, so even from then the film shows she's a better match for him.
References[]
- ↑ Martinez, Kai (February 13, 2022). "Mariano Dance". Twitter.
- ↑ Bush, Jared (October 17, 2022). "Mariano and Isabela". Twitter.
- ↑ Bush, Jared (May 21, 2023). "Mariano & Dolores Wedding". Twitter.
External links[]
