“Coco” boosts guitar sales in Mexico

World Today

Animated film “Coco” has broken box office records around the world, and it is now shaking up the economy of one Mexican town. While traditionally the success of a film, pays back to mostly its makers, this time the profits are strung from Hollywood all the way to Paracho.

CGTN’s Nanuka Danelia reports.

Once in a while a movie comes along that wins the hearts of film lovers no matter their age, race, or where they come from. A case in point: the Walt Disney/Pixar animated film “Coco.”

It quickly became an international hit at the box office, when it was released last November and has earned more than $700-million worldwide. It became the highest-grossing animated move in China in 2017, and all-time highest-grossing movie in Mexico.

The film has also been sweeping up some of the most prestigious awards. It tells a story of a Mexican boy in love with music, who stumbles into the Land of the Dead and meets his ancestors. The movie has also brought a once sleepy Mexican town back to life.

Paracho is home to the traditional guitar featured in “Coco.” Now, the craftsmen there can’t keep up with incoming orders.

“It boosted work, overtime began, we started working like crazy to satisfy all the requests created by this guitar” Salvador Meza, a guitar maker in Paracho said.

The cost of the handmade guitar starts at around $100.

String instrument making in Paracho dates back to the 17 hundreds. The legend says the town’s residents learned the craft to support the local economy. And following in the ancestors’ footsteps seems to be paying off, much in tune with the plot of “Coco.”