HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS
WHEN SINATRA SHOCKED THE HEART OF VENEZUELA
By Mahnuel Muñoz
On October 29, 2021, the video for the song “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by Frank Sinatra is released.
It is a cartoon piece that tells the story of Juan, a Venezuelan who leaves his family behind when flying from Caracas to New York; He makes a living in the kitchen of a restaurant, but dreams of having his own business selling arepas, while he remembers with nostalgia when he prepared food with his family at Christmas.
The story begins with Juan walking on the work of the plastic artist Carlos Cruz Diez “Ambientación de Color Aditivo“, which since 1974 has characterized the floor of the international terminal of the Maiquetía airport, in Caracas, and which has become a symbol of the diaspora. recent Venezuelan.
The author crowned the final part of the video with a scene of happiness and reunion, where Juan cries as he hugs his father and his family, who surprise him in New York in the middle of Christmas.
The video immediately became a global phenomenon, strongly impacting the hearts of migrants, especially Venezuelans. When I write these lines, in December 2024, there are sixteen million views on YouTube.
THE AUTHORS: DAVID CALCAÑO AND ALA NUNU
The work was produced by Fantoons, an animation studio and book publisher based in Los Angeles, California.
Co-founded by David Calcaño and Linda Otero, Venezuelan immigrants whose production has received praise from Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Univision, CNN and other notable media outlets, in addition to winning multiple awards. To date, Fantoons has accumulated more than one hundred million views of its content on social platforms and more than one hundred thousand books sold.
Ala Nunu studied at the University of Arts in Poznań, Poland, the Royal College of Art in London, United Kingdom, and La Poudrière in Valence, France. He has experience in direction and art direction for commercial and artistic projects, including television series, social campaigns, music videos and short films. She is also co-founder of international production cooperative COLA, where she helps bring a wide variety of projects to life, from short films to virtual reality experiences.
AN INSTANT CRUSH
The quality of Fantoons’ work opened the doors for Calcaño and his team to work with studios such as Universal Music, with which he has made video clips of classic North American Christmas songs, such as “White Christmas“, by Bing Crosby and “The Christmas Song“. by Nat King Cole.
This is how his art became known to the Sinatra family. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” was the fourth video that Calcaño made for them (1).
“They approved the concept in less than half an hour and I couldn’t believe it. I still don’t believe it,” says Calcaño, moved. “I thought that this video could touch the hearts of several people, but never to the extent that it It happened.” Even some of the Universal Music staff cried during the presentation of the final product.
The video, according to Calcaño, talks about his own life and reflects the experience of many of his compatriots, who have become one of the communities with the largest number of migrants in the world. “There is hope for something better, but the whole beginning of that loneliness is something I experienced personally. Much of what we see in that video I have experienced.”
Calcaño continues: “Seeing Christmas from the point of view of an immigrant is something we don’t see on television. This is a universal story. As Venezuelans, it is obviously much harder.”
Frank Sinatra’s Family, Calcaño assures, he received a note overflowing “with emotion” and satisfaction for what was achieved in this video. “It is a pride that has no size, to be able to put our land next to the name, the voice, of Sinatra, to see how our hearts break when we leave Venezuela,” he says.
“There are so many people who haven’t been able to see their family in years. That breaks your heart into pieces and I would like that to happen in all instances. I hope that at some point things will change,” Calcaño concludes, hopefully.
THE SONG
Composers Hugh Martin (1914-2011) and Ralph Blaine (1914-1995) wrote this standard for the film “Meet Me in St. Louis“, starring Judy Garland in 1944.
It is a melancholic song that appeals to living the happiest Christmas possible despite the problems that afflict us, trusting that time will heal all wounds.
Frankie recorded it for the first time on June 26, 1947. The one chosen for the video was recorded on July 16, 1957, with a deeper voice and the shelter of a shocking arrangement of strings and voices signed by Gordon Jenkins and included in the album “A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra” (Capitol, 1957).
NOTE
- (1) Fantoons’ other works for Sinatra are “JingleBells” (2019) “The Christmas Waltz” and “Mistletoe and Holly“, (both 2020).
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