How Selena Gomez’s Mexican American Heritage Inspired Her ‘Emilia Perez’ Song ‘’Mi Camino’
In the vibrant world of Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez,” music plays a central role in storytelling with ‘Mi Camino’ at its heart, sung by star Selena Gomez.
Gomez explores a new frontier by acting in Spanish for the first time. Yet, she also taps into a familiar strength: singing. Her performance of ‘Mi Camino,’ sung entirely in Spanish, marks a pivotal moment in the film. The song, brought to life by French songwriting and composing duo Clément Ducol and Camille Dalmais, blends nostalgic notes with a Latin flair, creating a sound that speaks to Gomez’s character’s journey.
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The process of crafting ‘Mi Camino’ began when director Jacques Audiard provided the duo with a treatment. “Jacques never comes with directions. He’s a director, but he comes with questions” says Dalmais. “After different tries, Jacques told us he wanted [‘Mi Camino’] to be much deeper, much more sentimental, much more sounding like Selena herself as a woman.”
Ducol and Dalmais emphasized the importance of tailoring each song in the film to fit each cast member, describing this approach as a key part of their creative process. “[For ‘Mi Camino’], we tried at least three keys because [Gomez] has quite a low voice, but she chose a much higher key for herself,” Dalmais shared. The composers wanted both the character and Gomez herself to maintain authenticity, allowing her to incorporate her Mexican-American heritage. “Spanish is her father’s language,” Camille noted, adding that Gomez had spoken it until age seven. The team felt that Gomez’s slight American accent added an endearing quality to the song, making it uniquely hers. “We let [Gomez] keep her slight American accent. We thought it was really nice that she brought her American side to it.”
The song evolved through various musical styles before reaching its final form. Initially, it was “very intimate,” said Ducol. However, as it developed, it took on a vintage nightclub vibe. “Jacques wanted it to sound like an ’80s hit people were dancing to in this nightclub.” This transformation involved adding live orchestral elements, Latin percussion, layered choir vocals, and synthesizers to create a fusion of nostalgic and modern sounds.
‘Mi Camino,’ which translates to ‘my way’ in English, comes alive in a central scene that marks a turning point for Gomez’s character, where love and vulnerability collide. As Zoe Salda?a’s character, Rita, watches the moment unfold in the film, Dalmais says, “Rita’s gonna melt, like us, because she sees what love is” highlighting how the song’s universal resonance affects both the character and the audience.
Watch Clément Ducol and Camille Dalmais’ deep dive into the song above.
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