Luisa Madrigal

> I'm the strong one
> I’m not nervous
> I’m as tough as the crust of the earth is.
>
> Luisa Madrigal, Surface Pressure

Luisa's gift is being super tough and strong

### Relatives

Isabela, Mirabel, Julieta, Augustin, Felix, Pepa, Antonio, Dolores, Camilo, Abuella Alma, Pedro, Mariano

## Appearances

### Appears in

Encanto

**Luisa Madrigal** is a supporting character in Disney's 2021 animated feature film, *Encanto*. She is the middle child of Julieta and Agustín Madrigal, the younger sister of Isabela, and the older sister of Mirabel. A strapping bodybuilder who is described as the "rock" of the family, Luisa was gifted with super strength.

## Background

The middle daughter of Julieta and Agustin, Luisa is the rock of the Madrigals. Blessed with super-strength, she is always there to lend a helping hand. She carries all the villagers’ burdens, both physically and mentally, without ever complaining. She is also the one in the family whom Mirabel relies on for emotional support. She’s good-natured and tough, but deep down feels vulnerable.

### Physical appearance

Luisa is a 19-year-old young Colombian woman with a muscular build, who is significantly taller than everyone else in her family. She has tan skin and hazel eyes. Her brown hair is tied up in a bun with a red ribbon, with a French braid on the right side. She wears a white, short-sleeved shirt with a red ribbon at the top, and a long indigo skirt with dark purple and pink stripes at the bottom. She also has felt bracelets: on the left, red and denim and on the right, red denim and yellow. She wears dark blue shoes with two dark blue ankle straps. To symbolize her super strength, Luisa's skirt has many free weights at the bottom. Of her sisters, Luisa is the one who most resembles her father, Agustín.

### Personality

True to how Mirabel described her, Luisa is the strongest and most reliable member of the family. Having been gifted with super strength, both her family and the people of the town rely on her power. In turn, Luisa greatly appreciates that she can be of significant contribution to her community. Luisa has a taste for cute things, when she sings there are several rainbows in the background, unicorns and pink clouds. Besides that she also collects stuffed animals in her room, showing that she has a soft spot for cute things.

Unlike some of the Madrigal members who shun Mirabel for not having a gift (sans her parents), Luisa seems to get along just fine with her, with neither sister showing animosity to the other. Luisa does not seem to hold any form of grudge towards Mirabel for being gift less, and does not view her as a burden of the family. In addition, Luisa does not have any negative opinions of her uncle Bruno either, instead seeing him as a good man like her mother, her older sister Isabela, and maternal cousin Dolores does. While watching Mirabel argue with Abuela, Luisa is visibly sad by how her sister is treated by their grandmother. After Casa Madrigal is destroyed and Mirabel runs away, Luisa shows concern for her younger sister and goes looking for her, before she returned with Abuela and their long-lost uncle, Bruno.

Despite being powerful and reliable, Luisa secretly feels burdened by the pressure of fulfilling everyone’s demands, and would feel insignificant if she cannot contribute the way Abuela, her family, and the community expect her to. Although heavily stressed, Luisa keeps all of her struggles to herself, only telling Mirabel after the latter persistently questions her once she learned from Dolores that her eye twitched on the night that their family’s miracle faltered.

As Luisa begins losing her strength, she becomes easily distressed and pressured as she cannot use her power the way she used to, berating herself and calling herself horrible things. She is also shown to cry during this time around, sobbing uncontrollably after her power begins to fade, showing a more sensitive and pessimistic side to her.

With the help of Mirabel and Abuela’s realization, Luisa comes to understand that she is worth more than her gift (“All of You”) and learns not to bottle her emotions, but rather express them healthily while taking time to enjoy herself and share happiness with her family.

### Powers and abilities

Luisa has superhuman strength, allowing her to lift large, heavy things such as buildings and bridges with ease. Unlike other members of her family who struggle in some degree to contain and control their power, there is no indication that Luisa cannot control her strength. She can easily give Mirabel a hug without hurting her or carry objects smaller than her without destroying them, showing she has good control of her super strength.

Luisa’s gift also grants her increased durability, as she is shown to throw a rock into the air and does not even flinch when it falls on her. However, she can still be injured, though it's unknown to what extent. Luisa is also a very proficient singer and dancer. While not directly mentioned in the film, it is seen in "Surface Pressure" that she has a good knowledge of history and Greek mythology.