Ynairaly Simo Replays The Bronx (and Tweenage Zest) on ‘Vivo’


Every time Ynairaly Simo’s mother asked him what he wanted to eat at home, Simo tells him same thing: moro de guandules con bistec or rice with pigeon peas and steak.

But what if they’re eating out? From a store two blocks from where Simo lives with his family in the West Bronx, it must be mofongo, a Puerto Rican dish made with fried plantains.

The rich food culture in Fordham Heights is part of what makes their life there so full.

“We are proud to live in the Bronx and to be of Latino descent,” Ydamys Simo, Ynairaly’s mother, said in an interview. “And we always encourage it: Always be proud of who you are. And never change the essence that makes you you joyful

Ynairaly (pronounced ya-NAH-soul-ly) 14-year-old Simo is the voice of Gabi, an energetic and eccentric preteen. animated musical “Vivo” on Netflix. Although Ynairaly was born and raised in New York, both sides of her family are Dominican.

“I am very happy to play Gabi and to be Dominican,” Simo said in a video interview in front of a canary yellow wall in his mother’s room. “Because girls my age or younger are like, ‘Oh my God, she’s Dominican! And is she an actress? I could be an actress. I’m Dominican.'”

Simo felt a similar spark when he saw Zoe Saldaña as Gamora in Marvel’s movie. “Guardians of the Galaxy.” The green warrior instantly liked the character and looked at who played him.

He was smitten when he realized that Saldaña was playing Gamora and that the actress was Dominican: One day she too could be in a Marvel movie.

Four years later, Simo and Saldaña would start working together. Saldaña plays Gabi’s mother, Rosa, in “Vivo.” The two never met, as the recording sessions took place separately, but Simo still hopes to meet his idol.

“Vivo” is Simo’s first major role – although he has been acting for years – and he has worked with a number of “icons”, including, as he calls it, Saldaña.

Lin-Manuel Miranda voices Vivo, a singer-musician kinkajou; Buena Vista Social Club legend Juan de Marcos plays Andrés, owner of Vivo; and Gloria Estefan play Marta, Andrés’ former music partner and unrequited love.

Due to the nature of the voice performance, Miranda was the only actress Simo had met in person. She was more than familiar with her work—in fact, she had auditioned for a role in the movie version. “On High” – and was willing cooperate with him.

Miranda spent one-on-one time with Simo in the recording studio and helped him identify high notes in his head voice and low notes in his chest voice. (Simo attends Celia Cruz Bronx Music High School, where he naturally learns he is an alto.)

The actress sings in five songs movie soundtrack“My Own Drum” – including an earworm rap about being honest with yourself – and its remix With Grammy winner Missy Elliott. Known for her signature fast-paced rap, Miranda guided Simo for the first time in the genre.

“He taught me: Take a deep breath,” said Simo. “Then learn the words, spit and make sure you say them, pronouncing them very sharply.”

Onscreen, “My Drum” unfolds in the intermediate whirlwind of a bedroom (backpack filled with slime) in Gabi’s Key West, Fla. home scene” was intended to take Vivo out of its comfort zone. Here the role fits the actor.

“There was this exuberant unpolishedness that he just had and this moxie that you couldn’t even move,” DeMicco said in an interview. “The way he draws his lines” and “the little improvisations he does, the way he fills things in, the texture is just him

Simo’s father, Joseph Simo, is a huge fan of the scene, the song, and the soundtrack. This is his “No. 1 choice” while at work he said: He turns on the soundtrack and listens directly from start to finish.

“One of the things he’s always wanted to do is inspire children: for Latinos – and all the kids who are into acting and music – to follow their dreams,” Joseph said in an interview. “I said to him the other day, ‘You see, your dreams come true.’”

Simo’s parents are, of course, their biggest fans: two weeks into August, they had watched the movie 16 times. (The movie began airing on 6 August.) They don’t plan to stop anytime soon.

They have supported their daughter’s art career since it started. Simo started modeling at the age of 3. He started acting at the age of 5 – doing smaller shows like commercials. “Vivo” was her first singing role (since its premiere, she has sung the national anthem for the Brooklyn Cyclones. Gotham Girls and New York Freedom).

But the road here was not an easy one. In July 2019, while “Vivo” was under production, Ynairaly underwent approximately 10 hours of surgery to correct advanced scoliosis. Twenty screws and two metal plates later told his family that he “may not be able to move the way a normal child can,” at least for a while.

His father said that the day after the surgery, the physical therapist asked him to take a few steps, one step at a time. 20 walked. He learned to swim the same summer. She danced. A month after the surgery, she convinced the doctors to let her return to Los Angeles for the recording.

His family called him “Ynairaly la guerrera” or warrior Ynairaly. “Because he is,” his mother said. “Really determined.”





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