3. Luisa Madrigal - The Cast of Encanto and their Archetypes

Archetype: The Strong One / The Rock / The Parentified Child

Luisa is the emotional load-bearing structure of the Madrigal household. Her power lies in her superhuman strength, but the real burden she carries is psychological: a profound pressure to be useful at all times. In many family systems, this role is described as the Parentified Child—a child who learns early on that love and safety are conditional upon performance. Luisa’s identity is completely wrapped around being the one others depend on, and she never questions it—until she breaks.

In Internal Family Systems (IFS), Luisa reflects a Protector part that has taken over the system. She shoulders responsibility, suppresses vulnerability, and distracts from deeper emotional pain by staying in constant motion. Her body literally strains under the emotional weight of her family’s unspoken needs. When she sings “Surface Pressure,” she is voicing the internal monologue of every overfunctioner who has forgotten they’re allowed to rest. Her fear isn’t just of failure—it’s of being dispensable if she’s not performing.

From the 7 Inner Child framework, Luisa represents The Overachiever—a child who learned to anticipate needs, solve problems, and absorb stress to keep the emotional system intact. She has no space for herself, and until Mirabel listens to her pain without demanding anything from her, Luisa has no model for self-worth outside of usefulness.

In Jungian terms, Luisa aligns with the Hero archetype, but she is trapped in an undeveloped form of it—where conquest (doing more, lifting heavier) masks the lack of integration with the inner Self. Her breakdown is not a failure—it is an initiation. It is only when she begins to release her identity as a burden-bearer that Luisa steps into a more complex and integrated version of strength: one that includes rest, asking for help, and claiming intrinsic worth.