Isabela Merced talks 'Superman,' Peruvian heritage, new salsa music, and projects in the works\” />

Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl in ‘Superman.’ Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Isabela Merced chatted about starring in the new Superman film, where she plays Hawkgirl, her Peruvian heritage, new salsa song and video for “Apocalipsis,” and working with her brother Gyo.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” This quote applies to Isabela Merced.

‘Apocalipsis’ duet single with Tony Succar

Gyo served as a co-writer and producer on the song, and she joined forces with multi-Grammy and multi-Latin Grammy winner Tony Succar.

On their new salsa duet single “Apocalipsis,” she remarked, “The song is huge for us, and Gyo has been a part of it from the beginning. He was on the original and we recorded it in our home studio. It was a crazy setup.”

“We put it in our office and now we have a big studio that I built in my house, where we are now going to work in, and we will keep making music for everyone,” she said.

Gyo on writing and producing ‘Apocalipsis’

On being a part of this project, Gyo said, “It has been really fun. It has been so long since we did this… since the pandemic and we did it in our home studio that we built We just recorded everything in there, and we filmed the music videos all at home.”

“This song will make our aunts, uncles, the grandparents, and relatives in Peru happy,” Gyo noted. “I am actually curious… I want to hear what my grandma thinks of this song!”

“Tony got a hand of the song last year he heard it, and he wanted to remix it. Tony did all the magic,” Gyo added.

Working with Grammy winner Tony Succar

“It was amazing!” she exclaimed. “Tony sent the remix to us on his accord and his initiation during the pandemic.”

“Tony sent it to us and then we recorded it immediately because I was just such a fan of it. We did it in Los Angeles, and he was in Miami with his fellow songwriter who helped us with a lot of like the salsa melodies.”

“We just did it like in the studio, and then we were sitting on it for so long and finally, Tony wanted to release it as a part of his project post-Grammy win,” she said.

“It felt like a full-circle moment. Tony believes in me so much and he believes in Gyo too. Tony cannot speak higher about Gyo’s work; he is such a fan and we’ve become so close since making this song,” she elaborated.

New salsa music video for ‘Apocalipsis’

On the new salsa music video, she exclaimed, “That was fun! Gyo was there in spirit! He wasn’t there on the day we filmed it, but he got the footage, and he liked it.”

“Watching Tony on the drum was cool,” Gyo added.

“The drums are his signature thing,” Isabela said. “I love that he always wears boots. Tony is always such a classy guy, and he is young like us, and we all love to work with family.”

“So, in the SiriusXM performance that I did live that is coming out in October, Tony’s brother was one of the background singers in it. Tony also works with his mother a lot. I work with my mom, and she is always helping me. So, it was very much a family affair,” Isabela elaborated.

Isabela Merced on more music in the works

When asked if there will be more music in the works, she responded, “I hope so! We are sitting on so much music that is from the past five years that we worked on during the pandemic.”

“So, we have a lot more music to release and to show you guys,” she noted. “The question is in what order and when? I make all kinds of music. I think that’s what is the most fun about writing… you can pretend to be someone else and tell a story.”Isabela Merced. Photo Credit: Jad Gorman.

Isabela Merced on writing music being similar to acting

“Writing music is similar to acting in that way,” she acknowledged. “When I perform, it feels like I’m taking on a different character. Like that Isabela Pérez de la Candela in the video of ‘Apocalipsis’ is not me. That’s not how I would perform. It was like a character for me, so that was really fun.”

“I would love to put on more performances like that,” she added.

Learning the dance moves for the music video

On learning the dance moves for the music video, she revealed, “I learned that in an hour and a half the day before, and it was in my hotel room where we came up with the ideas.”

“The performance felt very cute to me and homemade,” she noted.

Working with Gyo as writer and producer during the pandemic

“Gyo has gotten better as a producer, and he is working on making music every day,” she said.

“That was honestly the best time to make music though. Right now, I am working with some pretty good artists in the Latin and hip-hop genres,” Gyo added.Isabela Merced. Photo Credit: Dito Andrés.

Tipping her hat to Peru and her Peruvian heritage

With this song, Isabela and Gyo were able to tip their hat to their Peruvian heritage.

“Gyo loves Peru for the food alone. He is driven by Peruvian food alone; he just loves it. He loves the way that Peruvians make rice,” she said.

“I’m blessed to have a Peruvian mother who always cooks for us, and makes Peruvian dishes,” she said.

“My mom’s love language is making food. So, we stay being fed. Just this morning, she made us a delicious breakfast with rosemary touches on the top. It was beautiful,” she expanded.

“I’m very lucky because Peruvian culture is very warm, rich, flavored, and it’s historic where you have so much to pull from,” she acknowledged.

“Just the Peruvian art alone is fantastic. So, I’m very lucky that it has been a part of my life, and I’ve been able to implement it into my music and my acting,” she added.

Isabela Merced on playing ‘Hawkgirl’ in ‘Superman’

On portraying Hawkgirl in the new DC superhero movie “Superman,” she stated, “Playing Kendra/Hawkgirl was a cool experience for me.”

“I hope I get to do more of Kendra, the wings, and the screech. A huge shout-out goes to writer and director James Gunn,” she noted.

“I was so excited about this project, and for months I couldn’t say anything about it, but now that the movie is out, I can say it all,” she admitted.

“Gyo was there at the premiere too,” she said. “Both of my brothers came, and my mom was there too.  We stole some fan pillows from the after party. Gyo got to meet my whole cast, and it was a really fun time for us.”

“As you can see, I love to bring my family everywhere with me if I can,” she added.

Working with David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan

On working with David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, she remarked, “They are both like seasoned actors.”

“So, getting to watch their scene in the movie where they’re like having an argument and it’s such a technically long scene, but they made it feel so lively that you don’t even notice the time passing by. They are such good actors,” she elaborated.

Lessons learned from the ‘Superman’ movie

“For me, it taught me that being yourself is the most bad-ass thing you can do,” she reflected on “Superman.”

“Also, staying true to your morals and your values in a world that asks you to compromise on them is also very relevant and important and it taught me that dogs are the best ever… everyone should have a dog as a best friend,” she expanded.

“I liked the dog… ‘Superman’ was actually probably my favorite part of the movie. It was feel-good, and it was my favorite movie of the whole year, hands down,” Gyo revealed.

Stage of her life

On the title of the current chapter of her life, she revealed, “I’m moving in and moving on.”

“Right now, I am literally surrounded by boxes. I just moved into a new place; my box cutter and I are best friends,” she said with a sweet laugh.

“I hope my brother, Gyo, can help me unpack because I have so many boxes and I just can’t do this alone. It has been crazy,” she admitted.

New movie in the works — ‘Psyche’

Isabela has a new indie movie in the works that is titled “Psyche.”

“I’m moving out as well because I am going to do an independent film that I am producing and that I am going to be a part of in September,” she said. “It’s called ‘Psyche’ and it is based of f of the goddess of the soul in Greek mythology.”

“So, we’ll try to respect the Greek culture and try to bring it as much as we can into the film,” she added.

Isabala Merced on Max Ehrich

Isabela had kind words about actor and signer Max Ehrich. “Even though I haven’t seen him in so long, Max Ehrich is like a brother, and he was a big part of my career early on.”

“Max has always been really supportive, and I really appreciate him for that. I am glad that Max is keeping busy these days,” she added.

AI on the future of the industry

Isabela addressed her thoughts on AI (artificial intelligence) on the future of the entertainment industry.

Isabela stated, “I think it’s hard in this industry now. We are all scared of AI taking over but I think it’s going to be quite the contrary. I think AI is going to be everywhere and all the time, to the point where people are going to crave authentic art from human beings.”

“I think AI is going to stand out more than anything. Art should be human,” she underscored.

“The hard part is that it can’t generate like its own ideas very efficiently.” Gyo said. “I think it’s a great tool.”

“If you give it a sample, it can expand upon that. AI is only trained on the music that is already out. So, it’s not good at creating something that has never been created before. It is always basing it on what has been created,” Gyo elaborated.

Success

Regarding her definition of the word success, Isabela said, “Success means finding a good balance between prioritizing personal life and work life. To me, if I can prioritize my personal life and my health more than anything, that is success.”

“Also, success is the peace of mind that comes with it,” she added.Isabel Merced. Photo Credit: Steven Simione.

Closing thoughts on the new music

For her fans and listeners, Isabela expressed, “I hope that this opens up even more eyes on the ‘Apocalipsis’ salsa version, in particular. I hope people appreciate live bands, the instruments, the efforts that go into, and the complexity of what goes into making tropical music.”

“I did a lot of homages to iconic artists and groups and songs that are so old that you can’t necessarily even find the original songwriters of the compositions,” she said.

“So, I hope people do their research and get opened up to a whole new world of music that could potentially the direction of where we’re going,” she foreshadowed.

“I think if we go back to the roots and what we used to value and love, there is just so much potential there and beauty,” she added.

To learn more about Isabela Merced, follow her on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.