Don Julio - Por Amor

Don Julio’s new campaign, 'A Love Letter to Mexico', is “a magnetic invocation of the country’s heart and soul,” celebrating modern Mexico and its people who live ‘Por Amor.’

In producing the films, the brand sought to collaborate with a group of pioneering Mexican creatives - each of whom could leave their respective mark on this homage to the country and its culture. On the visual front, these included Director JC Molina, Cinematographer Flavia Martinez, Stylist Nayeli De Alba and Photographer Thalia Gochez.

For music, this collaborative approach led us to enlist a number of esteemed Mexican artists, with the goal of reimagining Rafael Solano’s 1968 Bolero classic ‘Por Amor’ - a song that embodies the spirit of the campaign. For our Anthem film, we worked with Lauro Robles - better known as Lao of Mexico City-based record label NAAFI - on a custom remix of the track.

“NAAFI have grown from a misfit warehouse-party crew into perhaps the most visible group in Mexico’s underground-club-music scene” (LA Times). Today, the label has come to represent  “the cutting edge of Mexican club culture”, and is part of a wave of club music from the Global South that has "helped to loosen the west’s stranglehold" on the scene, and “initiated a movement to decolonize the dancefloor” (The Guardian).

Stylistically, our remix aims to take the listener/viewer on a ride that encapsulates the spirit of a diverse Mexico. We launch into the visceral rawness and wild energy of a late night in NAAFI’s Mexico City, with driving percussion and the distinct shouts of a Sonidero. Then, through an open agave field and the odd smoke-filled salsa club - find our way back to the vibrance of Solano’s original piece - a nod to the rich history and the heart of the brand. 

Other films in the campaign - including Don Julio’s 70 tequila - required a more traditional, vintage-sounding live-band-approach. We worked with Camilo Lara AKA Mexican Institute of Sound, who - as well as being a celebrated DJ, producer and artist - worked as Music Advisor on Pixar's Coco. The track was ultimately recorded with a full band at Camilo’s Soy Sauce Studio in CDMX.