If you don’t think mid-January is too late for Christmas music — or you’re one of those people who have the Christmas spirit all year round — check out this video below featuring 12-year-old Sudburian Emilia Peralta Castillo.
We know it’s a little past Christmas, but we only just learned about the video, and it was too good not to share, so our apologies for extending the holiday season into a January a little bit.
“Emi,” as she’s known to her friends, performs the vocals and plays piano in her version of “Jingle Bell Rock.” She’s accompanied by her dad, Claudio Peralta Leiva (bass and chorus), along with Sudbury musician Júlio Falcão (guitar and chorus).
The video was shot by Emi’s mom, Blanca Castillo Álvarez, and edited by her dad.
“Jingle Bell Rock” is “such a wonderful song,” said Emi, in a recent interview with Sudbury.com. The Grade 7 student at MacLeod Public School said it’s the kind of song that makes her feel better, because “it will make you stand up and dance.”
Mixed with “Holly Jolly Christmas,” it’s their own take on “Jingle Bell Rock.”
Emi’s dad, Claudio, explains that he’s musical himself, and has been teaching his daughter to sing and play instruments since she was a young child of three or four, when it was just a game to her.
But by the time she was six or seven years old, she had gained the complex ability to sing and play music at the same time. Emi is now a multi-instrumentalist, who, apart from being a capable singer, plays piano, ukulele, guitar, bass, drums and trumpet.
Claudio said they did their first Christmas music video during pandemic lockdown in 2020, when the family still lived in Chile. During that time, the family spent a lot of time together, playing music.
The family moved to Sudbury in 2021 so that Claudio could study to become an HVAC technician at Cambrian College.
They also put out Christmas music videos in 2021, and, as discussed above, in 2022. Last summer, Emi also put out a video featuring a cover of the Olivia Rodrigo song “Driver’s Licence.”
The 2022 Christmas music video, featuring a big fireplace and an impressive Nutcracker collection, was shot at the home of one of Emi’s friends.
“We're very thankful for this family for letting us use their place,” said Emi.
It also features a cameo from Emi’s hamster, Maple. Emi said she’s always joking around that her hammy is an actress, so this has now come true.
Their family back home in Chile love seeing the videos. “They love to see how I started growing from two years ago until now,” Emi said.
Indeed, Emi has been expanding her horizons since arriving in the Nickel City.
Although the family doesn’t have any immediate plans to put out more music videos, Emi has become involved in the local arts scene.
She appeared in “Madagascar Junior” in June for The Biggest Little Theatre Company and in the Sudbury Performance Group’s holiday show, “A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live on Stage,” last month.
Through their connections with Sudbury Performance Group, Emi and Claudio also recently sang the national anthem at a Sudbury Wolves game, along with other performers from the troupe.
She also participates in a folklore dance group called Pachamama, a traditional group that wants to promote and share the typical dances of Latin America.
“My wife and I, we are very, very proud of Emi,” Claudio said.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s associate content editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.
