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Watch Oscar Isaac Sing a Sultry Duet While Showcasing Serious Guitar Skills
The actor showed off his vocal and instrumental chops while on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Emmy-nominated actor Oscar Isaac has many artistic talents up his sleeve.
Isaac showed off his musical prowess in a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 22, playing a gorgeous rendition of the classic Guatemalan tune "Luna de Xelaju" in a duet with Grammy-nominated singer Gaby Moreno.
During the performance, the two crooned with passion in Spanish, harmonizing perfectly. Not only did Isaac's voice mesh effortlessly with Moreno's, his fluid guitar skills were seriously impressive as well.
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In a 2023 statement via Variety, Isaac explained his sentimental attachment to the song.
“My grandmother Graciela Argentina Nicolle de Estrada would perform ‘Luna De Xelajú’ in the concert halls of Guatemala," Isaac said. "Growing up it was always hummed or sung as a lullaby by my mother Eugenia, and was a favorite of my uncle Guillermo’s."
“I’m grateful to Gaby for asking me to share this song as a way of honoring my family and all of Guate," Isaac added.
Watch the Gaby Moreno and Oscar Isaac's Tonight Show performance above.
What to know about "Luna de Xelaju"
"Luna de Xelaju" was written by Guatemalan composer Paco Perez in the 1940s. Moreno and Isaac's rendition is the lead single off of Moreno's 2023 album, X Mi (Vol 1.).
According to PopSugar, Moreno and Isaac are good friends. Moreno contacted Isaac— whose mother is Guatemalan—to duet the song with her as she was impressed by his musical talent. The actor suggested that the performance be a live recording. Moreno says she was inclined to record the classic song to bring more songs that touch on Guatemalan heritage to mainstream audiences.
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"It is considered a second anthem in Guatemala. You ask anybody in Guatemala, and they'll know the song. They'll know the lyrics, and they'll know how to sing it," Moreno told the outlet in 2023. "It's that type of song. It really identifies a lot of us in Guatemala."
"It's really one of my all-time favorite songs, and even recently, I sing it at my concerts. Usually, it's the encore," she added. "I'll finish my concert and go out, and then when I come back and do a song by myself with my guitar, it's usually that song. People have come up to me and asked me if I had recorded it, and I was always like, 'No, actually, I haven't.' So it was kind of a natural decision that I made last year [to finally record it]."
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In the 2023 statement per Variety, Moreno detailed what the collaboration between her and Isaac means to her. “I’ve been singing [the song] since I was a teenager and more recently have been performing this song live in my concerts, usually as an encore. I invited my dear friend and incredible artist, Oscar Isaac, to sing it with me for this very special acoustic version…Just two voices with two guitars, singing together this timeless, sweet, and nostalgic song from our motherland.”
