The director of Christian Nodal’s music video “Un Vals” has responded to controversy that’s sparked on social media regarding the casting of the video’s lead model, whom many have pointed out has a striking resemblance to both Cazzu and Ángela Aguilar — the singer’s ex-partner and current wife, respectively.
“It was our mistake not to realize this could happen,” director Juan Antonio Barbazán said on Saturday (April 11) during a virtual press conference from Madrid with select media outlets, including Billboard Español.
“JG Music approved the video, not Christian Nodal,” he added, referring to the singer’s record label.
In the music video released Thursday (April 9), which features a split-screen format, Nodal appears singing on the left while a couple stars in a love story on the right side. Nodal filmed his portion in Guadalajara, Mexico, while the two models were filmed in Spain.
The model in question, a Mexican content creator based in Madrid named Dagna Mata, has been the target of criticism on social media for her role in the clip. On Friday (April 10), she posted a video on her Instagram account expressing her thoughts. “I hope the focus remains on what it is — a job — because I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone,” she wrote in the caption.
“It hurts me to see an artist involved who doesn’t deserve any of this and shouldn’t be compared to anyone else either,” Mata said. “I had to emigrate from a country to achieve my dream of modeling and growing in the fashion industry.”
Also on Friday, in response to the controversy surrounding the music video, Nodal shared a message via his Instagram Stories that drew attention: “I don’t own my name, my image, or my music, and what has happened with the video is proof of that… But my voice, which is the only thing I have left, will always belong to you.”
A representative for Nodal and JG Music — the label owned by the singer’s father, Jaime González — told Billboard Español on Saturday that neither would be making statements.
Read everything the director of Christian Nodal’s “Un Vals” music video had to say below.
Are Christian Nodal’s music videos your responsibility?
For this project, which encompasses the entirety of Christian’s album, we worked on two complex videos — one for “Incompatibles,” which came out a month ago, another that hasn’t been released yet, and the rest are five simpler ones where we decided to use a split-screen format, like in “Un Vals,” where he appears on the left singing and the rest of the screen features figurative actors.
Who is in charge of casting?
The casting was done by us, the production company. We were looking for Mexican actresses in Spain, which wasn’t easy to find, and Dagna’s profile was sent to us. We liked her, so we chose her.
Did Christian approve the actress for the video?
No, we always choose the figurative actors. Christian didn’t see her. The comments about her resemblance to Cazzu and Ángela Aguilar slipped past us. At no point was there a strategy or anything of the sort. We didn’t consider it relevant to show her to Christian. Ultimately, other people appear in the video. It’s a large process, and not everything is consulted with the artist. It was our decision.
Was all of this planned as a marketing strategy?
As a production company, this damages us — the idea that it was a planned marketing campaign. It affects our work because at no point was this the intention. The production staff didn’t know who Cazzu was; honestly, we didn’t notice that detail.
Who makes decisions about Christian’s videos? It seems there’s a lack of communication between the singer and his father, who owns JG Music.
In this case, the client is JG Music. We deliver the videos to them and assume they’re approved if we don’t hear otherwise. I have no idea about the communication between them or the relationship they may have. What I do know is that Christian is a person with many commitments, and the music videos are just a small part of his project — he doesn’t handle that.
Does Christian have any specific requests for the themes of his videos?
From the moment we started working with him, he made it very clear that he doesn’t want his personal life to be involved in the videos. These should be artistic, related solely to the theme of the song.
Did Christian say anything to you after the controversy?
Yes, he sent me a message saying something like, “It seems like you hate me; you’ve gotten me into a big mess.” That’s when we started investigating what was happening on social media.
Are you aware of the impact the video caused?
Completely, and I accept responsibility. But ultimately, we all end up hurt: us as the production company, the model, and of course, Nodal.
