Lady Gaga and Tim Burton chose an island built using pre-Hispanic farming methods in Xochimilco, a tourist area in the south of Mexico City, as the setting to seal a new collaboration between the pop superstar and the famed film director. The project combines dark, gothic and fantastical elements, characteristic of the theatricality that defines both artists’ work.
The result is the music video for the song “The Dead Dance,” released on Wednesday (Sep. 3), which is part of the second season of Netflix’s series Wednesday. In it, Gaga also stars as Rosaline Rotwood, a deceased instructor from Nevermore Academy who helps Wednesday Addams (played by Jenna Ortega) in her mission to save her family and friends. (Gaga also recently released a deluxe edition of her Mayhem album this week, with “Dead Dance” as one of three new bonus tracks.)
“The Dead Dance” takes place on the Island of the Dolls, surrounded by vegetation, a crumbling house, and hundreds of old dolls of all sizes. Over time, exposure to the elements has left the dolls dirty and worn, with peeling paint on their faces, tattered clothing, missing eyes, and no hair, creating a chilling and eerie atmosphere.
Filmed in black and white, the clip features choreography reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” where Gaga emerges from the mist, rises, and begins to move and sway to the rhythm of the music.
Prior to its release, videos and memes circulated on social media in recent months hinting at the collaboration between Gaga and Burton. Fans speculated after the Batman Returns and Beetlejuice director visited Mexico City, where he launched an immersive exhibition showcasing his most iconic works and characters. During that time, the filmmaker also toured Xochimilco and the nearby magical town of Tepoztlán, located just outside Mexico City.
Meanwhile, Gaga returned to Mexico City in April after a 13-year hiatus to perform two sold-out concerts at the GNP Seguros Stadium. The show, titled “¡Viva La MAYHEM!”, featured the opera that had captivated audiences earlier this year at Coachella.
But before both artists showcased this “haunted” location to the world, the Island of the Dolls had already been featured as a setting in the documentary by British musician and producer Steven Wilson, which accompanies his 2008 solo album Insurgentes, captured through the lens of Danish photographer Lasse Hoile.
In 2010, in an interview with the Mexican newspaper El Universal, Wilson shared that the most beautiful part of filming in Mexico took place precisely at that location. “Mexico is like one big film set; it’s very cinematic and surreal, and incredibly inspiring for creating sounds and images,” the musician said. “Originally, we hadn’t planned to film so much in the country, but after being there, we were hooked.”
At the end of last April, fellow pop star Christina Aguilera shared images on her Instagram account from her visit to Xochimilco, where she was seen enjoying time with friends and toasting with beer. In one of the snapshots, the diva is shown wearing a colorful flower crown reminiscent of the iconic painter Frida Kahlo’s signature style.
Several decades earlier, during the height of the so-called Golden Age of Mexican Cinema, Xochimilco and its “chinampas” served as the setting for classic films like María Candelaria, directed by Emilio “El Indio” Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946.
In 1987, Xochimilco and its network of canals and artificial islands were declared a Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO, as they represent “an exceptional example of the Aztecs’ efforts to create a habitat in an environment hostile to humans.” The urban and rural structures created from the 16th century during the colonial period have been admirably preserved.
