Mulholland Drive's Rebekah Del Rio on figuring out David Lynch through a trip to his hometown
The singer talked about working with Lynch and visiting his Montana hometown
Rebekah Del Rio is responsible for one of the most haunting scenes in David Lynch’s career: Singing “Llorando,” a Spanish-language version of Roy Orbison’s “Crying,” as a rapt Betty/Diane (Naomi Watts) and Rita/Camilla (Laura Elena Harring) watch her perform in Mulholland Drive’s Club Silencio. Despite reuniting with Lynch many years later to appear as one of Twin Peaks: The Return’s Bang Bang Bar musicians, it turns out that Del Rio—like lots of us—didn’t feel like she really understood the director’s work until she had the opportunity to visit his Montana hometown.
During an interview with IndieWire, Del Rio explains that she first met Lynch after he’d recorded her singing her Spanish cover of “Crying”—written as a tribute to the late Selena—following an introduction from their mutual agent. The recording apparently “inspired [Lynch] to build the Silencio scene, which ultimately launched the by-then-debunked ABC pilot” that would go on to become the film version of Mulholland Drive.