A VERY quick doodle I did of Helena during school because I love her. I thought it’d be sweet if the Riveras, especially Imelda, made her a gift for looking out for their goofball all those years! So they made her a special new pair of boots!! I also think Helena is just a little bit of a cry baby lol
@im-fairly-whitty
I have a Coco headcannon to share. It’s a really good one too
YOU CLICKED! I’m ecstatic!! Come, share my theory...
I suspect despite Imelda’s fierce ban on music and despite the resentment she felt for the husband that left her, she couldn’t banish the memory of a father from his child’s heart. Even when Coco’s children came along, and they took after their Mama Imelda.
But when seventy-something years have gone away, and Imelda has left the living world, Coco still respected the wishes of her mother, and her own children did as well. For the matriarch and strength of the family which gave them purpose, and most importantly gave them a means for survival.
Then Coco’s grandson finds love and is married, Enrique and Luisa start their own family. And one day they are blessed with an energetic little boy, who they name Miguel. And straight away, Coco knew he was something special - tiny Miguel had a fire inside him, an untamed passion waiting to burst forth.
You see, Coco was not the last living descendant that remembered Papa Hector’s good name. There was one living relative who barely held some frail tatters of his memory, who shared a connection with the long-gone relative. And when Coco looked into little Miguel’s eyes, the smile that filled his eyes was near identical to the bitter-sweet smile her father gave to her the last time he sang Remember Me with his little girl.
And in secret, she told Miguel this fact. Told the baby little secrets about her father, the musician, who she dearly missed, and who she secretly hoped would one day return - though it had been decades, and no more letters came, no more letters that she could hide from her mother (who denounced the man once the letters stopped). But just in case! She hid all those cherished artifacts, little pieces of who her father was, mementos of his love and adoration for his girls, and what all this meant to that precious little girl.
Coco salvaged the bit of his image ripped from the photo, and secluded it away for herself alone - but shared it solely with Miguel once or twice - because deep in her heart, she knew her father was a good man, and she would one day see him again. And undeniably, he wanted nothing more to be reunited with her and the entire family. But the circumstances of why he couldn’t do this simple task eluded them all, and that was his only crime on the family. Nothing could convince her otherwise - not her mother, not time, not lack of anything short of what Coco knew in her heart and soul.
But listen now, early on when Miguel was an infant and some nights he had trouble sleeping, Coco would slip into his room before Enrique and Luisa were aware of the child’s distress, before the whole household could awaken and address the bebés cries. Mama Coco would go to his crib side and speak softly to her darling grandson, she remembered well how her father pacified her on bad nights when sleep eluded her. And sometimes, she would share a secret lullaby with baby Miguel, which never failed to lull the bebé off to his journey of slumber and dreams.
As time escaped them, Miguel grew strong and able, whereas Mama Coco’s trips became less frequent, until they ceased entirely. But Miguel was able to sleep soundlessly, while Coco’s memories began to fail. However, she never lost sight of that smile or those eyes tracing through Miguel’s features. Miguel reminded Coco of someone dear to her heart who she could never forget, and somewhere inside Miguel’s soul was a little spark of a memory for someone he hadn’t ever known at all, but who he wanted to rekindle that feeling of familiarity with. But he found placation in familiar lyrics, and felt drawn to a significant person he felt a deep rooted connection with - though partially misguided. And would eventually seek them out to find the acceptance and validation he so dearly needed.
Unbeknownst to him, Miguel shared the authentic and tender memories of a father - who loved his family above worldwide notoriety and fame - with his great great grandmother. Those fragile memories of the real Papa, the living Hector, might’ve kept Hector from fading out of existence entirely when Miguel claimed, “I won’t let Coco forget you.”
Because this was true. Miguel would not forget Papa Hector, and he would rekindle those memories Mama Coco shared with him, when he-himself was a tiny infant.
