#flower bridge

[swampyforestbanshee]

[swampyforestbanshee]

[wgm-beautiful-world]

Flower Bridge - Temesvár, ROMANIA

[im-fairly-whitty]

1/2 More stuff about Coco for you because no one in my immediate circle loves it as much as I do. So once Miguel is reunited with Imelda and the family, she turns to Hector and it's implied he's tried to speak to her a lot. The rest of the family doesn't say anything, kind of hinting that they've seen him before, too, and know who he is. So then when they all watched Hector dragged back through the gate at the beginning, why does no one seem to realize who he is? Like...?

Why didn’t any of the Riveras acknowledge Hector when they saw him trying to cross the flower bridge?

None of them could have recognized Hector from a distance, even if they wanted to.

It’s safe to say that if Mama Imelda was there, sparks would have flown when she saw her estranged husband, but even in her absence, why didn’t ANY of the other Riveras say “Hey look Miguel! It’s your trash great-great-grandfather that ruined music for all of us!! Stay away from him if you don’t want Imelda coming down on you hard.”

Let’s take a look:

- At the bridge crossing scene we’ve got the whole Rivera crew waiting in line to get Miguel through customs when Hector goes barrelling through security to try and get over the bridge. Miguel is watching wide-eyed, probably at first because he thinks Hector might really be Frida Kahlo.

^^I mean look at this kid, he thinks he’s seeing a celebrity, not a crossdresser. x)

But we also see that Miguel’s really the only one paying attention. After Hector’s attempt fails Tia Rosita does look over and comments “I don’t know what I’d do if no one put my photo on the ofrenda!”

- She sees Hector and doesn’t recognize him at all, which isn’t surprising in the least when you think about how limited Hector’s contact with the Rivera family has been. In fact, none of the dead Riveras present at the time could have recognized Hector.

Oscar and Felipe: They knew Hector in life, but assuming they died after their sister Imelda (since she’s older than them by a few years) Hector could have been permanently chased off by Imelda from ever trying to contact their family again before they ever got a chance to meet him in skeleton form. They would never recognize him on sight, and if they’re focused on waiting in line and looking the other direction, then chances are extremely good that they aren’t going to recognize Hector’s voice either since they haven't heard it in nearly a century.

Rosita and Julio: They are a brother and sister who came into the Rivera family long after Hector had disappeared in life. By the time they arrived even Hector’s name was a taboo in the household, meaning they knew next to nothing of Hector in life and certainly have never had contact with him in death. 

If perhaps Hector has tried contacting Imelda when they were around to see it, (which we know he gave up trying a long time ago, Hector’s completely focused on seeing Coco, never even hinting about Imelda when he’s with Miguel, having been so forcefully rejected so many times that he doesn’t even dare dream of getting her back anymore) then chances are their one chance to see him was extremely brief, loud, and a long time ago, not giving them much to remember him by. After so many years with so little information, there’s no way Rosita would have put two-and-two together as she and Miguel watched a scruffy homeless looking skeleton get taken away by security in the distance. It’s too out of context for her to have a chance at realizing who Hector is.

Victoria: As a third generation Rivera, there’s a really good chance Victoria’s never even heard Hector’s name spoken aloud (we see in the movie how entirely it’s been scrubbed from the family vocabulary, Imelda only referring to Hector as “that man,” “that musician,” ect.) Victoria has about as much chance of knowing who Hector is as Miguel does, in life or death.

So what about when Imelda arrives with Hector and Miguel, having just fished them out of the cenote with Pepita’s help? Well, we don’t actually know if they recognized Hector or not, they all gather excitedly around Miguel as soon as he dismounts Pepita, then they all scoot back and watch from the sidelines as Imelda starts ranting at Hector. 

Before Imelda says anything they don’t acknowledge Hector, and after she starts talking to him they have all the context they need to know exactly who Hector is, whether or not they would have been able to recognize him on sight. 

They all watch in silence as a century of emotion, grief, and regret comes out between Imelda and he-who-must-not-be-remembered, the mystery man whose supposed betrayal has been looming over their lives for generations. 

Thanks for the ask! As for “Proud Corazon,” I think you’ve sharper ears than me!

[Images sourced from @leylalovescats ]

[hollabackhorse]

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

[im-fairly-whitty]

Do you have any headcannons for the security lady that works at the bridge gate at the beginning, and end, of the movie? She’s my favorite (very) minor character but I can’t find anything about her anywhere. It’s fine if you don’t lmao, keep up the great work!!!

- Helena López has only worked as a flower bridge crossing agent for the last 34 years, meaning that by the time she comes along Hector Rivera’s already an infamous name in the department. She doesn’t believed much of the outrageous stories she hears, assuming “Hector Rivera” had to be a joke other agents tried to get new hires to fall for.

- But her very first Dia de los Muertos is the “painted alebrije year.” 

- She no longer doubts the stories

- Helena devours all the Hector stories she could find after that, fascinated that this legend of a man would be SO desperate to cross the flower bridge after so many failures. None of the agent’s stories quite agree about why exactly he needs so badly to get across, or why he hasn’t ever been able to do it (his crazed shouted reasons always shift and change depending on what disguise he’s trying to use that year). 

- Everyone loosely agrees that “his girl” is the common thread in most of his stories, and the prevailing theory is that he must have cheated on a fiancee in life. Those who belong to the alternate “Rivera conspiracy” group say that no, he’s got to be involved with the terrifying shoemaking matriarch of Rivera Shoes.  

- Well Helena was a social worker in life and knows a few things about tracking down records, so she spends way too many sleepless December nights trying to find anything she can about Hector Rivera. She finds a verrrrry long criminal record, mostly bridge crossing attempts, but with a bit more digging she finds a very old restraining order made out between a Hector Rivera and an Imelda Rivera. 

- A LOT more searching finds the declared Rivera family tree of those who haven't passed yet (a very restricted file), meaning that at 4am on New Year’s day she’s sitting at a table of paperwork, tears dripping down her cheekbones, having pieced together Hector Rivera’s real story.

- But she isn’t some PI, she isn’t a crazy busy-body, and she really wasn’t meant to be in those records, so she never pitches in on the Hector conversations, keeping the tragic and personal feeling things she now knows about Hector to herself. 

- No one ever really understands why Helena never makes jokes at Hector’s expense like the others, why she always volunteers to take whatever booth Hector’s approaching when they spot him coming (which is always easy) and how on earth Helena is ALWAYS patient with Hector, year after year, lie after lie. How she cheerfully plays along every single time. Even when she and Hector both know how useless it all is.

- Over the years Helena never approaches Hector or the Riveras outside of work (because she’s a professional) but she does do research on her own time to see if there REALLY isn't ANY way he could maybe make it across the bridge. It keeps her up some nights that she never finds a way. As time goes on she starts being up at night wondering if Hector Rivera will even make it to the bridge this year. He’s getting more loose boned and yellowed, meaning “his girl,” his daughter Coco must be finally forgetting him.

- Helena’s relieved that year when she spots “Frida Kahlo” approaching, but her heart aches to see how far gone Hector looks. She knows there can’t be much time left for him at all, this might be the last time she ever seems him. And she can see in his eyes that he know it too. So she doesn’t move to stop him when he makes a final frenzied dash for the flower bridge, she has to look away as Hector’s dragged back through the gates by security.

- She thinks about him all night as she works the rest of her shift, as she gets off work and joins her husband for their own trip to the land of the living, as they return, as they make their way to the Sunrise Spectacular (they go every year.)

- But this Sunrise Spectacular is different. So, so different. And Helena is on her feet screaming the loudest as the incomprehensible drama is unfolding on the jumbotron screens above the stage. She is ugly crying with joy when Hector doesn’t disappear with the second death, when he stands with his estranged wife supporting him, and again a few months later she hears of Coco’s arrival on the local news (the Rivera family are now celebrities in Ernesto’s absence).

- And you can bet she beats away all the agents suddenly eager to help Hector when he shows up with his family the next November. It’s an absolutely surreal moment for them both when Hector’s face scan clears, and Helena is finally able to congratulate this old young man as he joins his family on the other side of the turnstiles. 

- She’s crying again to herself as we watches him step onto the petals that hold his weight and she watches him as long as she can, crying and laughing as he disappears out of sight over the top of the flower bridge.

- Helena never tells Hector that she knew, but her decades-old reputation as “The Rivera Wrangler” stands strong as the years go by, meaning every year it’s the highlight of her Dia de los Muertos to scan Hector through her booth. It’s always a joy for her to see him successfully make his annual trek to the land of the living, head held high and holding hands with his wife and daughter.

[im-fairly-whitty]

Coco Secret Santa gift for @dra-aluxe ! She has a Xoloitzcuintli dog (same breed as Dante!) named Silver, so here they are hanging out on the flower bridge together. :)

[icy-witch]

Switzerland, Lucerne - Flower Bridge, Chapel Bridge, Kapellbrücke

The Kapellbrücke is a covered wooden footbridge spanning diagonally across the Reuss River in the city of Lucerne in central Switzerland. Named after the nearby St. Peter's Chapel, the bridge is unique since it contains a number of interior paintings dating back to the 17th century, although many of them were destroyed along with most of the centuries-old bridge in a 1993 fire. Subsequently restored, the Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe, as well as the world's oldest surviving truss bridge. It serves as the city's symbol and as one of Switzerland's main tourist attractions.