Elena Rivera

### Personality

Loving, protective, eccentric, stern, temperamental, tough, strict, stubborn, somewhat brutish, a bit overbearing, caring, well-meaning, selfish (formerly), overprotective (formerly), fiery (formerly), intimidating (formerly), grandmotherly

### Loves/Likes

Día de los Muertos, her family, her grandson, cooking (especially tamales), Miguel's music, dogs, music, her grandfather, smashing music (formerly)

### Hates/Dislikes

Music (formerly), stray dogs (formerly), her grandfather (mistakenly), those who turn their back on family, her mother in distress, people rejecting her tamales, Miguel's disobedience, smashing music, strangers, mariachis (formerly), Miguel being ending up like Ernesto

### Goal

To keep her family away from music (formerly)

### Enemies

Dante (formerly), Mariachis (formerly), Ernesto de la Cruz, Héctor Rivera (formerly)

### Fate

Reconciles with Miguel and abandons the ban of music

### Relatives

Julio † (father)
Mamá Coco † (mother)
Imelda † (grandmother)
Héctor † (grandfather)
Victoria † (older sister)
Franco Rivera (husband)
Enrique Rivera (youngest son)
Luisa Rivera (daughter-in-law)
Berto Rivera (oldest son)
Carmen (daughter-in-law)
Gloria Rivera (daughter)
Miguel Rivera (grandson)
Socorro Rivera (granddaughter)
Abel Rivera (grandson)
Rosa Rivera (granddaughter)
Benny and Manny Rivera (twin grandsons)
Rosita † (paternal aunt)
Felipe and Óscar † (twin maternal granduncles)

### Qoute

(repeated line) "No music!"
"My grandson is a sweet little angelito, querido, cielito. He wants no part of your music, mariachi."
"What is all this? You keep secrets from your own family?"
"You want to end up like that man? forgotten? left off your family's offendra?"
"Nothing, Mama, nothing at all."

**Elena Rivera**, though addressed as **Abuelita** (Spanish for "Granny"), is a supporting character in the 2017 Disney/Pixar animated feature film, *Coco*. She is Miguel's grandmother, acting as an overprotective parental figure to him. Even though she and her grandson have different views of music, they nonetheless have a loving relationship.

## Background

Elena "Abuelita" Rivera was the second-born daughter of Coco and Julio. and the younger sister of Victoria. Growing up presumably during her maternal grandmother Imelda's time, Elena was taught how to make shoes and the value of hard work and family along with being told the story of her infamous grandfather, a musician who walked out on her mother and grandmother long before she was born. Elena met and married Franco and had three children, Berto, Gloria, and Enrique. Before or after this, Imelda passed away, but Elena would still continue her rules, notably the ban on music, and raise the future generations of her family

## Trivia

* Abuelita's habit of using her footwear in her case are her slippers, which are also referred as chancla in Latin as a weapon is a trait she inherited from her late grandmother. In real life, this is a common practice among Mexican matriarchs. Also, given their interactions with Miguel and Coco respectively, the way she embraces is similar to her late grandfather.
* In the novelization, Abuelita states she and Franco fell in love after she made him shoes he never got blisters. Her former hatred of music was not only because of Imelda's legacy but likely because of when her mother had a dancing accident which hurt her badly, terrifying her and her older sister Victoria (whom she, Coco and Julio outlived).