Miguel Rivera

###  Likes:

Día de los Muertos, his family, music, tamales, tacos, bread of the dead, Héctor, Ernesto de la Cruz (formerly), performing in front of others

### Dislikes:

Having arguments with his family, his grandmother's temper, Imelda's ban on music, performing in front of others (formerly), Ernesto de la Cruz

### Occupation(s):

Musician
Student
Shoe Shiner (formerly)

### Goal(s):

Return home to the Land of the Living. (succeeded)
Save Hector from the Final Death and help Coco remember her father (succeeded)

## Behind the scenes

### Creator(s):

Adrian Molina
Matthew Aldrich
Jason Katz
Lee Unrich

**Miguel Rivera**is a fictional character and the protagonist of the 2017 Pixar film, *Coco*.

## Fictional Biography

It is revealed in the novelization that when Miguel was a baby, his Mamá Coco would hold him and hum to him while Rosa would be too preoccupied to notice their great grandmother's singing. She found he had been trying to sing along. Coco found that baby Miguel had the same musical feeling like her father.

So, Miguel gained a love of music, which differentiated himself from the rest of his family

Though Miguel became a skilled guitarist and singer, he never performed in front of people. Miguel hid his enthusiasm from the rest of the family and worked in the family shop as a shoe shiner, even making the attic a hideout. His hideout was also used by Coco when she was younger, and it was a place where both of them could escape from their family's expectations.

Almost every year, Miguel was told of how his great-great-grandmother, Imelda had banned music after her husband had left to raise her daughter, Coco alone.

At an unknown point, Miguel adopted the street dog, Dante, as a pet, naming after Ernesto de la Cruz's horse

## Character

### Official Description

*Miguel is a 12-year-old aspiring musician who struggles against his family's generations-old ban on music. When a magical mishap lands*
him in the Land of the Dead, Miguel seeks out his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz, to help him return to the Land of the Living before it's too late

### Personality

Miguel is a lonely Rivera boy who has grown up without music due to a generations' ban on it from his great-great-grandmother, Mamá Imelda. Despite this ban, Miguel has loved music, manifesting from his great-grandmother, Mamá Coco, who used to hum to Miguel when he was a baby. Ever since then, he has loved music to his heart's content and learned how to play the guitar and having been inspired by famed musician, Ernesto de la Cruz. He has kept it secret from the rest of his family, with the exception of Mamá Coco and his dog, Dante. The love of music stems not only from Coco, but from Miguel's long-lost great-great-grandfather, Héctor. Midway in the film, Miguel learns his dedication towards music also stemmed from Mamá Imelda, despite her ban on the music she once loved. Initially wanting to follow in his unknown-great-great-grandfather's footsteps, Miguel didn't like having to make shoes and wanted the support of music from his family. The wish to become a musician shows a that Miguel is initially a dreamer.

Apart from his ambitions, Miguel is a kind-hearted twelve year old boy. Miguel showed kindness towards others, especially towards Dante, even though he is a stray dog. The two have a close companionship, since Miguel always shows compassion towards the stray dog, and also feeding him treats even when the dog can't do the trick Miguel wants him to do. A defiant and kind boy, Miguel loves his family and his friends and willingly would go to the ends of the earth to save them. For example, Even during a scuffle between the Riveras and the security guards, he immediately assaulted the security guard who was attacking his Mama Imelda. After learning Hector would be forgotten and that he was his great-great-grandfather, Miguel wanted to save Hector from suffering the Final Death by helping Mama Coco remember the lullaby he sung her.

Miguel was also a key role in mending Imelda and Hector's relationship, as he revealed Imelda that Hector was trying to return home to her and Coco but De la Cruz murdered him before she could get home. Miguel even encouraged Imelda to sing and Hector to playing the guitar, which in turn, ignited a romantic spark between Héctor and Imelda. Miguel is also quite resourceful and witty, being able to come up with plans, especially when going to steal back Hector's photo from Ernesto. In the end, he has also become a proud older brother to his younger sister, Socorro, proudly telling her all about their family. It should be noted that Miguel used to have a fear performing in front of others. However, his companion and grandfather, Héctor, advised how to get rid of his nerves. During "Poco Loco" he followed Hector's advice and then got more confident the more he played in front of everyone. By the end of the film, he performed in front of the entire family.

Apart from inheriting some of Hector's characteristics, Miguel had inherited his stubbornness from Imelda (as also noted from the other Riveras). It is evident that Imelda was very stubborn in her lifetime and when she was giving her conditions that Miguel should no longer play music. Miguel has the exact same characteristic as her, as he stubbornly refused to accept her blessing and continuously tried to stubbornly keep his taste for music without the no music condition. Also, like his great-great-grandfather, Miguel is a well-meaning boy who helps others, such as agreeing to put up Hector's photo when he returned to the Land of the Living.

Back then Miguel used to idolize Ernesto de la Cruz until he was the one who murdered Hector for his own songs. He learned to be the true musician from Hector, his true great-great-grandfather, and embraced both his love for music and the love he held for his family. Though defiant, rambunctious, and stubborn, Miguel is a boy who loves his family very much. At the end of his journey, Miguel has learned that family is a very important element in his life. Especially after learning Ernesto had gone through dangerous, desperate measures he took (especially murdering Hector for nothing), Miguel sees that nothing is more important than family, something he expresses to Imelda at the end of the film. He retains both his love for his family and music when restoring Héctor's memories and getting his family to lifting the ban on music. He is a very familial person, as he doesn't like arguing with his family and is somewhat terrified of his grandmother Elena's fury. He wrote "Proud Corazón" to show his love for his family, evident by putting that his and the family's love for each other will live on forever.

### Physical Appearance

Through most of the movie, Miguel is a twelve-year-old boy with short, messy black hair and brown eyes. Though his height is not explicitly stated, Miguel is about at his grandmother's height and comes up to at least Hector's shoulder.

He wears a red hoody, white tank top and blue jeans and brown boots. For a brief time in the movie, Héctor applies black and white shoe polish to Miguel's face to make him look like a skeleton. As such, Miguel has black shoe polish around his eyes and on his nose while the rest of his face is painted with white. At the end of the film, Miguel wears a white shirt and retains his jeans and boots. Miguel later wears a red mariachi uniform and red sombrero

### Powers & Abilities

Miguel is a talented guitarist and singer. He taught himself how to play the guitar watching the de la Cruz movies, as he hits the right notes beautifully. Miguel's family later is amused when he plays the guitar, getting the skills from his Papá Héctor. He is also quick-witted in coming up with plans

Miguel is also very fast on his feet, being able to evade Pepita and the security at Marigold Central Station.