Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2018 9:10:52 GMT -5
Who am I? Just a conscience!
Introduce yourself
Hey, howdy, hey! The name's Sephy, and I wished upon a star from Google?. My other imaginary friends include Helen Parr & "Jack-Jack" Parr. Héctor and I are so very eager to join the Worlds of Disney circle of life!
Character basics
Character name: Héctor
Age: 21 in life, but he had been dead in the Land of the Dead for 96 years, which makes him a total of 118 years old (movie is set in 2017 + one year later)
Species: Human - Skeleton
Birthplace: Santa Cecilia, Mexico
Movie: Coco
Custom title: Mexican Songwriter
Why'd you pick this character? Héctor has such a love for family, which is what most Hispanics are all about. Despite his tragic situation, he tries his best to make the most of it in such a positive way. He's a very much a flawed character and he's not super heroic, which is why I like him.
Character appearance
Hair description: His layered, raven hair is normally unkempt; it's parted to the side with side swept bangs that grow past where his ears would have been, but shortens at the nape of his neck. However, since he has been with Imelda, it looks considerably straighter, as if it's been brushed a lot more frequently.
Facial description/mood/expressions: As a dead skeleton, Héctor no longer has his lightly tanned skin that contained his tiny freckles over his slender face, nor the thick eyebrows (which are slightly smaller than Ernesto's if he did say so himself) or thick eyelashes he wore over his large, expressive brown eyes. In addition, he no longer contains his large, angular shaped nose nor has lips over his crooked pearly white teeth above his small chin that comes down to a triangular point. In it's place, his skull demonstrates his high cheek bones that he had in life with a socket where his nose would have been, but he is still able to open and close where his lips would have been, bearing his crooked teeth in which one front tooth is now replaced with a golden one each time he opens his mouth and grins. In his eye sockets, the brown eyes that he had in life now almost look magenta purple in color. On his skeletal face, he has the designs commonly found on the sugar skulls of Mexico: He has three golden tear drop shapes outlined in orange that are placed horizontally upon the arch of his cheek bones, along with orange dots that trace the line underneath his eye sockets all the way around to the top of his eye sockets. Next to the dot atop of his eye sockets, he has magenta and yellow angular shapes that curl in the same shape and color above each of his eye sockets, with a green plant-like shape on his forehead that complements the green crescent shaped patterns on his small, angular chin. Originally, the color of his bones was yellowing from decay due to being forgotten, but it has become significantly whiter upon being remembered. Although much of him has changed from how he looked in life, he still has his scruffy raven hair and his tiny beard on his chin to mark his identity that he had in life, though not having hair follicles means that he can easily take it off when necessary.
As an inspired artist, he is a stark contrast from the "machista" man; not only does he have more slender features that make him pass off as a woman if he were to crossdress and take out his identifying facial hair, but he also easily shows all emotion that he feels on his face - from the passionate enthusiasm he feels when he is full of positive energy, to the dead pan expressions when he is annoyed as well as the guilt-ridden gloominess that he sometimes succumbs to. For the most part, his expression is one of longing, longing to be with the family and loved ones that he had been dreaming of reuniting with for years. In general, it is hard for him to hide his expressions. Therefore, if you have a terrible grito, you can bet that his horrified expression is going to immediately tell you that you did not do as well as you could have, amigo.
Clothing style: On his raven head, he wears a small straw hat. He used to wear a torn-up indigo formal jacket with one sleeve completely torn up and the other sleeve containing at tear at his shoulder, his jacket used to also be ripped at the start of his abdomen, but it has been mended to a vest thanks to Imelda and the family. Since he has no undershirt, his skeletal ribs and spine are revealed beneath. He also wears a red bandanna tied in a bow around his bony neck. His light brown pinstriped pants are held up by his red with white-striped suspenders strapped around his shoulders underneath his jacket, and a rope used as a belt to keep his fastened to his hip bones. Where his pants were ripped on his left pant leg having a tear opening only at his knee and his right pant leg being torn completely from his knees down to reveal his fractured bone at the bottom of his leg, they have been patched and mended to regular pant length as well. He also used to be barefoot and now wears brown dress shoes thanks to his family.
Body build: Tall and scrawny in both life and death; he is capable of being shoved by a kid, but he is also capable of holding up a kid or even his 100 year old daughter in his arms.. just not for too long because of his brittle bones. If he is angered to the point of desperation, however, he will use all of his remaining strength to knock someone down and punch them out, though it probably wouldn't be for too long.
Any unique traits (optional): He has a golden tooth on one of his front teeth. He has a cracked rib, and also has tape and bandages around two fractured bones: the ulna bone of his right forearm and the tibia bone of his left leg.
Original character analysis (In your own words and please be thorough)
Personality:
Despite the tragedy that befell him that would give him every reason to be a miserable person, Héctor clings desperately onto hope and always tries to stay positive. Realistically, however, there are times that he gets down on himself, whether it’s out of guilt for his mistake or because of the sadness of watching someone else vanish to the Final Death along with the thoughts of him perhaps being one of them next, but he always tries to pick himself back up again. Either way, whatever emotion he is feeling will be found plainly on his face without a mask. If he is sad, he is even apt to have tears in his eyes. If he is romantic, he wouldn’t be able to contain the longing emotion in his eyes and his expression as he continues to stare in awe of the one he is in love with, his inner gentleman side being willing to do anything to please the woman he loves – even make himself look un poco loco while doing it.
Héctor is very open-minded for a man of the 1920s when it comes to the Hispanic culture. The fact that he can be un poco loco for the woman he loves means that he is literally opened to doing even the most ridiculous, humiliating things out of desperation to achieve what he desires. He's completely shameless and not afraid to make a fool out of himself at all. He can be prone to being mischievous in coming up with schemes to get back to his family, willing to try anything - even crossdressing! - to be with his family. He does not find it demasculating enough to avoid it, and has a healthy self-esteem in the sense that he knows how good he is even in comparison to famous people, and also thinks that he is handsome despite his imperfect physical features; all of this, he manages to do subtly and humbly. Whatever the cost, you can be sure that Hector will be open-minded enough to make any kind of deal to do whatever it takes for anyone else if it means to achieve his own goals.
This people-pleasing nature of his is naturally driven by the fact that he had no family before he had Imelda and Coco, wanting to please anyone just to have that sense of attention he didn’t get to have from a family. This is why he instantly becomes sheepish and tries to talk his way out of trouble every time his mischievousness gets him into trouble with either Imelda or someone else he had upset. If he's not using his creativity for the arts, his crafty nature also allows him to come up with schemes that will help him get to where he needs to be. This way of talking himself out of getting into trouble can be deceitful at times, where he will tell you all kinds of lies that you want to hear if it will get him out of trouble or closer to where he desires to be. When someone argues with him, the immature Héctor will argue back with a comeback of his, as well. When he is made fun of, he tries to wave it off but then can get pouty when they don't believe him.
His desperation if there’s a time constraint may cause him to be impatient of other people and he'll feel inclined to do it himself, but he'll try to get over it and allow the other person to do it. The passive man would never think to lie to his intimidating wife or much less want to cross her, but if he does get caught in lying to anyone else, he does bravely hold himself accountable for the mistakes he made and for the lies he has said if he is caught lying. He is always quick to forgive as long as the wrong has been amended, and is usually the first to apologize if he had done something wrong.
As mentioned earlier, this opportunistic side may be positive in the sense that he jumps into opportunities that he finds, willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his desires or dreams. This was how he jumped at the opportunity to win Imelda’s affections and how he jumped at the opportunities to cross the bridge. Unfortunately, his opportunistic side can come at a cost where it will blind him into being inconsiderate of what the family truly needs – being united. His passions and desires to earn a living for his family doing what he loves (music) blinded him to the reality around him enough to be mislead by his childhood friend and eventually murdered, preventing him from truly meeting the needs of his family.
One thing is for certain, Héctor always learns from his many mistakes that he has made due to his poor judgment of the situation or people. Although he can be trusting of others that may lie to him or steal from him, he becomes cynical and wary of them the next time. This makes him a bit hypocritical when he proves to be unreliable in borrowing things without giving it back or lying without keeping his promises while hoping that the other person would would believe him. He was even willing to give up being a musician for years after what Ernesto had done to steal his music, and even realizing that he himself was a self-absorbed jerk for even leaving his family in the first place; though he left only to provide more for his new family, it wasn’t worth leaving them in retrospect. Hindsight is 20/20 unfortunately, though his distaste for musicians gradually changed upon meeting Miguel. He has since done music along with his family again.
Although he made the mistake that costed him the loss of his family, he is still strongly connected to family even in the land of the dead. He finds "fake" family that he refers to as tios or cousins, and remains connected to them for years in the land of the dead. His love of his own real family is what keeps him trying to cross the bridge so that he could see his daughter again. It is this same drive that he has with the remainder of his family, including his drive to reunite his romance with Imelda and win her heart again, all he wants is the opportunity to prove himself again.
History:
Héctor was born in Santa Cecilia, Mexico, on November 30, 1900, a time when Mexico was ruled by Porfirio Diaz, a master politician who rigged elections, arguing that only he knew what was best for his country. He enforced his belief with a strong hand while retaining and consolidating his own power. "Order and Progress" was his campaign slogan, and he used the rurales, an armed police force directly under his control as a paramilitary force to keep order in the countryside. The rurales were a mobile force, often put on trains with their horses to put down rebellions in relatively remote areas of Mexico like Santa Cecilia. The poor, working class people of Mexico conducted strikes for better wages and better treatment, and they even created a rebellious party of their own. These strikes were ruthlessly suppressed by the Mexican army, who gunned down textile workers and put the bodies on train cars that transported them to Veracruz, "where the bodies were dumped in the harbor as food for sharks". Needless to say, that during these strikes, a lot of violent chaos ensued and the lives of many families were lost.
Héctor would not be able to say if his parents were a part of one of the many strikes, or if they were just a casualty of the violent chaos of the time. What is known to him was that he had lost them at such a young age, and so he would never be able to remember them in order to see them even in the Land of the Dead.
Héctor lived in an orphanage in Santa Cecilia. The story where the soon-to-be-famous musician started as a “total nobody from Santa Cecilia” (in Miguel's words) was true. He had no idea who his parents even were, but he held onto the hope that he would be adopted someday; he just wanted to be a part of a home and have his own family. The only thing that kept Héctor’s spirits high in that orphanage was music. The owner of the orphanage was a woman who was gifted in music, and she used to play for the kids in the orphanage. The people-pleasing little Héctor quickly became her favorite when he demonstrated interest in playing the music. Héctor absorbed everything he saw, from the way she would play a particular note and the way it looked in the song book. It was almost as if he learned how to read the notes in the songbook before he even knew how to read the lyrics. When he finally did learn how to read though, he could remember falling in love with the words in a song: the way they were strung together rhythmically with a pleasant rhyme, though sometimes they didn’t even have to rhyme at all for it to sound perfectly in tune with the music. Music was quickly becoming his passion, and it wasn’t long before he was approached by another boy, who also shared a common interest: Ernesto De La Cruz. Although Ernesto was four years older, the fact that a big kid wanted to be his friend was amazing! The two quickly became inseparable in their common dream to share music with the world.
One day, Ernesto convinced Héctor to run away from the orphanage so that they can go and seize their moment to become famous musicians. Héctor was reserved at first, wanting to have a family of his own in the hopes that he’d one day be adopted. Yet Ernesto managed to convince him that the only way that they could be famous musicians is if they did it themselves, no one was going to do it for them. After managing to take a guitar with them, Héctor’s constant self-practice taught Ernesto everything Héctor knew about music, while Ernesto became like an older brother that taught him how to take care of himself and how to be a man. “Seize your moment” taught Héctor to be opportunistic. They took care of one another as they performed in the streets, coming up with strategies on how to get the most people and the most money, though they also tended to take or “borrow” from the wealthier people when they needed to survive. It used to be him and Héctor having equal singing parts when they would remake popular songs, until Héctor gradually became the harmonics and the dancing, offering his best gritos just to bring the attention to the audience while Ernesto’s deeper voice commanded the room.
After he finished playing one of the gigs in Santa Cecilia, the passionate teenage Héctor swore that he met the love of his life: Imelda. The girl was a year older, and it was not conventional at the time for a Mexican man to be with a woman who was older, even if it was by a year. However, the opportunistic Héctor did not care about what was conventional; his heart was set on being with her. If you had only been there to hear her sing to herself that day, you would have understood.
But it was not easy.
Imelda proved to be a tough, fiery woman who was closed off from the idea at first and his twin brothers being a barrier sometimes on her behalf was no picnic. However, Héctor never gave up. Her tough nature made the gentleman want to continue doing anything to please her, even if he looked un poco loco in front of everyone. He continued trying to get her to go out with him, playing popular music she liked until he started realizing that he wanted to compose his own music: He wanted to write for her. Héctor began writing and composing his own music, then singing it and playing it for her outside of her window at night. New, original music meant a better audience, and soon he and Ernesto had the songs incorporated into their music that they played for the audience in Santa Cecilia. Still, only Imelda would know that she was the first to hear the original piece to know that they were meant for her. Let’s just say, Héctor won her over by getting her interested enough to talk to him at least; and although she was self-conscious about her own talents, his encouragement even got her to sing along with his music and dance – with him! Héctor felt so lucky to have her in his arms, and even to this day, he could never forget their first kiss.
Soon, Héctor married the love of his life. Using the money that they had, Imelda had given him his white, skull guitar. When he found out that he was going to be a father, Héctor was overcome with joy in being able to have his own family after all! Just what he always wanted! He fell in love with their daughter, Socorro, whom he nicknamed Coco upon first setting eyes on her. Coco was all he ever talked about to anyone that asked him anything after a performance. Unfortunately, as more performances and gigs were being requested of him and Ernesto, which helped to provide for his new family, the more conflicts in his marriage started to happen. Héctor kept getting himself into conflicts with her, to which he would try to sweet talk his way out of, but Imelda was becoming more and more annoyed with him not taking his role as a father seriously.
One day, Ernesto came to him with the idea to travel through various tours in order to garner up fame and money, the opportunistic Héctor saw this as an opportunity to provide for his family so that they would never have to worry about being unwealthy and Coco could have the best life she could possibly get. Unfortunately, Imelda did not share the same ideals as Héctor had, preferring that Héctor just stayed with his family. Through the few years that Coco grew a little older, Hector would leave on tour and then come back, though he truly hated to leave Coco, so he wrote a song just for her called Remember Me. It was going to be their secret song so that they could sing it whenever they were apart, so that she would always know that she would always be on his mind and that he would always be there in her heart.
In 1921, after months on tour that he had been away from home, the 21 year old Héctor grew more and more homesick. He kept writing letters, doodling pictures for Coco from his imagination just to imagine her smile when she would see it. He would send her poems and songs, apologizing that he wasn’t there for her and saying how much he missed her. Unfortunately, because they traveled a lot, he would never get letters from them in return because they wouldn’t know where his next address would be since they were moving around so much. When someone wanted to take his photo, he decided that he wanted to send it to Imelda and Coco along with his letter so that they would have a picture of him to remember him by… when he realized that he didn’t want to write another letter anymore; he just wanted to go home. As he sat through dinner, barely touching his food except the spicy chorizos, the gloomy Héctor suddenly did not have the will to play anymore for strangers. He just wanted to go home to his family. The more and more he thought about going home, the more he realized that he had left behind his family for strangers. His mind was made up, and he was no longer going to allow Ernesto to convince him to go on anymore. Placing the photo in the pocket of his jacket upon deciding that he was going to show up to his family in person, Héctor quickly packed his bags along with his songbook that contained all of his original songs, and he told Ernesto that he was leaving whether he was going to hate him for it or not. Ernesto supported his decision and gave him a toast, saying that he would move Heaven and Earth for him. That night, as he walked with his friend towards the train station, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach like nothing he had ever felt before. Ernesto had mentioned that maybe it was the chorizo he ate, suggesting it was food poisoning, until suddenly his body felt weak and he fell over just as everything went black.
He woke up, only to realize that he was dead.
Remorsefully, he remained in the Land of the Dead in hopes that maybe Ernesto would tell them the news, and that Imelda would put his picture on their ofrenda for the Day of the Dead so that he could finally see him again… but it never happened. Imagine his devastation when he tried to pass through the bridge, and he was stopped by the agent because he was not able to cross! But why? What happened to Imelda? After discovering that she was not yet dead (and you can believe that he searched high and low to make sure), he had been left with that question mark that was never answered. Again and again, for the next two years or so, Héctor tried to cross the bridge in hopes that Imelda would put his picture up. Surely she would have by now. After a while, Héctor painfully began to realize that Imelda did not want to see him again, and he realized that the only way that he was kept alive was Coco.
Héctor tried to make a living by picking up a few requests for music with his fake "cousin" Chicharron, Gustavo, and some of the other musicians, though he wasn’t motivated to perform for strangers since that was a stark reminder of how he lost his family the last time he did so. One day, the newly dead were suddenly arriving with familiar songs – one in particular that struck him being: Remember me. That was Coco’s song! Héctor surely thought that his daughter had finally arrived, but he quickly found out that she did not, nor did Imelda. But then how did they suddenly know that song?! It wasn’t until he heard that Ernesto had written all of the music, becoming the famous artist of his time. What?! That was HIS music! He couldn’t believe that his best friend had stolen credit for his music after he died! He officially HATED musicians. They were all just self-important jerks! With that, he exchanged his mariachi clothing for clothing from someone that he felt was so closely connected to him after helping him adjust to the land of the dead, like his real family, just before the man passed away to the Final Death. Since then, he would have many "fake" uncles, cousins..but he would only have one "fake" father.
In order to make a living, Héctor began to work as a tour guide in hopes that he would find Coco or maybe even Imelda to explain what happened. Needless to say, when Ernesto finally arrived to the Land of the Dead a few decades later, Héctor was treated as if Ernesto barely even knew him. Ernesto made a living for himself even in the Land of the Dead, having a glamorous building, a famous concert, and even a plaza named after him, where everyone decided to sing the Remember Me song as if to add salt to the wound even more. After getting through the line to meet Ernesto to find out more about what happened, saying that he was a close friend of Ernesto's, he was rejected and not invited in. Well that was just fine! He didn’t want anything to do with him either! He knew the truth at least! Sadly, they treated him like he was crazy for daring to say that Ernesto had stolen from him. It wasn't long after when he was drunk one day, yelling out the truth in front of his mansion, that he was attacked by two men, cracking his rib and fracturing his bones in the process. After he bandaged his bones together in his arm and leg, he managed to do a few favors and exchanges in order to get a gilded cap to cover the chipped tooth he had. When he returned to work the next day, he found out that the tour was going to include Ernesto’s famous places and life in the Land of the Dead and then Héctor suddenly lost his job unexpectedly. This caused Héctor to become more cynical and vowed that he would just wait for Imelda or Coco at the Land of the Dead in hopes that he could explain what happened and reunite with them again at least in death.
Imelda must have had a long and healthy life because Héctor ended up waiting several decades until he finally saw her again. Oh she was so beautiful, even in death! Much to his devastation, she wanted nothing to do with him, treating him just as Ernesto had. What was going on!? Héctor tried to convince her to hear him out, making himself look foolish in public as usual just as he begged for her to listen, but she would not; her intimidating alebrije, Pepita, made sure of that, too. Music did not even move her like it used to. It was as if she completely closed her heart to him. He even tried getting lustrador de calzado in order to learn how to shine shoes just to get her attention. Nothing. Wasn’t she told of his death or did she just not care? All Héctor knew was that he abandoned the family, and he honestly couldn’t blame her for thinking that. His own wife and eventually finding out that the rest of his family hating music was the final straw for him; he decided to renounce music on his own, vowing not to play again. Morosely, not having music to get her attention and his bones becoming more and more brittle, he remained with his fake family, or people who also did not have their pictures on their ofrenda, in the shabby little homes that were considered the pits of the Land of the Dead as he tried to focus his hope on seeing Coco again.
Every year, he would make his way to the bridge to see if he could cross the bridge in hopes that Coco would remember him enough to put his picture on the ofrenda. After hearing talk from others that have gone into the shoe making store in the Land of the Dead that seemed to be lead by Imelda, he learned that Coco had gotten married and had children of her own! (He had a grandchild! He was a grandfather!) Maybe they could put his picture? Unfortunately, it seemed that Imelda had made sure to leave her legacy with the family she left behind, ensuring that his photo would never be on the ofrenda. More years passed and Héctor continued making his way towards the bridge to see if his daughter Coco would return to the Land of the Dead, but as several decades went by, he realized that his daughter was also living a long and healthy life. He couldn’t imagine everything in Coco’s life that he was missing. Eventually, Héctor began to feel weakness in his bones and noticed his bones were yellowing to decay. His experience living with his fake family that would eventually pass away to the Final Death made him realize that he was slowly being forgotten by Coco. No! Thankfully he still had his picture inside of his pocket! He had to find a way to cross the bridge and bring it to her! He had to be remembered enough to at least see Coco again in the Land of the Dead!
Using his charm to help him make deals and trades with various people in exchange for information or assistance, which involved him borrowing certain things from his family like Chicharron along with promises he never kept, Héctor began realizing his scheme to become someone famous in order to pass by the bridge since famous people are made immortal because they have made their mark on the world. He was set to pretending to be a make up artist to enter Frida Khalo's studio when he found out that they were calling for various actresses to perform as Frida Kahlo for the Sunrise Spectacular rehearsal. He quickly pretended to be an actor that desperately wanted to be in character, and managed to convince Ceci to give him one of the Frida Khalo dresses, her wig, then her jewelry. Unfortunately, even with the use of Frida's mannerisms, the agent at the bridge told him that he is not recognized on his family's ofrenda, leading Héctor to make a desperate run for the bridge anyways. Unfortunately, he ended up sinking into the marigold petals and is arrested. At the Grand Central Station, Héctor was cited for several charges, he tries to sway the officer with promises that he could get him backstage with Ernesto De La Cruz since he knows him. The officer was undeterred, clearly not believing him, but thankfully leaves him with a warning only because the officer wants to go see his family for the Dia de los Muertos.
After leaving and angrily crumpling his citation, Héctor frightfully meets an actual living boy named Miguel in the Land of the Dead (but how-?!). Apparently he must have overheard him saying that he knew Ernesto de la Cruz because Miguel was weirdly specific when he asked him to take him to see Ernesto to receive his blessing so he can go home. Great. Somehow, Ernesto was still cursing him with that salt over the wound by having his great-great grandson ask for him. Still, this meant that someone was going to be able to get to the Land of the Living for him! This was his chance! Héctor used his black and white lustrador de calzado to make Miguel's face look like a skeleton in order to blend in. After ensuring that Miguel had no other relatives that would make his trip through the bridge faster, he tells him he will help get to Ernesto only if he puts his portrait up on an ofrenda so he can cross over, to which Miguel agrees. Héctor takes him back to Frida Kahlo's studio, where he knew that Ernesto would surely attend the rehearsals for Ernesto’s concert there. Unfortunately, he found out that Ernesto doesn’t do rehearsals anymore and hosts a big party now, and the two were informed by the musicians that there was a music contest in the Plaza de la Cruz where the winner gets invited to De La Cruz’s party at the mansion. After borrowing a guitar from Cheech, and sorrowfully watching his pass on to the Final Death after fulfilling a musical request, which was the first in a long time since he had played, they head over to the Plaza de La Cruz in order to participate in the contest. Much to his surprise, Héctor realized that this was the boy’s first performance, and while his grito could desperately use some work, he tried to provide him with encouragement and support only to find that the boy actually performed well, even doing an amazing grito! When he was dragged on stage by Miguel’s Xoloitzcuintli, Héctor even ended up dancing and being inspired enough to sing along with him. It was the first time in years since Héctor had been involved in music, and it lifted his spirits like nothing before!
Unfortunately, before they could find out if they won (though he was confident that they did), he found through an announcement that the boy was actually avoiding his dead family that he lied about, who wanted him to go home. He couldn’t believe this boy was walking away from his family like that! Not wanting the boy to make the same mistake he did, he wanted to send the boy back to the family. Miguel would thank him someday. Sadly their argument caused Miguel to run away from him as well, tossing his picture as he did so. Héctor fought to borrow his Frida Kahlo disguise from the officer so that he could impersonate her again, which allowed him to enter through the mansion. Héctor caught Miguel in time to find that he was talking with Ernesto, reminding him of their deal to send his picture back to an ofrenda so that he would be remembered, begging Ernesto to help him with this just like he promised he would in life when they were friends.
That was when Miguel helped him realize the truth behind his death. He was poisoned by his best friend. Ernesto was the reason that he lost everything that was important to him. In his anger and desperation, Héctor pounced on Ernesto and began punching him out. Unfortunately, he was called by the security guards to take him away and they dumped him into a large sinkhole, where he knew he would suffer for the remainder of his limited days until he would finally be forgotten by Coco. When he heard Miguel in there too, he tried to console him and they both discovered that they were actually both related; he was the man in Miguel’s photo with his face torn off, which started to make a lot of sense why he could never join any ofrendas. He couldn't help but stare at Coco in the picture; she was just as he had last seen her, the way he remembered her. There, Héctor told his real story behind his desire to see Coco, including his secret song to Coco being Remember me, the way it was truly meant to be played.
They were soon found by his former family, where the truth about him being murdered was revealed to the family by Miguel. Although Imelda said that she would never forgive him, she did say that she would help him recover Héctor's picture that Ernesto had kept. He managed to convince Ceci about the Frida Kahlo dresses that were going to be transported to the show anyways, and they were able to get to Ernesto’s Sunrise Spectacular concert. During that time, his heart soared upon hearing Imelda say that he was the love of her life, and even hearing her sing for the first time in a long time. Unfortunately, Héctor was feeling more and more weak, until he was practically on the ground unable to physically defend his great great grandson from Ernesto. At last, Miguel called Ernesto out on his lies and revealed the truth about his songs and the murder while it appeared that his relatives had turned on the camera to reveal his truth to the public. After giving Miguel his blessing to return home, Miguel somehow managed to get Coco to remember him, and Héctor started to recover just as he felt himself slipping away in Imelda’s arms.
Over the months and on to next year, even before they both saw Coco again in the Land of the Dead, Héctor managed to rekindle the romance with his wife and tried to catch up to the generations of family that he never knew. They even helped have his jacket mended to a vest and his pants mended and patched up; he even got shoes made from his family! And since then, Héctor promised himself that as long as Miguel passed on his picture in the ofrenda, he would never do anything to divide his family ever again.
Ambitions:
Catching up and spending as much time as he can with his family in the Land of the Dead, especially with Imelda and Coco; also visiting his living family in the Land of Living during Dia de los Muertos now that he can finally cross the bridge.
Strengths & abilities:
Positive Energy - Héctor always tries to stay positive despite having every reason to be a gloomy person because of his tragic life/situation. If he ever gets down on himself, then it's only because of a big mistake he has done, but even then he tries to pick himself up again after a while.
Healthy Self-Esteem - Héctor thinks he's quite the catch despite not having a perfect shaped chin, or nose, or straight teeth…which is amazing, and makes himself that much more intriguing
Great Aim - Héctor can take out his arm from it's socket and use his suspenders like the string of a bow, then shoot his arm like a bow and arrow with accurate aim to reach something that is out of reach.
Hopeless Romantic - Héctor is a hopeless romantic. He will literally do anything for the love of his life, even making a fool of himself in the process if it means that he would get her attention. He lives and breathes for her to return any kind of romantic word or affection back to him - his heart (if he had one) literally soars hearing it in the few moments that he can.
Family Oriented - Although he made the mistake that costed him the loss of his family, he is still strongly connected to family even in the land of the dead. He finds "fake" family that he refers to as tios or cousins, and remains connected to them for years. His love of his own real family is what keeps him trying to cross the bridge so that he could see his daughter again. If he didn't have that drive, he would have given up years ago.
Musical Composer - Héctor can read and write original music on a music sheet, and play guitar accordingly. He can even hear a song and play it similarly if he hears it a few times, meaning that he can play popular music like La Llorona or original songs - though he personally prefers unpopular or original songs.
Dancing - Héctor is able to dance a number of dances, from the traditional Mexican folk dancing to dancing romantically with a partner. He even guides the choreograph to those who are not used to dancing or performing, quickly indicating when to twirl with a gesture of his hand while dancing.
Creative/Crafty - Héctor is very creative in coming up with song lyrics from his heart. He even likes to doodle in his letters to his daughter; while they might not be good, you can still tell what they are considering that he drew it from his imagination. His creativity also allows him to face paint himself or anyone else very well for a man of his time.
Accountability - As sheepish as he might be while doing it, he does bravely hold himself accountable for the mistakes he made and for the lies he has said if he is caught lying.
Open-minded - Héctor is very open-minded for a man of the 1920s when it comes to the Hispanic culture. He is not opposed to men wearing dresses or face paint/make up if the opportunity calls for it, and respects women as an equal strength in the family. He is also not opposed to women working instead of being at home.
Opportunist - Héctor is definitely an opportunist. If he can get in on a plan that will get him to where he needs to be, he will do even the most ridiculous things out of desperation to do it. He's completely shameless and not afraid to make a fool out of himself at all.
Flaws:
Inconsiderate at times - When his mind is made up, he can let his passions and desires sometimes blind him to the reality around him and the needs of others
Cynical - The fact that his best friend stole his music, and even himself choosing to be a musician over his family made him cynical of musicians; however, he is moving past that thanks to Miguel; He can still be sarcastic of people that are deceitful and don't appreciate what they have in front of him
Immature - As a man that died at the age of 21, Héctor still has his immature moments. If someone argues him or teases him, even if it's a little kid, he's prone to argue back immaturely. He also dislikes being made fun of and will childishly defend himself and pout when he's not being believed.
People Pleasing/Compulsive Liar - He can be deceitful if he wants to get something out of it and will tell you all kinds of lies that you want to hear if it will get him out of trouble or closer to where he desires to be. If he is caught in the lie, however, he will immediately admit that he was lying
Mischievous - He is mischievous in coming up with schemes to get back to his family, willing to try anything - even crossdressing! - to be with his family
Unreliable - He tends to borrow a lot of things and not give back, mostly ending up losing it
Contradicting/Hypocritical - He doesn't like being stolen from, but he tends to borrow from other people and not give back; he also doesn't like being lied to, even though he does the same thing
Limp/Limited Range of Motion - His broken tibia bone causes him to limp while he walks or runs, preventing him from running as fast as he would like
Brittle Bones - He has two fractured bones taped together and he can fall apart easily, though he uses this for his or others' entertainment. His bones still move on their own and are able to place themselves together again. Due to his broken ulna bone tied together, he is able to lift people but he cannot carry something for too long
Emotional - He'll show all of his emotions easily rather than keep it inside. Just as he can be the most enthusiastic and passionate person, he can also get himself down and feel pretty gloomy about himself or the situation around him if he allows it; given his positive energy, he tries hard not to let things get to him for too long, however
Impatient - He can be impatient of other people when he has a short time to do things, and he'll feel inclined to do it himself, but he'll try to get over it and allow the other person to do it
Unkempt Appearance - His scruffy hair, poor choice of torn clothing, lack of shoes, and lack of straightened teeth may prevent others from taking him as seriously
Likes:
Receiving any kind of romantic words or affection from his wife
Watching or hearing a live musical performance that is truly from the heart or comes from an original song - His passion used to be to perform for the world, after all
He prefers simplicity rather than extravagant things as long as he has what he needs to survive
Listening to someone sing: especially if it's from Imelda, Coco, and Miguel - It truly makes his heart soar
Borrowing things/Doing favors for others in exchange for something else that he desires
Children - He truly has a soft spot for them and he can't stay frustrated too long
Un buen grito! Ahhhhhyihahaiyi!! Ah, feels good!
Offering praise and encouragement to someone's great attempts at performing, he knows how it feels to start with even the smallest accomplishments!
Playing guitar
Using his limbs to demonstrate gestures out of his enthusiasm, or to help him get to places that he cannot reach
Singing, even if it's by himself
Writing songs, letters, or poems from his heart
Doodling little drawings for Coco in his letters (they are not very good, but he likes it enough to do more than one doodle)
Dancing with his wife, but he also enjoyed dancing with Miguel (despite not initially wanting to be dragged onto the stage)
Pretending to be Frida Kahlo - what? He does a good job at it! (He wears the dress 3 times in the movie and copies her mannerisms)
Tequila shots preferably without poison – He can never turn down a toast among friends
Spicy Chorizo (don't you say a word)
Dislikes:
The man who used to be his best friend, Nesto
Overpopular music, especially his cherished songs only meant for his family being overpopularized like "Remember Me"
Those who perform music without putting their heart into it, who make performing music like a job and act like monkeys performing in front of strangers - guácala!
Being made fun of, whether it's his limp walking or being called "Chorizo" because of what he used to think was food poisoning as the cause of death
Talking about his death, it brings feelings of resentment and guilt
The guilt he feels about what he had done to lose his family
Getting anyone upset at him (mostly because he borrows a lot of items from people that he doesn't give back)
Anyone who gets in the way of his desires and happiness, which is to be with his family
Anyone who hurts his family
Being lied to / Not knowing the full details of a plan that he is involved with
Traveling - Spending too much time away from his family
Watching someone leave the Land of the Dead to the Final Death
Fears:
More than anything, Héctor fears that he will be forgotten in the final death without being able to spend as much time as he could with his family. He would also fear making a big mistake and messing things up again enough to lose his family, especially losing the love of his life and Coco now that he finally started to be with them again.
Anything to add?:
Opened to having older Coco or younger Coco if anyone is interested <3
RP SAMPLE:
PAST TENSE ONLY. MUST BE ABOUT THE CHARACTER FOR WHOM YOU ARE APPLYING.
"See Helen Parr & Jack-Jack Parr"