Great Character Writing: Héctor Rivera
I never expected it to be endeared to a skeleton man in the way I am to Héctor Rivera, but here we are! It’s amazing how our expectations of this character are set-up and later subverted. So, he is my topic of discussion for today!
When Miguel and the audience first meet Héctor, he comes off as a selfish, yet lovable trickster, trying to get past security so he can visit the world of the living. We don’t know exactly why he wants to go there, but for a guy who tries lie and con his way out of every situation, we’re lead to assume it’s for selfish purposes.
He’s also fun, goofy and the butt of many jokes. The story uses him for many slapstick gags involving his limbs coming off, and the other people in the Land of the Dead call him Chorizo because they all think he choked on one when he died.
The turning point where he truly becomes more than a joke is when we see play music. Music, being such a central part of the movie, is what allows Miguel, and by extension, the audience, to see a caring and melancholic side to Héctor.
He plays a jaunty tune for old Chicharrón, just before he disappears in a “Final Death.” It’s a tender, bittersweet moment with gentle humour (”There are children present). When he goes, Héctor has a drink in his honour. (As an aside, no I don’t know where the drink goes if he has no…