anotherweepingwoman - Tumblr blog

[anotherweepingwoman]

Hector was afraid of Pepita but she’s very protective even with him now… :3

-

Hector: “ehmmm… Nice kitty… What are you doing?!?!” O__O

Pepita: Purrr purr… <3

Hector: “Oh ok… Gracias!” In his mind: “don’t chew me please!!!!”

-

She is like: “don’t worry, I don’ t want to scare you anymore…!” :3

‘Cause I believe that in the past Imelda used her to chase away Hector on more than one occasion!

[anotherweepingwoman]

On Héctor’s leitmotifs, and their use in the film

Disclaimer: I am not a musician–I learned to play piano mainly by ear, never learned to read music properly, and don’t really know how to analyze music in a professional manner.

However, I do know some things about music, and those things include the fact that music–without words–can be used to tell a story or to aid a story, and the latter is what I’ll be discussing here.

There’s several different recurring themes in the music of Coco, and I’m not just talking about “Remember Me.” One is the one you hear during “Much Needed Advice” that’s also played when Miguel crosses the bridge. Characters have their own themes as well–Pepita has a loud, blaring fanfare of trumpets whenever she takes center stage.

And as you can probably guess, Héctor has a theme, too.

(Skip to 0:57.)

This shady little leitmotif is what introduces us to Héctor, and it makes itself clear whenever he’s doing something related to his “conman” persona. We hear it first when he’s trying to sneak across the bridge, when he’s trying to bribe the corrections officer, and several times when he’s scheming with Miguel.

This aids the story in the way it presents Héctor to the viewers. He first shows himself as a shady conman, running from security, trying to illegally cross a bridge, bribing officials, and even working a little kid into his schemes, so he can cross the bridge for unknown reasons.

And his leitmotif emphasizes that. It’s shady, slinky, and untrustworthy, much like Héctor himself.

And its main instrument is a guitar.

An out of tune guitar.

But it doesn’t play every time Héctor appears. In fact, it’s only heard in, oh, maybe a third of the movie or so. Guess when we stop hearing this theme?

Yeah. This shady theme of his is never heard again after the visit to Shantytown, when Héctor must pick up a guitar for the first time in a long time.

But, wait! Does that mean Héctor doesn’t have a theme anymore, after that leitmotif disappears from the soundtrack?

Well… yes and no.

When Héctor’s conman persona theme stops playing, we stop seeing that part of him, mostly (I mean, there’s the bit where he sneaks into Ernesto’s party, but that’s about it). But his conman persona isn’t all there is to him.

When I said that Héctor’s shady leitmotif is what introduces us to his character? That was a lie.

Because we hear Héctor’s true theme much earlier in the film…

…long before we realize who it really belongs to.

(Skip to 0:23.)

The very first song we hear in the film introduces us to Héctor’s true self: a father that loves his his family.

But we don’t really see that after the prologue, because Héctor left, and never returned. In fact, unless I’m missing something, I’m pretty sure that leitmotif doesn’t come back until late in the movie…

…during Héctor’s flashback, when he tries to go home…

…during the cenote scene, when he’s revealed to be Coco’s father…

…during the rooftop scene, when he apologizes to Imelda…

…and during the sunrise scene, as he gives Miguel his final blessing.

All moments tied to Héctor showing his love for his family.

Oh, and the instrument that tends to be used for this leitmotif?

A guitar that’s been properly tuned.

[anotherweepingwoman]

(apologies for the unintended hiatus - have been working 18 hour days with no mental breaks until this morning, and things will continue this way until wednesday. will answer your lovely asks / submission by then. ❤️)

[anotherweepingwoman]

#and not just about what he is like when hes not got people he feels he needs to be more cheerful around #but also how he is with himself? #because this moment specifically im not entirely convinced this shaking off is just for miguels sake #not only shaking away and dismissing his feelings about cheech fading #but also possibly that reminder it probably served to him that his own time is running out as well #shake it off dont think about it #maybe im just projecting tho #idk messy thoughts #hmm ( @the-skull-guitar )

Hey, it happens to everyone eventually.

[anotherweepingwoman]

I first followed you because of that fanfic you wrote about Héctor crossing over with Pepita, so if you're looking for requests, I'd love to see more of your writing.

holy s***, my friend, I have to say this was the absolute last thing I expected to hear - I was honestly expecting to hear the exact opposite. (Still am.) I’d closed the book on writing another Coco story again. 

I’ve had a companion piece to “Pepita’s Window” in mind for a while: a mix of perspectives (Imelda, Victoria, Coco, but also Héctor) that builds on PW and this but is less organized around images than themes over staggered time. But I put it on hold, then decided it wasn’t worth the time sink. You’ve given me reason to rethink that. I can’t express to you how strongly your words have impacted me. Thank you for the encouragement, the motivation. 

I’m in your debt in more ways than one. I love your meta - some of the best in the business, absolutely thought-provoking and exciting, you’ve changed how I think about things - and have been meaning to tell you for the longest time that your reunion fic (waiting in my drafts for a completer set of tags) made me cry, it was so lovely. Much more to say when I can be coherent about it. 💗

[anotherweepingwoman]

For your question meme, i like your tags for being meaningful and funny.

Really appreciate this, dear @galemalio! I’ve been greatly enjoying your posts, your tags, your humor, your willingness to dive into analysis, your clear-eyed and insightful perspective - seeing you’ve posted always makes me sit up a little straighter and pay attention. So this means a lot to me. It’s also helpful for thinking about how to proceed with this blog in future. Thank you so much! ❤️

[anotherweepingwoman]

Hey, it happens to everyone eventually.

[anotherweepingwoman]

🌺

[anotherweepingwoman]

I saw your post , so my message for you is that you are so sweet and i really love your blog ❤️

Darling!!!! I tear up each time I read this. You are so so lovely. Your artwork is beautiful - there is such soul in it, and it was a joy to discover. Sending you the biggest hug from NYC! 😘

[anotherweepingwoman]

I really love reading what you have to say about Coco, both your posts and your tags. It's always very interesting and thought provoking. I'm always excited to see why you have to say. I followed you because I really enjoy your content.

My friend, this comment left me speechless. I feel this way about your posts, your clever tags, your artwork (oh, your Coco and Imelda especially!!) and story ideas, they’ve enriched my life. I’m so glad to have gotten to meet you through this fandom. 

Speaking of content: I’m really digging your Treasure Planet AU (I haven’t seen the original, so cannot be useful, but love the concept to death) and the Misdosage/Héctor-Crawls-Out-Of-His-Own-Grave AU - the images and feelings you’ve evoked are exactly what I seek. I’m so looking forward to what you write, draw, develop next!

[anotherweepingwoman]

If you haven’t been reading this story (and please heed the warnings before you do!), do consider giving it a go - the latest chapter is something else, moody and atmospheric, telling more stories than it seems. Powerful writing.

New chapter of Passage is up.

Had to do all the formatting twice by hand in HTML because APPARENTLY AO3 suddenly decided it doesn’t like Google Drive.

[anotherweepingwoman]

as part of a redraw trade, i redrew @berninsavi’s art of miguel having a powerful feeling 😊💓 with english sound effects this time lol! we thought it would be fun to see our artwork in each other’s styles!

ORIGINAL: https://twitter.com/bernin_savi/status/980390413033877504?s=21

[anotherweepingwoman]

Mama Imelda ❤️ Study of the character

[anotherweepingwoman]

stress-relief doodlecín :,v

[anotherweepingwoman]

I love that, even with skeletons, Coco made such beautiful facial expressions. So here’s some Hector 

[anotherweepingwoman]

Great eye! I like the ladybug reading, but like @yourimaginarycupcake also see snails, or some insect with shells and eyestalks. As the insects that take their homes with them as they traverse the earth, there would also be symbolism to Coco's drawing a family of snails . . . but this is just a thought.

Okay so I spotted these drawings in Coco’s room during the lullaby scene and here’s what I tried make out from those.

From the left to the right, the first drawing looks like it’s a little girl, most likely Coco, and I can’t quite make out the background of that one.

The second right drawing looks like there’s three ladybugs. Two of the upper ladysbugs are bigger than the third small ladybug in the corner of the page.

( I wonder if Coco was drew her parents and her as an family of ladybugs how cute would that be??!! )