upperstories:

intergalacticwanderer:

upperstories:

I just got hit with a sudden realization at 1 AM.

Héctor didn’t know his photo would be going up on an ofrenda until Coco passed away.

According to the junior novelization, Mamá Coco is described as passing away a few months before the following Dia de los Muertos. That’s a little more than half a year later.

Yes, Héctor was remembered, Miguel made sure to let Coco know that Héctor loved her, and his stories were passed onto his other living family, but aside from the headshot he’d kept on him in death, Héctor had no way of knowing if any other photos of him still existed.

Up until he reunited with his daughter and she was able to tell him that she kept his photo, Héctor had absolutely no proof, no idea that he’d be able to cross the marigold bridge. He never knew he’d be able to spend Dia de los Muertos in Santa Cecilia.

He had no hope of seeing any of his other living relatives until they crossed over to the Land of the Dead

Worst of all: he must’ve thought he’d have to wait a lifetime to see Miguel again.

Can you imagine though, if they got to the next
Dia de los Muertos and the topic of the photo hadn’t come up yet?
Héctor

had already resigned himself to there not being a photo of him around, so he hadn’t thought to ask, and for Coco, I could almost see it as being something she’d already assumed he knew. 

And so the whole family is getting together and getting ready to leave while
Héctor

hangs back and tells everyone to have a good time, to tell him how it went (even though just saying that hurts) and Coco is so confused, why wouldn’t her
papá be coming?

Cue
Héctor

saying he doesn’t have a photo up, and then Coco (still confused) says yes he does? She gave his photo to Miguel, she saw him put it up?

And
Héctor

and the rest of the family are just left there flabbergasted as
Héctor

has to suddenly do a lot of last minute planning for the night.

Knowing this family’s luck, I’m willing to bet that is EXACTLY what happened.