Imelda

"Never forget how much your family loves you."

- Imelda's blessing for Miguel Imelda is a major character from the Pixar film, Coco. She is the former matriarch of the Rivera family who became a spirit in the Land of the Dead after her death. However, she left behind a ban of music in her family as her lasting legacy, leading her great-great grandson, Miguel Rivera, to uncover the cause of her decree.

Official Description

 * Mamá Imelda is Miguel's great-great-grandmother, the matriarch of the Rivera family and the founder of their successful shoemaking business. Miguel meets Mamá Imelda in the Land of the Dead and discovers she does not share his passion for music.

Personality
The matriarch of the Rivera family, Imelda is a maternal yet firm person who puts family first and personal interests last. When alive, she was more tender, as she was looking forward to raising a happy family. When Héctor walked out, the burden of raising Coco coupled with bitter feelings towards her husband for leaving them led Imelda to ban music and work hard to build the Rivera family up, shaping her into the earnest person revered (and at times feared) by the rest of the Riveras.

The Imelda seen in present day was a stark contrast to the person she was in life: bitter, serious and strict (which passed to her granddaughter  Abuelita Elena). Imelda was also less patient with others, as she smashes a computer in the afterlife customs despite the agent's attempts to be civil with her. Although she loves her family, she has an antagonistic side stemming from her grudge towards Héctor, and in extension music. This comes to the point of manipulating Miguel to take her blessing with the condition of not becoming a musician, believing he will abandon his family as well; later, she uses force through her alebrije Pepita to find him so he take her blessing with the conditions.

Imelda's stubbornness makes it very hard for her to forgive and let go. Even when learning the truth about Hector's death, she still found it hard to forgive him, but her value for family comes through when she accepted that it wasn't his fault and agrees to help to save both him and their daughter. She is also proven to have talent in singing when she was stealing Hector's picture from Ernesto while singing in a duet with him. As soon as Hector starts to fade and Miguel becomes a skeleton, she lets go of her grudge and gives Miguel her blessing without conditions. At the end of the movie it seems Imelda had fully forgiven Hector and is happier to be with him, Coco and the living family in Dia de los Muertos.

Trivia

 * According to Lee Unkrich; Imelda was born in 1899, making her a year older than her husband, Héctor who was born in the year 1900. She's also mentioned as being 19 years old when Coco was born and she was in her early 70's when she died.