Talk:Ernesto de la Cruz/@comment-13320100-20171128060429/@comment-25209697-20171128073810

The film actually explored that and, as it noted, there's a difference:

It's the same thing with Hector, in which only Coco's memories is the only thing keeping him alive in the land of the dead, and yet everyone in the Rivera family knows of him.

That's the key difference: They would only know OF him, from a distance, only for his actions of being a murderer and a fraud, much like how before the end of the film they only know of Hector being the guy who left his family behind for music before the truth came out, and would rather be forgotten.

That's basically why having a picture on the Day of the Dead is important, as it shows that there are people who remember who you are and still wish to remember you.