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I have waited so long for you. But not long enough! What are you doing here?

—Carmen to Manolo Sánchez after he arrives in the Land of the Remembered

Carmen Sánchez (née Rivera) is the deceased wife of Carlos Sánchez and the late mother of Manolo Sánchez who accompanies him on his journey through the afterlife.

Physical Appearance[]

Alive[]

Carmen was a beautiful light tan-skinned woman with shoulder-length brown hair that is curled all the way upwards at the end with three white streaks on the left side of her head and brown eyes.

She wears a simple black dress with a floral pattern on the bottom half and a red ribbon an sash tied around her waist. This dress is inspired by the state of Chiapas in Mexico. She also wears blue earrings and a blue pearl necklace with a heart-shaped pendant.

Dead[]

Carmen's appearance has not changed since she died except that her flesh has gone, leaving her as a white calavera skeleton with black scleras and a glowing yellow pupils like all of the residents in The Land of the Remembered.

Personality[]

Carmen is a very kind, sweet, very courageous, very brave, strong, heroic, vivacious, spirited and stubborn woman who loves and cares for her family and her loved ones deeply. She is also shown to be quite feisty as she stated she would get Carlos Sánchez once he arrives in the Land of the Remembered for persuading her only child and only son Manolo Sánchez to become a Sánchez bullfighter against her wishes.

She acts polite and respectful to those she highly respects and holds in high regard, such as La Muerte, and she is also courageous and brave since she accompanied Manolo on his journey to the Cave of Souls and the Land of the Forgotten, despite the potential danger and risk as she wanted to be with him, help him and make sure he didn't get harmed and hurt.

When she met Xibalba for the second time, she politely asked La Muerte to lift her up so she could slap Xibalba multiple times for causing Manolo's death, which she did numerous times. She politely turned her head and politely thanked La Muerte afterwards for her help in lifting her up, but not before giving Xibalba another dirty look and telling him that her son Manolo did not deserved to die. This demonstrates that she can stand up to those who haved wronged her family and the ones she loves and cares for and her loved ones, not caring how dangerous, deadly, lethal and powerful they are.

This also demonstrates she is very protective of her family and her loved ones and the ones she loves and cares for. She also loves and cares for her first born an only child and only son Manolo and cares for his safety, Carmen did not want Manolo to grow up to become a Sánchez bullfighter because how dangerous, deadly, lethal and fatal since all of their Sánchez family bullfighters members died from bullfighting.

In The Book of Life[]

Carmen first appears in painted portraits during the beginning of the film when Manolo Sánchez and Carlos Sánchez visits her grave. Manolo misses her very much as does his father who also built a shrine to her inside their house. Although Manolo is more interested in singing and playing guitar, Carlos tells him that Carmen would have wanted him to be a bullfighter like the rest of the Sánchez men.

Several years after her death, Manolo reunites with her in the Land of The Remembered; after accepting being bitten by Más y Menos. Although she was happy to see her son again, she regrets that he died so young and Carmen reveals that she never liked bullfighting, motioning to the many other Sánchez men who died in the ring. Carmen introduces Manolo to the deceased members of the Sánchez family and guides him to the castle of La Muerte so that Manolo can ask her where María Posada was. She is surprised to see that Xibalba is occupying the place that corresponds to La Muerte as ruler of the Land of The Remembered, although when he states that "she lost a bet", she agrees with the rest of the family; aware of the fondness of La Muerte for bets.

Carmen tries to comfort Manolo when he discovers that he has fallen into the deceit of Xibalba and that therefore María is still alive. She tries to convince him to stay with her and the rest of his family, but when Manolo insists that he will go to find La Muerte to return to the Land of the Living, she supports him and even accompanies him on his mission.

Relationships[]

Carlos Sánchez[]

Carlos was Carmen's former living husband. Even after her death, her husband has never forgotten her or remarried, staying true to her and her memory. He visits her grave every year with Manolo Sánchez on Dia de Los Muertos (or The Day of the Dead) that he even has a shrine of her in his house and talks to it, advising Manolo that his mother would want him to be a Sánchez bullfighter as a way to persuade him. When Carmen learns what Carlos said to Manolo, she says "He will get it when he comes down to the Land of the Remembered." This revealed that Carlos more or less used Manolo's love for his mother's memory to make him continue the Sánchez family tradition.

When he is killed by Chakal and joins the Sánchez family ancestors as they watch Manolo bullfight against all of the bulls the family bullfighters have ever killed, Carmen immediately hugs him, happy and full of joy to see him again after many years of separation.

Manolo Sánchez[]

Manolo is Carmen's only child and son whom he loves, despite the fact she died when he was an infant. The main reason he suppressed his desire to be a guitarrista and become a Sánchez bullfighter instead was because he believed it was what his mother would have wanted. However, she stated that she didn't want him to be one because of how very dangerous it is.

The two immediately reconnected when they met again after many years of separation and she tagged along with Manolo during his journey as she did not want him to be alone or get injured. The two have a very positive, loving and caring relationship who care greatly for one another, refusing to let the other get harmed and only wanting what was best for each other.

Luis Sánchez[]

Luis is Carmen's deceased father-in-law who get along quite well and she often carried his skull head after it was separated from its skeleton body. The two do not interact much, but it can be assumed that given their relation to one another and how they behave around one another that they have a positive relationship.

María Posada[]

While Carmen never spoke to or had direct contact with María, Manolo Sánchez told his mother he had someone he wanted her to meet and told her she was going to love María.

When Carmen attended their wedding and saw María's aggressive personality, she said that "She's going to be a great Sanchez.", demonstrating that she approved of María.

It is also interesting to note the two have very similar personalities and it is hinted that this may be part of the reason why Manolo is so attracted to María.

Sánchez Family[]

Carmen gets along well with all of the Sánchez family members that animator and director Jorge R. Gutierrez has stated she was created with a personality and strength of will that made her equal to the mortal men of the Sánchez family.

Family Tree
[]


 
Unnamed father
 
 
 
Unnamed mother
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Simon Rivera [1]
 
Three unnamed sisters
 
Carmen Sánchez
 
 
 
Carlos Sánchez
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Manolo Sánchez
 
 
 
María Posada
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnamed twin girl one [2]Unnamed twin girl two [3]Unnamed baby boy [4]
 


Etymology[]

  • The name Carmen has three different origins:
    • In Spanish, it means "Garden".
    • In Latin, it means "Song, Truthful, Poetry/Poem", which would reflect her status of being a cabaret singer.
    • In Hebrew, it means "God's vineyard".
  • Carmen's surname Sánchez means "Son of Sancho" (Latin sanctus "holy").
    • Her maiden name Rivera means "riverbank" in Spanish and Latin.

Trivia[]

  • Carmen died protecting Manolo Sánchez during the Mexican Revolution.[5]
  • Carmen was a cabaret singer and dancer in Mexico City when she met Carlos Sánchez.[6]
  • Carmen is one of four daughters; all of her sisters became nurses.
  • Carmen's maiden name was Rivera (which was later confirmed to be the same Riveras from El Tigre).
    • Continuing on with this, Carmen was Justice Jaguar's sister. [7]
  • Carlos built a shrine of Carmen in the Sánchez household.
  • Both Carlos and Captain Mondragon fancied Carmen until the latter met his future wife Gertrude Alexander.

Gallery[]

Concept art[]

Screencaps[]

Animations[]

References[]

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