Maria Salud Ramirez Caballero, the woman who allegedly inspired one of the main characters in the film “Coco,” has died at 109.
Roberto Monroy, the Secretary of Tourism for the Mexican state of Michoacan, verified her death, saying she died in Santa Fe de la Laguna… the same place where she was born more than a century ago.
Although no cause of death was given, Monroy recalled her as a “tireless woman and life model.”
She’s become known as “Mama Coco,” after the Disney/Pixar heroine of the same name in the 2017 animated film on Mexico’s Day of the Dead rituals. Ana Ofelia Murguia provided the voice of Mama Coco.
While Pixar hasn’t publicly acknowledged Caballero as the inspiration for its eponymous character, her family claims a Pixar team visited their region, shot Caballero extensively, and stayed with them for a while.
The family claims that many of the precise locations and architecture captured by Pixar/Disney while doing research for the film were in the film… and that “Mama Coco’s” appearance is uncannily close to Caballero.
Having said that, her family ceased seeking recognition/validation from the corporation years ago, despite the fact that she is a local legend.
Caballero was a clay craftswoman who created pots and other objects to sell to villagers. She is survived by three children, several grandchildren, and even more great-grandchildren.