The song is used in a variety of contexts throughout the film. It was known as Ernesto de la Cruz's (Benjamin Bratt) most "popular" song. The song was originally written by his partner Héctor Rivera (Gael García Bernal), and was first introduced as a mariachi arrangement, as a plea from Ernesto to his fans to keep him in their minds even as he tours in other places. It next appears as a lullaby from Héctor to his daughter Coco. It is then used as a nostalgic song to connect an older Coco (Ana Ofelia Murguía) to an earlier time in her life and is sung by Coco and her great-grandson Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez). It finally appears in a pop version played during the end credits, sung by singers Miguel and Natalia Lafourcade.
The piece is the "tie that binds multiple generations in the shared love of music".[1]
Production
Frozen team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez were hired for the project. Director Lee Unkrich had admired them since they wrote Finding Nemo – The Musical in 2006. The film developed into a musical, but not a "break-into-song" type. A challenge with the song was in crafting lyrics that would pivot in meaning depending on the context in which they were sung. The team researched popular Mexican music, and wanted to write a song that could have been sung by Jorge Negrete or Pedro Infante. They wrote it as a bolero-ranchero style song, knowing that it could also work if performed as a quiet ballad. Robert wrote the music, and Kristen wrote the lyrics. She wanted to explore the idea of remembering people when they are far away, and explained "the power of music to bring people back to life, literally and figuratively".[1]