Lee Unkrich, director of the animated film Coco, tweets out “Beautiful” after seeing images of the local mural inspired by the animated movie.

Ruben Mariscal
Ruben Mariscal
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In a jaw-dropping moment, local artist Ruben Mariscal found out that Lee Unkrich tweeted out some love for his Coco-inspired mural after his friends notified him of the tweet.

Lee Unkrich took to Twitter saying:

Lee Unkrich is a director, screenwriter, and animator who was part of the Pixar team in the mid-90s and later co-directed Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc, and Finding Nemo.

In 2010 Unkrich made his directorial debut with Toy Story 3, followed by Coco in 2017, which won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

Ruben Mariscal
Ruben Mariscal
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So, you can imagine Mariscal's surprise when the Disney/Pixar director acknowledged his work.
When Ruben shared the news with me, saying:

It's great to be noticed by Lee Unkrich; never in a million years did I believe that anything like this would ever happen!

He went on to say that this moment gives him new inspiration to "continue creating and producing more art.”

Ruben Mariscal
Ruben Mariscal
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In March, Ruben and a handful of local artists replicated scenes from the beloved 2017 animated film.

The Coco-inspired mural pays homage to the artists' respective Abuelitas and all the other grandmas who helped raise their grandchildren across the borderland, serving as conduits of our cultural past while keeping our customs and folk traditions alive.

Ruben Mariscal
Ruben Mariscal
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The mural, which measures 7ft tall and 125 feet, features the animated film's main characters, including Miguel, Mamá Imelda, and her Alibrije Pepita, Hector, Ernesto de la Cruz, and Dante, and of course Abuelita and Coco.

Working day and night and about 30 hours later, the Coco-inspired mural turned out like a mini-movie reel of the animated film transitioning from the land of the living into the land of the dead.

Ruben Mariscal
Ruben Mariscal
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El Pasoans can find the mural in the Lower Valley in the Ascarate neighborhood in the back end of the Torres Auto Shop at 124 S. Seville Dr. El Paso, TX 79905.

Disney Coco-Inspired Mural In El Paso

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