You can add Diana Lopez' name to the list of Corpus Christi notables. She is the author of the novel inspired by Disney Pixar's hit movie "Coco."
"There are ideas and inspirations everywhere," Lopez said to the students of Adkins Middle School Tuesday. "So for like Coco, some of my inspiration came from just my relationship with my family."
Coco is the Pixar animated fantasy adventure of Miguel, who has secret ambitions to be a musician. Miguel's family does not approve of his musical aspiration, but he magically finds himself in the Land of the Dead on Dia de los Muertos.
"I'm the author of Coco, a story about music shoes and family, which is a novel adaptation of Disney Pixar's new film 'Coco,'" Lopez said.
Lopez's book goes into greater detail focusing on the characters of Coco. The connection comes from a Disney editor who read Lopez's first book called "Confetti Girl."
"She thought I would be a good match for this project because they were very determined to hire people from the Mexican-American community because they wanted to make sure they were giving an accurate portrayal of the culture," Lopez said.
The book unlocks the main character's family history with a key emphasis being family.
"We love our family. Sometimes they disappoint us, but at the end of the day your family is always there for you," Lopez said.
Lopez took the Disney storyline of the movie and expanded it for the book version.
"So what I did, I have added chapters about Mama Coco that are not going to be in the movie. So you get to see Mama Coco as a teenager. You get to see her when she meets her husband. When she's a mother, and later when she's a grandmother," Lopez said.
The book also features more details about the main character's other ancestors in the Land of the Dead.
"So they have a lot more dialogue in the book than in the film," Lopez said.
Lopez is a graduate of Ray High School and attended Del Mar College before getting her degree from Saint Mary's University in San Antonio. She teaches at the University of Houston in Victoria.
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