An analysis of the Rivera family from Disney's Coco which covers the first order tasks of family life as well as an in depth case study examining the Rivera household.

1. Davis1
The Riveras: A Family in Transformation
Kenadi Davis
University of Georgia
HDFS 3920
Dr. George
February 9, 2021

2. Davis2
The Riveras: A Family in Transformation
Families are the main place in which society members first receive the blueprints for the
achievement of their individual strengths and weaknesses. Members within the Rivera family
enjoy a number of strong influences which facilitate work ethic and an overall sense of positive
morals. It is for these reasons that the Riveras offer an interesting look into family functioning
and an opportunity to further analyze relationships between members and their formation.
Furthermore, the Family Systems Theory can be applied to this family and, as Allen and
Henderson state, “This theoretical lens allows for a closer examination of the “inner workings”
of family systems..” (Allen & Henderson, 104). This paper explores the Family Systems Theory
which includes the four first order tasks followed by a complete case study detailing the
intricacies of the Rivera family life.
The Four First Order Tasks
The four first order tasks refer to the conceptual pieces which characterize Family
Systems Theory (Allen & Henderson, 107-112). The Rivera family have both strengths and
weaknesses in their tasks which will be shown in this section. Although there are multiple pieces
to consider, the most poignant are emotional climate, boundaries, maintenance, and identity.
These concepts as they relate to the Rivera family are laid out, examined, and explained in this
section of the essay.
Emotional Climate
In the beginning of the movie, Miguel Rivera is introduced as the grandson of the Riveras
and, although they actively attempt to cast the memory of his great great grandfather from the
family memory, the family demonstrates an emotional climate of warmth and safety for its’
members. They do this by showing the importance of steering Miguel away from acting in ways

3. Davis3
which resemble his great great grandfather who they believe to have abandoned the family
(Unkrich, 2017). Abuelita, Miguel’s grandmother, is especially prominent in his life and acts as a
primary source of nurture. Grandmother is seen destroying the guitar of her grandson during an
emotionally charged moment when the family believes that Miguel is following a negative path
(Unkrich, 2017). Although this action is harsh, it is evident due to her convictions about music
and how it has destroyed her family that she commits this action in order to promote the
wellbeing of Miguel. It is evident from the appalled reactions of the family members when
finding out about Miguel’s secret love of music that this family employs strategies such as open
communication in order to strengthen family cohesion, therefore, his lie is taken much more
harshly than a more distant family might take it (Unkrich, 2017). Despite having some positive
reaction mechanisms to perceived threats such as keeping members in line and attempting to
insulate them from negative past histories, the Rivera family initially fails in maintaining a
healthy emotional climate for Miguel by being unable to adopt an updated set of strategies which
would accommodate his needs more efficiently. As Anderson & Sabatelli state, “Management of
the emotional climate of the family involves the evolution of strategies for nurturing and
supporting individual family members, building family cohesion, and managing conflict and
tension,” (Anderson & Sabatelli, 30). As mentioned before, Abuelita’s destruction of Miguel’s
guitar is evidence of the family maintaining old ways of functioning and damaging the emotional
climate.
Boundaries
The most displayed boundary type within the Rivera family is that of a rigid or closed
boundary. Rigid boundaries do not allow for the free flow of information between members but
still maintains a sense of who is placed where hierarchically, and rigid boundaries are often seen

4. Davis4
hindering the flexibility a family has in order to respond to situations of stress and change
(Anderson & Sabatelli, 26-27). An example of a rigid boundary is when Miguel touts his desire to
be a musician and follow the footsteps of his idol, the great singer Ernesto de la Cruz. The family
members present for this display react in a way which is offensive and unable to accept a bending
of the family rules in order to accommodate Miguel’s unique wants (Unkrich, 2017). This shows
rigidity in that the members are immediately on the defense against the wishes of Miguel and
refuse to listen to his reasonings. The members are seen practicing a morphostatic way of dealing
with both family conflicts as well as emotional conflict. Morphostatic families often do not handle
change or family conflict without maintaining the established ways of handling such trials which
have been seen to fail in the past (Allen & Henderson, 110). With regard to the topic of music, the
members are opposed to its’ practice and show their stasis in denying their youngest member his
wish to practice music (Unkrich, 2017).
Maintenance
Maintenance in families refers to placing importance on the health and well-being of a
family, (Anderson & Sabatelli, 14). While preparing for Dia de los Muertos, Miguel is expected
to help in preparing the family ofrenda which honors the dead. When he is seen doing otherwise,
abuelita is unhappy with this and takes it upon herself to angrily escort him back to the family and
their preparations (Unkrich, 2017). This shows that tasks are a group effort and no one person is
expected to do all or none of the work. Upon acknowledging that the Riveras are prone to divvying
up responsibilities and tasks in a way which is fair to all, it is important to recognize that this
family employs the use of equity in both their marital and other familial relationships. Equity refers
to the levels of equality depicted within a unit and as stated by an empirical study on familial equity
and its’ affects, when higher levels of equity are practiced by marital subsystems there is a marked

5. Davis5
increase in the themes of openness, positivity, and communication, (Canary & Stafford, 258).
Marital subsystems are adult partnerships that able to set examples for both the children and other
members of the family in general (Allen & Henderson, 108). Marital subsystems in the Rivera
family strive to depict equity in order to assure both the presence of fathers and the success of
family maintenance over time (Unkrich, 2017). As a unit, the Riveras appear to be skilled at
maintaining their tasks which need to be done by efficiently allocating members to activities and
promoting well-being through positive usage of equity.
Identity
The Rivera family has a self-made identity which labels them as shoemakers, hard workers,
and wary of music. A very salient point within the story is that Riveras are shoemakers and not
musicians (Unkrich, 2017). Each member is personally affected by the overall family identity in
how they themselves will construct their own identity and how they will assign meaning to
personal relationships and lifestyles, (Anderson & Sabatelli, 21). Aside from family members
verbally repeating the mantra of shoe making and no music making, they also physically show
their preference and pride for their family identity. Whether it be abuelita smashing Miguel’s
guitar, the disapproving stares of family members when discovering their youngest member at a
mariachi filled park, or the family’s inability to forgive and allow music to reenter their lives, many
actions by members are openly against music (Unkrich, 2017,). The story of great great grandfather
abandoning the family in the pursuit of music and fame is an intergenerational story that has been
passed down multiple generations. This family story contributes to and strengthens the strong
sense of self identification with the profession of shoemaking as well as the association of family
destruction with music.

6. Davis6
This section shows the examination of the first order tasks emotional climate, boundaries,
maintenance, and identity as they relate to the Rivera family. The family shows some weakness in
the areas of emotional climate and boundaries and strengths in identity and maintenance. Overall,
the Riveras maintain a positive family experience despite their weaknesses.
Case Study
Families are affected by outside forces and can be seen changing and growing in response
to these external influences. In this section, the concepts of social influences, celebrations and
rituals, philosophy of life, and family life cycle will be explained and explored. These intricate
concepts present themselves as a tool with which to further delve into the family life of the
Riveras and are able to help shed light on the lesser explored areas of social contexts.
Social Influences
Social influences refer to the outside forces a family will experience in their everyday
lives and are often culturally related. Hispanic families are often seen as having an advantage in
that the family structures tend to be more enmeshed than other types of families as they have
strong beliefs in the importance of family itself and keeping close knit relationships with
members (Landale, Oropesa & Bradatan, 148). One social factor which drives this closeness is
the main event in the story, Dia de los Muertos. This holiday places importance on displaying
pictures and elaborate shrine like constructions, ofrendas, in order to guide the spirits of deceased
family members home for the night (Unkrich, 2017). The family itself is influenced by this
holiday as it keeps memories of those who have passed alive while also emphasizing the
importance of living a meaningful life so that others will not forget. Dia de los Muertos affects
the identity and maintenance of the Rivera family. The family identity is molded in such a way
that remembrance is one of the most important themes present, a theme being an expectation of

7. Davis7
ways in which members will behave towards family members and those around them (Anderson
& Sabatelli, 22). Members know that they are expected to honor the holiday and passed relatives
and that not doing so would be considered a negative action. Maintenance is affected because
two resources, time and money, are allocated to preparing for the holiday and placing offerings
for the passed relatives on the ofrenda. Time is allocated to preparing the ofrenda and offerings
and money is put in to purchasing items such as traditional foods, flowers, and picture frames to
honor the photos of relative.
Celebrations and Rituals
Celebratory practices within Hispanic families are quite different from the average
American family. In the presence of death, grief is a normal part of processing this occurrence.
However, many Hispanics allow their spirituality and belief in God guide them to a more
positive place (Caballero, 2011). The belief in and relationship with God is an extremely
important factor in the majority of Hispanic lives. Oftentimes, the level of spirituality one
practices is judged by others as being an indicator of one being a good person or as an indicator
of one being untrustworthy and an example of this is that patients with life threatening diseases
are known for seeking out practitioners and health care experts who practice closeness with their
patients and who are spiritually involved (Caballero, 2011). This overall sense of comfort
surrounding death is seen in the Rivera family. Although nobody wants to die, death is seen as a
celebration and a way to cross over to the afterlife. These beliefs are shown in the Rivera family
as they enthusiastically practice the rituals such as displaying passed loved ones, laying flower
petals in order to guide spirits home, and teaching their generations about the importance of
remembering (Unkrich, 2017).

8. Davis8
Philosophy of Life
The Rivera family’s philosophy of life centers around maintaining family identity, shoe
making, and avoiding forces which may damage that family (Unkrich, 2017). The members
make it a point to practice protective measures, such as passing down the shoemaking skill, in
order to hold the family together. This shows the importance placed on maintaining close bonds
with each other as the family values of communication, togetherness, and identity are all
practiced and protected on a regular basis. Miguel rebels against this need to maintain a family
identity because he does not believe that music will destroy the family (Unkrich, 2017).
Originally, he is seen dispelling this family value by running away and proclaiming his
indifference as to whether or not he is remembered by his family (Unkrich, 2017). As the story
progresses, Miguel gains wisdom during his adventures and realizes that his family has well
intentioned rules which help to steer members away from lives of misfortune and family
abandonment (Unkrich, 2017). This sudden change in the way Miguel regards his family’s
morals and values can be explained by scientific explorations of cognitive growth and
maturation. At the time of the movie, Miguel is meant to be approximately twelve years old. This
is a time of the onset of puberty for most boys and with it comes increased levels of hormones,
such as testosterone, which ultimately cause discrepancies in behavior. According to Hudspeth
and Pribram, cognitive maturation occurs in stages which allows for the sudden changes in
behavior and thinking that occur in pubescent children, (Hudspeth & Pribram, 882). Pubertal
children are at a high period of cognitive development and are beginning to develop more
complex thoughts and feelings which allow for the acceptance and creation of new or old values.

9. Davis9
Family Life Cycle
Rivera family members are born into a welcoming and warm family who raise their
children with convictions in order to indoctrinate them into the family way of life. A depiction of
this is seen in the way that Miguel is indoctrinated into thinking about his removed great great
grandfather and music. Although he knows his family expects him to resent this person who he
has never known, Miguel is unable to comply with his family’s wishes and feels differently
(Unkrich, 2017). Like many Hispanic families, the Riveras also include the aspect of keeping a
family home in their life cycle as many of the members live together in one home which has
been passed down throughout the years. It has been found that there is an overwhelming amount
of evidence which suggests that Hispanic families are seen to be living in a family household
more than non-Hispanic whites and blacks, (Landale, Oropesa & Bradatan, 152). This
information serves as an example of how a family’s culture can heavily impact the way they
choose to execute the life cycle and in the case of the Riveras, it facilitates a strong sense of
home and family proximity. Another piece of this family’s life cycle lies with Miguel’s great
grandmother, Mama Coco who is the child of the man who is said to have abandoned the family.
Because of this, part of the family’s life cycle includes specific expectations for young men to
grow up and remain a part of the family unit. The single mother of Mama Coco was seen to
maintain a family with children for the duration of her life after her husband disappeared. This
phenomenon is also seen in other single parent families where mothers maintain a family on their
own and postpone marriage for a short time or indefinitely (Glick, 1989). The act of maintaining
the family without her husband acts as an example upon the other members which lays the
foundations for placing heavy meaning on male parent presence.

10. Davis10
The case study presented in this essay explores the aspects of how context affects the
family as well as how the family is seen functioning within these situations. The Riveras display
a great deal of ability to work together and eventually create a better outcome for themselves.
Miguel is seen experiencing situations and learning from them in a way which reflects the values
placed forth by his family and he gains wisdom. Despite disagreements and hardship, the strong
values each family member holds are able to aid them in banding together and practicing
forgiveness.
Rivera family members are portrayed in a way that shows their interpersonal connections
to eachother as well as their dedication to maintaining family bonds. The importance of
celebrations such as Dia de los Muertos is also shown which allows for a clear idea of how
strongly this family is influenced by their cultural environment. This coming of age story of
Miguel and his family is a fantastic depiction of the intricacies of family life and these intricacies
were examined more closely throughout the paper. Overall, the Riveras were able to band
together in times of hardship and show their resiliency as a family while maintaining traditions,
values, and love.

11. Davis11
References
Allen, K. R., & Henderson, A. C. (2017). Family Theories: Foundations and Applications (1st
ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Anderson, S., & Sabatelli, R. (2010). Family Interaction: A Multigenerational Developmental
Perspective (5th ed.). Pearson.
Caballero, A. E. (2011). Understanding the Hispanic/Latino patient. The American Journal of
Medicine, 124(10), S10-S15
Canary, D. J., & Stafford, L. (1992). Relational maintenance strategies and equity in
marriage. Communications Monographs, 59(3), 243-267
Glick, P. C. (1989). The family life cycle and social change. Family Relations, , 123-129
Hudspeth, W. J., & Pribram, K. H. (1990). Stages of brain and cognitive maturation. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 82(4), 881–884. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.82.4.881
Landale, N. S., Oropesa, R. S., & Bradatan, C. (2006). Hispanic families in the United States:
Family structure and process in an era of family change. Hispanics and the Future of
America, 5, 148,152.
Unkrich, L. (Director). (2017). Coco [Film]. Disney Pixar.