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No retreat, no surrender.

—Manolo Sánchez

Manolo Luis Sánchez[4] is the main protagonist of The Book of Life. He is a bullfighter with dreams of becoming a musician and the son of Carlos Sánchez and Carmen Sánchez who must decide between his heart and the expectations of his family that he ends up embarking on a journey that spans three fantastic worlds.

Physical Appearance[]

Manolo is a handsome young man who looks identical to his father Carlos Sánchez with black hair that has bangs and hair curled upwards into a curly swirl (this would be considered to be the famous "Sanchez Curl") and brown eyes.

Child[]

Manolo wore a red and white striped shirt, white pants and black shoes.

Adult[]

Ten years later, Manolo's hair is now tied back into a small ponytail in the back which curls at the end, but he has kept the same "Sanchez curl" ever since he was a little boy.

Manolo wears a black Traje de luces decorated with hearts in various places, winged hearts and corazón del santos, skulls with crossbones and gold jacket with a pink necktie and taleguilla (close-fitting tights which extend from the waist to underneath the knee, secured with tasseled cords or decorated gaiters). Manolo wears black shoes. He also appears to have pink/red swords. The sleeves of his jacket have curls protruding from the elbows.

Personality[]

Manolo is a kind, sensitive, brave & nonviolent young man who has a passion for music and a love for playing music with his guitar. Manolo dreams of being a guitarrista and a musician rather then be a bullfighter like almost all of the Sánchez family bullfighter, but he does have the gift and talent for bullfighting, although Manolo truly thinks and believes killing the bull in bullfighting is wrong. He is a sweet and compassionate young man who truly loves and cares for his family, his best friends and the town of San Ángel very dearly.

Of course, he also has his moments of insecurity, like when he is doubting that he could be able to win María Posada's love. And although he is not in agreement with the tradition of his family, he feels that he cannot rebel because he fears disappointing his father Carlos Sánchez.

He is also very musical at heart, passionate, bold, voracious, pacifistic, selfless, pure, romantic, familial, loving, courageous and humble. He loves to play the guitar and has dreamt of becoming a musician ever since he was a boy and uses music to express how he is feeling or relieve stress, but his father has always pushed him to become a bullfighter like everyone else in the Sanchez family and ignore his talents for music, leaving Manolo feeling like he doesn't belong anywhere. Compared to Joaquín Mondragon while battling for María's heart, Manolo is the more humbled and deals with awkwardness and low self-esteem, shown during his song "Creep" where he sings that he is a "creep", a "weirdo" and that "he doesn't belong". However, his greatest fear was ultimately being himself, which the spirits force him to overcome. Instead of delivering the final blow to the anger-fueled bull, he apologizes to the beast using music, accepting himself as not just a Sanchez man but as his own person.

Manolo's very loving as he was even willing to let himself die so he could be with María for eternity. He was also the first Sanchez in the long family line to understand that killing the bull was wrong.

In The Book of Life[]

Manolo is first shown in the film as a child with his best friends María Posada and Joaquín Mondragon where the two are trying to impress María to win her love and affection with Manolo playing his guitar while Joaquin pretends to fight Manolo with his sword. When Manolo and María are called by their fathers, they leave Joaquin alone. Manolo meets up with his father Carlos Sánchez and grandmother Anita Sánchez to show respect to his mother Carmen Sánchez. It is the Day Of The Dead and Carlos tells his son that if he remembers their ancestors, he can feel their presence, but if they are forgotten, they are gone forever. Manolo starts to think about his family. The whole Sanchez family appears in a ghost form and Manolo says he can feel their presence. La Muerte, disguised as an elderly lady, walks up to the group and asks if she can have some bread. Manolo states that his mother would be quite happy to give some bread with Carlos agreeing. In reward, Manolo is blessed by La Muerte, being given the blessing "May your heart always be pure and courageous". The day after that, Manolo risks his life trying to save the town from a giant boar. During the montage, Manolo and Joaquín grow up where Joaquín gets more selfish as Manolo gets more in to bullfighting.

Relationships[]

María Posada[]

María and Manolo have always been best friends since they were children. Manolo has always been deeply in love with María that he vowed to always play from the heart due to what she engraved on his guitar and he loved her so much that he was willing to die to meet her in the Land of the Remembered.

Ten years later, María and Manolo end up marrying each other near the end of the film and he becomes the father of three children; twin daughters and later a son.

Joaquín Mondragon[]

Joaquin is Manolo's other best friend since they were children, but their relationship dwindled somewhat due to being pulled in different directions by General Posada and Carlos Sánchez expectations for the boys. Not much is shown of their relationship, but it is certainly a strong friendship as 10 years of rivalry for María's love hasn't set them apart.

Manolo was willing to sacrifice himself during the battle against Chakal, showing how much he values his friend Joaquín; coming to consider him as a brother. And in fact, Manolo accepted that Joaquín was his wedding godfather.

Carlos Sánchez[]

Carlos is Manolo's father who wanted his first born and only son to follow and continue the Sánchez family tradition of being a bullfighter, but Manolo instead wants to become musician than become a Sánchez bullfighter like almost all Sánchez Family bullfighters before him. Carlos truly thinks and believes that a bullfighter must always kill the bull in bullfighting, which causes an even greater rift between father and son.

Although he may not agree with him, Manolo loves his father and wants to make him proud.

He even cried at Manolo's wedding!

Carmen Sánchez[]

Carmen is Manolo's deceased mother who never wanted him to take on the family role as a bullfighter; but as Carlos Sánchez had said the opposite to Manolo, her son became a bullfighter to honor "the wishes of his mother." Manolo always remembered her with a lot of affection, and when he reunited with her in the Land of the Remembered, he was more than excited to stay there with her and the rest of the Sanchez Family.

Although Manolo was willing to recover his life after discovering that María was still alive, it was clear that a part of him wanted to remain with his mother.

Family Tree[]


 
Unnamed father
 
 
 
Unnamed mother
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anita Sánchez
 
 
 
Jorge Sánchez
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Luis Sánchez
 
 
 
Unnamed children [5]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Carlos Sánchez
 
 
 
Carmen Sánchez
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Manolo Sánchez
 
 
 
María Posada
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnamed twin girl one [6]Unnamed twin girl two [7]Unnamed baby boy [8]
 


Etymology[]

  • The name Manolo is a common nickname for "Manuel", an also common Spanish male name which etymological origin means "God is with Us". It alludes to how La Muerte and Xibalba were involved in Manolo's life, (and by extension, the lives of his family and friends), because the two Gods made a bet that involved him.

Trivia[]

  • 3 years after Manolo and María got married, they had twin girls and later a boy.[9]
  • Manolo and María wrote to each other during the time she was in Spain.[10]
  • Manolo gives stuff away to the kids at the orphanage.[11]
  • In The Art of the Book of Life, Manolo's first guitar, which broke in the first scenes of the movie, was red because it is María's favorite color.
  • When Manolo is judged by the Cave Guardian, he mentions that Manolo's heart is 'pure and courageous'. This is the blessing that Manolo received from La Muerte when he was a child on the Day of the Dead.
  • After the movie, Manolo and María moved in with her father General Posada, although it didn't last for long and they moved into Joaquín Mondragon's mansion [12].
    Concept art - Land of the Remembered (4)

    An alternate scene of Manolo meeting his ancestors and mother inside their home in the Land of the Remembered

  • There was an alternate scene of which Manolo meets his ancestors and his mother Carmen Sánchez according to the artbook of the movie, in which he arrives at his family ancestors' home in the Land of the Remembered and they were all in the middle of a meal when they saw Manolo walk through the front door and all the family members having shocked looks on their faces.[13]
  • Jorge R. Gutiérrez confirmed that Manolo is the reincarnation of Zatz.
    • Jorge R. Gutiérrez also confirmed that Manolo could later reincarnated into Manny Rivera.
  • Manolo shares his name, excluding his middle one, with the real life Manolo Sanchez, who is the long time valet of former President Richard Nixon.
  • Diego Luna states that Manolo's true power is love.

Gallery[]

Posters[]

Concept art[]

Screenshot[]

Animations[]

Toys[]

References[]

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