Joaquín Mondragon is the tritagonist of The Book of Life. He is the town hero and Manolo's best friend and, like him, Joaquin also has eyes for María. He was given the Medal of Everlasting Life, which provides invincibility, to improve his chances.
Physical Appearance[]
Joaquín is a young man dressed in a blue uniform reminiscent of the uniform clothing from the Mexican Revolution. He bears brown epaulettes decorated with gold stars and gold strings. He wears two bandoliers around his chest and has many different medals covering his chest. He has white trouser pants and black knee high boots. He also wears a detachable black cape with blood-red lining and a sombero hat. He has a dual sword holder on his back which holster two silver and gold swords with a brown handle.
Joaquín has short brown hair, a very handsome mustache, and a goatee. He has an after shade shadow with a more worn wood texture. He has olive-fair skin with a wood texture that has silver joints in his points of articulation. He has wooden joints at his hips and knees. His eyes are hazel green or green with white highlight from the top of his cornea to the middle of his pupil.
Personality[]
Joaquin is a friendly, duty-driven, and confident soldier. His greatest dream is to be a great hero like his father was. However, Joaquin can be very selfish as he sees himself as the greatest man to ever live. To the point where he starts putting his own ambitions before the feelings of his two best friends.
Joaquin, though, is not completely uncaring or self-centered. He can realize when his actions have gone too far or caused people sadness. During his own arch in the movie, Joaquin learns that a hero's greatest asset is being selfless.
Role in Film[]
Joaquín is first seen in the movie as a young child with two of his best friends, Maria and Manolo Sánchez. Both Manolo and Joaquín try to impress María to win her love with Manolo playing his guitar while Joaquín relies on his strength and persistence in becoming just like his father, Captain Mondragon. When Manolo and Maria are called by their fathers, Joaquín is left alone and he heads to his fathers' statue where he questions Manolo giving bread to La Muerte, disguised as a human. Joaquín then hears a noise from a building adjacent to the statue. When he enters the archway, he is greeted by Xibalba, who has disguised himself as an old man. He asks if he can have some bread, but Joaquín states that the bread is for his father. When he is offered a medal as a trade, he believes it's an old medal, but when Xibalba reveals that whoever wears the medal cannot be hurt, Joaquín accepts the trade and hands over the bread. Xibalba warns Joaquín about a bandit that will stop at nothing to get the medal back. He realizes it could be Chakal, but when he looks for the old man, he is nowhere to be seen. Joaquín then is shown the next day refusing Maria's request to free some pigs just because she does not like bacon. When a giant boar attacks Joaquín, he attacks the boar back and doesn't get hurt due to his medal.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Joaquín is loosely based on Jorge's childhood friend, Mauricio, who died when he was nine. His death led Jorge's mother to teach him about Día de los Muertos and the rest of its history. There is a dedication in Spanish to him at the end of the credits.
- Joaquín is truly known to be Joaquín Jr. because his father was named as Joaquín Mondragón Sr., according to animator and director Jorge R. Gutierrez on his Twitter webpage account.
- Joaquín's mare's name is Plata. He got her as a gift from his father as a graduation present from the academy.
- Joaquín's artistic talent is calligraphy as told by Gutierrez on his Twitter webpage account again.
- After war hero Captain Mondragon's death at the hands of the bandit king Chakal, Joaquín Jr.'s mother Gertrude Mondragon left the town of San Ángel, leaving her only son in the care of General Posada.
- Gutierrez's Twitter page implied that Joaquín formerly lived in the Mondragon mansion.
- Joaquín's rank in the military was Private First Class.
- Joaquín is the best dancer between himself, Manolo and María.
- Joaquín is related to Frida Suarez from "El Tigre".
- Joaquín was originally going to die in the bandit raid and crushed by his dad's statue, which would have been the moment he gave Manolo the Medal of Everlasting Life.
- Joaquín will be able to see "things" with his bad eye.
- Jorge R. Gutiérrez confirmed that Joaquín is the reincarnation of Acat.
- Jorge R. Gutiérrez also confirmed that Joaquín later reincarnates into Zoe Avez.
- Joaquín smokes Cuban cigars.