In the movie Coco, the family’s ofrenda is a central point of focus, showing the different family members who had passed on, and honoring them with marigolds, candles and their favorite treats.

To create Miguel’s ofrenda, we first created an arch by using a long piece of PVC pipe that we bent and held in place with iron stakes in the ground. We decorated this with purchased strands of marigolds using zip ties.

I then downloaded pictures of Miguel’s family members, printed them out and put them into frames.

I created tiered shelves and put them on a table in front of the arch. I covered the table and shelves with a white fabric tarp. I then added the pictures, marigolds, battery-powered light-up candles, real Dia de Los Muertos candles, sugar skulls, apples, shoes and other items.

In addition to Miguel’s family, we added one additional picture—that of Michelle’s father, John Myers, as a tribute to him.

After that, we added a blow-up Miguel and his dog, Dante, to complete the scene.