Who is the main antagonist of Coco?

Ernesto de la Cruz is the main antagonist of Coco.

At first, Ernesto appears to be Miguel’s heroic musical idol and the most celebrated musician in Mexican history. Miguel believes Ernesto is his great-great-grandfather and travels to the Land of the Dead hoping to receive his blessing to pursue music.

The apparent legend is gradually exposed as a fraud. Ernesto had performed with Héctor, who wrote many of the songs associated with Ernesto’s success. When Héctor tried to leave and return to his family, Ernesto poisoned him, stole his songs and guitar, and claimed the work as his own.

That revelation makes Ernesto more than a rival: he is responsible for Héctor’s death and for the false family history that drives Miguel’s journey. Ernesto also attempts to protect his reputation by throwing Miguel and Héctor into a cenote. His crimes are eventually exposed during a concert, and he is crushed by a falling bell, echoing the accident that killed him in life. Héctor, not Ernesto, is Miguel’s real great-great-grandfather.