Federico Diaz

Infobox SFU character
Title=Federico Diaz


Name=Hector Federico Diaz
Age=31
Birth=1974
Death=February, 2049
Place=Los Angeles, California
Profession=Embalmer/Funeral Director
Actor=Freddy Rodriguez

Federico Diaz is a fictional character on the HBO television series "Six Feet Under" played by Freddy Rodriguez.

Biography

Hector Federico “Rico” Diaz, (1974–2049) is the extremely skilled restorative artist who later became a partner in the business.

Prior to Pilot

In 1992, Rico's father Mauricio slipped on the roof and crashed facefirst into the chimney. Rico and his mother Lilia went to the Fisher funeral home for burial, and to Rico's shock, Nathaniel Fisher Sr. (who then owned and operated the home) had made his father look just as he was before the accident. Rico struck up a friendship with Nathaniel, who paid for his education and hired him as a restorative artist. They remained close until Nathaniel's death in the series premiere. Around this time Rico married his high school sweetheart, Vanessa (Justina Machado) and had two children. Federico graduated from Cypress College in 1997 with a degree in Mortuary Science.

During the series

Rico was considered one of the best in the business, and was briefly hired away by the funeral home powerhouse Kroehner Services International before he realized he was just a cog in a wheel and also that Kroehner arranged an arson attack that Fisher & Sons were blamed for. He returned to work with David and Nate Jr, but resented his subordinate status. Rico and Vanessa struggled to make ends meet, but an elderly lady in their neighborhood left them $149,000 because they had always shown her kindness. With that money, Rico bought 25% of Fisher & Sons, and changed the name of the funeral home to Fisher & Diaz. Once he was on a more even level with the Fisher brothers, Rico clashed with them when he wanted to deny a funeral for a man who murdered several co-workers before committing suicide (David overruled him), but sold them on the idea of having Arthur (Rainn Wilson) come on board as an unpaid live-in intern.

Later, when Vanessa's mother died, she fell into a deep depression, to the point where her prescription pill abuse,spending habits and relationship with her sister Angelica alienated him. Desperate for companionship, Rico struck up a friendship with a stripper, Sophia, which escalated into him spending extensive time and money on her and her young daughter. When Vanessa discovered the relationship, she kicked him out even though he honestly hadn't slept with Sophia yet. He retaliated by actually sleeping with Sophia, but predictably, Sophia also dumped him, after he had nothing left to give her. Even after a sincere apology from Rico, Vanessa declared she wanted a divorce. During this time, Rico stayed in one of the guest bedrooms in the Fisher house. After remaining separated for several months, Vanessa invited him to move back in when she discovered it was too hard to raise their children alone, but she remained cold and distant. Frustrated that she didn't actually want to really be married to him, Rico told Vanessa that if she didn't want to be with him anymore he would move out for good. After a much-needed, honest conversation about the consequences of his betrayal, Rico and Vanessa reconciled for good.

Vanessa often had to help him make up his mind and prodded him on what to do with his life. Federico was frequently in conflict with the Fishers over the direction of the business. After the death of Nate, Federico pondered his options with the future of Fisher & Diaz when he heard about a mortuary in the area for sale.

Rico's future and death

David and Keith purchased Rico's 25% when Federico and Vanessa went on to establish the Diaz Family Mortuary in 2005 where he served the community for 35 years before retiring. Rico died in 2049 at age 75 on a cruise ship apparently of a heart attack while at his wife's side. He leaves behind his sons Julio and Augusto and his three grandchildren: Emily, Celestina and Vincent.