Santiago of the Seas: Interview with Dean and Mason Vazquez

Dean and Mason Vazquez voice the characters of Santiago Montes and Tomás Gaviota on Santiago of the Seas, a children’s television series that premiered on Nickelodeon. The English language series infuses a Spanish-language and Latino-Caribbean culture curriculum into its episodes. Bringing this beautiful diversity to younger audiences, the series follows the adventures of 8-year-old Santiago “Santi” Montes, a brave and kind-hearted pirate, as he embarks on daring rescues, searches for treasures, and keeps the high seas safe in a fantastical Caribbean world.

Interview with Dean and Mason Vasquez

Monica sat down with Dean and Mason Vazquez who voice the characters of Santiago Montes and Tomás Gaviota. These young and talented actors told us about how they maintain their work and school life, what they love about their characters and much more.

Dean Vazquez is the voice of Santiago “Santi” Montes, the show’s protagonist. Santi is a brave and kind-hearted 8-year-old pirate who sets sail on amazing adventures with his friends and keeps the high seas safe from villains as the pirate protector of Isla Encanto. Vazquez recently wrapped up a role in the latest Transformers movie, Transformers: Rise of the
Beasts, alongside Anthony Ramos.

Mason Vazquez is the voice of Tomás Gaviota, Santiago’s cousin and first mate. He plays a magical Calavera cuatro guitar that can harness the wind as he sails the high seas with Santiago. You may have seen Mason on-screen as “Miggy” in the movie In The Heights.

Santiago of the Seas

Santiago of the Seas is created by Niki López, Leslie Valdes, and Valerie Walsh Valdes. Valdes and Walsh Valdes formerly worked on the beloved Dora the Explorer series and serve as executive producers with López co-executive producing.

In the series, Santiago’s steadfast and loyal crew consists of Tomás, his clumsy energetic cousin whose magical guitar can be used to harness the wind; and Lorelai, a knowledgeable mermaid who can speak to sea creatures and transform into a human girl. Together, Santi and his best mates sail the seas on the majestic ship El Bravo, using their smarts, pirate skills, and moral compasses to guard their home of Isla Encanto from villains like the nefarious pirate Bonnie Bones and her Palm Crow sidekick Sir Butterscotch.

The Importance of On-Screen Representation

We know that it’s important for children to see themselves represented on screen. To hear voices that sound like theirs and to see their community beautifully depicted. The series features a Latino-Caribbean culture by highlighting the culture’s music,
language, cuisine, dances, architecture, customs, folklore, and more. In that way, it provides the audience who may be unfamiliar with Latino-Caribbean culture with a wonderful introduction.

Santiago of the Seas seamlessly infuses both English & Spanish, giving viewers a head start on learning the Spanish language. In the same vein as Dora The Explorer each episode features a targeted Spanish word or phrase that viewers are asked to repeat. Whenever the characters speak Spanish, it’s done in a way that provides context to clarify its meaning, so that viewers are easily able to understand and follow along.

Santiago of the Seas apparel, home/bedding, footwear, and sleepwear are available now at Amazon, Target, Walmart, Kohl’s, and Ross. You can stream episodes of Santiago of the Seas on Paramount+, with new episodes rolling out each month. You can tune into Nickelodeon every Friday in July at 11:30 am for brand-new episodes.