Santiago of the Seas: Interview with Dean and Mason Vazquez – That Hashtag Show

Dean and Mason Vazquez voice the characters of Santiago Montes and Toms Gaviota on Santiago of the Seas, a childrens 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.

Monica sat down with Dean and Mason Vazquez who voice the characters of Santiago Montes and Toms 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 shows 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 theBeasts, alongside Anthony Ramos.

Mason Vazquez is the voice of Toms Gaviota, Santiagos 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 is created by Niki Lpez, 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 Lpez co-executive producing.

In the series, Santiagos steadfast and loyal crew consists of Toms, 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.

We know that its 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 cultures 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, its done in a way that provides context to clarify its meaning, so that viewers are easily able to understand and follow along.

Santiagoof the Seasapparel, home/bedding, footwear, and sleepwear are available now at Amazon, Target, Walmart, Kohls, and Ross. You can stream episodes ofSantiagoof the Seas onParamount+,with new episodes rolling out each month. You can tune into Nickelodeon every Friday in July at 11:30 am for brand-new episodes.

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Santiago of the Seas: Interview with Dean and Mason Vazquez - That Hashtag Show