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Swashbuckling with Santi Nickelodeon makes a splash with its high-energy preschool show Santiago of the Seas. By Ramin Zahed
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hoy, amigos. Get ready for a new swashbuckling hero as Nickelodeon’s new animated show Santiago of the Seas sets sail this month. Created by Niki López, along with Leslie Valdes and Valerie Walsh Valdes (the husband-and-wife team behind Dora the Explorer), the colorful show follows the adventures of eight-year-old Santiago Montes (voiced by Kevin Chacon), a kind and brave junior pirate who searches for treasures along with his friends. Of course, he also has to keep his Caribbean world safe from villains like Bonnie Bones (Kyndra Sanchez) and his Palm Crow sidekick Sir Butterscotch (John Leguizamo). The origins of Santiago of the Seas go back several years, when Nickelodeon paired López with the Valdeses to develop the show, which highlights Spanish language and a LatinoCaribbean culture curriculum. López, who was one of Animation Magazine’s Rising Stars of 2020, says she is very pleased that her labor of love is finally making its debut. “I feel very lucky as a woman of color to have had this opportunity to have a project that is so authentically tied to my own background,” says the talented artist who was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. “We need more women and people of color to share their worlds, and I think it’s exciting for the audience who share that background to see themselves and their culture represented in animation.” The Valdeses also emphasize the value of creating a positive role model for young audiences. “When you create a hero for preschoolers, it’s a huge responsibility,” says Valerie Walsh Valdes. “You want them to develop
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an attachment to the characters. Kids can see our hero Santi as their best friend or a mirror of themselves, which is something everyone wants today. He is brave, but kind, and has many prosocial traits and empowers kids to do good in the world.”
One-of-a-Kind Characters Leslie Valdes echoes his wife. “We have cre-
ated some dynamic and unique characters, and each one of them is very distinct and individualistic,” he says. “We never patronize our audience and have these positive, aspirational characters. The most special aspect of this show is that we have these wonderful Latino and Caribbean characters and a voice cast that is really enveloped in that culture and storytelling. I have worked on shows be-
‘We need more women and people of color to share their worlds, and I think it’s exciting for the audience who share that background to see themselves and their culture represented in animation.’ — Co-creator and co-exec producer Niki López
Brave Buccaneer: The series is centered on a kind and fearless Caribbean pirate who tries to protect his friends from the show’s villains.
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november 20
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