Mateo's dad was hiding right under our noses
Disney never shows Mateo’s dad, never names him, never even hints at who he is — and that giant blank space lines up with a ton of suspicious clues:
Rafa hates Esteban WAY too much for it to be about a plant (S2E22). Her anger feels personal, like someone who was betrayed.
Esteban personally invites Mateo to his dinner party in “My Fair Naomi.” He never does that for random commoners.
Mateo’s skin tone and features match Esteban’s more than Rafa’s ,Disney character design is rarely accidental.
Esteban was Shuriki’s Chancellor, which gives him a reason to disappear from Mateo’s life out of guilt, fear, or shame.
Rafa is extremely protective, which makes sense if she’s hiding the truth from Mateo.
Mateo acts like someone who grew up without a father, and Esteban acts awkward and guilty around him.
And honestly… it even explains why the show never shipped Elena × Mateo. If Esteban is his father, Elena is basically his aunt.
Mateo’s age lines up perfectly with Esteban’s years under Shuriki, meaning he could have fathered a child before guilt drove him to distance himself.
Mateo and Esteban share the same nervous smile, a tiny animation detail that’s too specific to be coincidence.
Now this all could maybe be a some mistakes for the animators but hey its just a theory, an Avalor Theory.
This is an interesting theory, but there are some problems with it:
Hmm…I didn’t sense anything personal about her dislike of him. Maybe that she just thought he was annoying at most.
Mateo is already the Royal Wizard by the events of “My Fair Naomi.” He would no longer be considered a commoner.
There’s a bit of a similarity there, but Mateo has somewhat more of an olive skin tone than Esteban does, whereas his rounder features and lanky build were inherited from Rafa.
Perhaps…but keep in mind, Shuriki appointed him as chancellor upon usurping the throne. And Rafa is much younger than Esteban, so that lowers the chances of her and Esteban desiring sexual relations with one another.
True. And Mateo’sfather being Shuriki’s right hand would definitely be a reason for Rafa to be overprotective, But her overprotectiveness of Mateo could stem from a number of reasons. I think it’s also just part of her personality.
I think the main reason why the show never had Elena and Mateo end up as a couple is because romance was never intended to be a part of Elena’s story. She and Mateo were never intended to go beyond friends. Also, as a genealogy nerd, Mateo being Esteban’s son would make Elena his first cousin once removed, not his aunt, as Elena and Esteban only share one pair of grandparents, not parents.
As mentioned above, Esteban is much older than Rafa. By the time Mateo was born, Esteban would have already spent the past 25 years drowning in guilt over his betrayal.
Hmm….I don’t know if I’d say that. Esteban and Mateo both have different lip shapes, so I doubt that they have the same smile.
However, this is still a very fun theory and I’m just laughing, thinking about the affect such a revelation would have on all of the characters, and as a Carteo shipper, the idea of Victor and Esteban as in-laws is HILARIOUS!
