The Characters: Season Two

Meet the Gonzalez family.

Jess Gonzalez

JESS GONZALEZ (Edward James Olmos)
Jess is the Gonzalez family patriarch, who is a cross between Archie Bunker and Zorba the Greek. He is larger than life and socially conservative, railing against immigration and minorities, always thinking of himself as a “Spaniard” instead of Mexican. Underneath his gruff exterior, however, Jess has a heart of gold and a boundless love for his family.

Nina Gonzalez

NINA GONZALEZ (Constance Marie)
A recent graduate with a law degree, Nina decides to go to work for Legal Services on behalf of immigrant rights, much to the dismay of her father, Jess. Nina and Jess are constantly at odds over her work and her views, yet love keeps their family together.

Esteban Gonzalez

ESTEBAN GONZALEZ (Esai Morales)
Esteban is Jess’s “ne’er do well” son, an ex-gang member who is out on parole. He is struggling to put his life back together and raise his young son, Pablito. Together with his sister Nina and his father, Jess, Esteban tries to make a good home for his son. Esteban ignites a passionate romance with Ofelia.

Aunt Dora

AUNT DORA (Raquel Welch)
The drama queen of the family, Dora is both funny and heart wrenching. She was always on the fringe of the Hollywood scene, and might have become a star if only things had been different.

Ofelia Martinez

OFELIA (Kate del Castillo)
Esteban's wife and newest addition to the Gonzalez family. Ofelia is a beautiful ballerina from Mexico, who had to choose between her love for Esteban and her art

Conrado Gonzalez

CONRADO GONZALEZ (Yancey Arias)
The oldest Gonzalez child, Conrado was always a straight and narrow student who became a doctor. He was the first of the Gonzalez family to go to college and he makes his parents proud.

Vangie Gonzalez

VANGIE GONZALEZ (Rachel Ticotín)
The “yuppie” sister is a fashion designer and lives on the West Side with her husband and two children. Nina sees Vangie as a “sell-out” who has abandoned her community. Vangie sees Nina as “foolish” for staying in East Los Angeles and trying to solve the barrio’s insurmountable problems.

Berta Gonzalez

BERTA GONZALEZ (Sonia Braga)
Berta is Jess’s loving, dutiful wife. Together, they have raised a family and now get ready for their golden years. Unfortunately, death comes early for Berta, leaving Jess to confront life without his mate. The character of Berta returns throughout the series in the form of flashback fantasy sequences.

Adela Gonzalez

ADELA (Patricia Velasquez)
Adela is Jess Gonzalez's grandmother.

Major Hall

MAJOR HALL (Lynn Whitfield)
Major Hall is Conrado's military superior.

Shady

SHADY (Jesse Borrego)
Shady is an old adversary from Esteban Gonzalez's past.

Cisco Gonzalez

CISCO GONZALEZ (Parker Torres)
A cyber-punk and aspiring filmmaker, Cisco is the Gonzalez’ youngest son. Aside from his video camera, his adventures as an online artist and storyteller (see "Cisco's Journal”), Cisco’s only other passion is his girlfriend, Izabel.

Pablito Gonzalez

PABLITO GONZALEZ (Austin Noah Marques)
Pablito is the six-year-old son of Esteban and his estranged girlfriend Laura (Seidy Lopez). He is a bright kid who loves his dad and the family but he stills misses his mother.

Alica

ALICIA (Camille Guaty)
Alicia is Conrado's teenage love interest and Nina's best friend.

Young Esteban

YOUNG ESTEBAN (Michael Pena)
The adolescent version of Esteban, whose teenage years were marked by troublemaking.

Young Conrado

YOUNG CONRADO (Nicholas Gonzalez)
The younger version of Conrado, the straight A student of the Gonzalez family.

Young Vangie

YOUNG VANGIE (Alisa Reyes)
The teenage version of the “yuppie” Gonzalez sister.

Young Nina

YOUNG NINA (Aimee Garcia)
The younger version of Nina, the activist daughter of Jess Gonzalez.

Young Shady

YOUNG SHADY (Luis Robledo)
Young Shady, a troubled and troublemaking friend of teenage Esteban Gonzalez.