Carlos
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Carlos |
| Occupation: | Scientist |
| Relationships: | Cecil Gershwin Palmer (boyfriend) |
| Fandom: | Welcome to Night Vale |
| Other: | Voiced by Jeffrey Cranor untill Dec 2013; Dylan Marron (Dec 2013 onwards) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Carlos is a character in Welcome to Night Vale. He is a Latino scientist who arrives in Night Vale in the pilot episode of the show.
Canon
Fandom
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Pairings
Carlos/Cecil is the main pairing.
Welcome to Night Vale is unusual among shows with fannish appeal in that a love relationship between two men is canon. Cecil Gershwin Palmer, the Voice of Night Vale, is the lens through which we view the Night Vale universe. In the first episode he states that he has fallen in love with a man named Carlos, a scientist and new arrival in Night Vale.
Portrayals, Controversies and Criticism
Carlos was not intended to be a permanent character but was based on the type of horror-movie scientist who saves the day and then moves on. He is established in the canon as dark-skinned and possessed of Perfect Hair, and usually wears a lab coat. Fanon imaginings often add red Converse sneakers, flannel shirts and Levis to this ensemble. Cecil Baldwin in interviews describes imagining him as a Brazilian male model wearing glasses. Judging by his name he is Hispanic,[note 1] and while in the first of his few in-show appearances, he was voiced by series co-creator Jeff Cranor, later he was recast as Dylan Marron, as Cranor felt it was a disservice for a straight white man to take the role of a queer POC.[note 2] Otherwise, fan interpretations of Carlos' character and backstory vary widely, from socially awkward young post-doc to full-blown mad scientist; in some fics he is a trans man, bisexual, or asexual. Unlike Cecil, Carlos is primarily portrayed as human in fanworks (with exceptions, naturally! [note 3])
Fanwork Examples
Notes
- ^ User: ellakbhesse: The name Carlos is not exclusive to Hispanic people, he is very common throughout Latin, Central and South America. Carlos is also a very common name in Brazil (country where i was born and still live) which is a Latin American country that speaks Portuguese. So even though it seems strange to some the character could inevitably be a white guy, because there are people of all colors in America who are not defined exclusively by Canada or the United States. However, this does not prevent criticism of the use of stereotyped or whitewashed Latin characters by the media.
- ^ "It sucks that there’s a white straight male (me), playing a gay man of color (Carlos). Look, I know it’s a voiceover, but it’s not just that. We do live stage shows, and that’s a visible role for a PoC. Plus, fans often google the actors who play each character, and what does a Latino/Latina teen think when my face might pop up (or worse, no image pops up) as the actor playing Carlos? What am I doing voicing this major character when there are so many talented, gay, Latino or Hispanic men who can/should be doing it? Why didn’t I think of all of this before ep 16? I don’t know." --Jeffrey Cranor's blog, December 2013
- ^ Both Cecil and Carlos are eldritch abominations in fairbreeze's As Mirrors Are Lonely