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Chancellor Esteban is the former Chancellor of Avalor and a major protagonist in the Disney Junior TV series Elena of Avalor. He is the cousin of Princess Elena and Princess Isabel. He starts off as one of the protagonists of the series, but after his treachery with aiding the power-hungry sorceress Shuriki over four decades ago is revealed, he becomes the secondary antagonist of the third season until his redemption in the series finale.
Esteban is voiced by Christian Lanz.
Contents
Background
Esteban was orphaned at a young age when the boat his parents were on sank due to a storm at sea after he had begged them not to go. He was then raised by his grandparents as if he were their son. This would teach Esteban the importance of family, and although he would grow to become pretty selfish, his relatives would remain deathly important to him, as he would worry that every time they left the castle, it would be the last time he saw them.
During his teenage years, however, Esteban began to crave power due to believing that the love of his family wasn't real as he believed that he was no longer valued since nobody ever noticed or listened to him. Because of this, he and his best friend Victor Delgado made a deal with a cruel sorceress named Shuriki who offered them more power they could ever dream of. This deal included Esteban and Victor helping the sorceress take control of Avalor on the condition that they would be given a good amount of political control under her reign. Esteban also had Shuriki promise to keep his family safe and unharmed during the takeover, but Shuriki never listened as she assassinated Esteban's aunt and uncle, Queen Lucia and King Raul. Esteban's grandparents and Princess Isabel were placed inside an magical painting by the Royal Sorcerer Alacazar while Elena was hit by Shuriki as well. As the only surviving member of his family, Esteban was filled with guilt when he realized had made a terrible mistake but was hailed as the new Chancellor of Avalor under Shuriki's order as promised. While he disliked Shuriki's rule later on, he refused to fight her, believing that there was no chance of success against her.
Appearance
Esteban has short slicked black hair that is slightly graying around his temples with wavy side bangs that fall just above his ear. He also has brown eyes and tan skin. Although he appears to be in his 30s, he is actually in his 50s.
Personality
As Chancellor of Avalor, Esteban is very knowledgeable of the Kingdom of Avalor and, as he himself boasts, knows "anyone who's anyone in Avalor". He is also a firm adherent to etiquette, behaving rather snotty, prideful, and uptight.
Esteban believes Elena is too young to bear the responsibilities that come with ruling a kingdom and disapproves of her personal approach to leadership to the point where he constantly seeks to undermine her and become viewed amongst the citizens as "the true power behind the throne". He dislikes being reminded that she is the one in charge, which ties into his overall intolerance of being told what to do by others. However, as the series progresses, he starts to warm up to his cousin and eventually stops trying to one-up her. And despite his differences with Elena, he does care about her enough to want to keep her safe and values his family quite enough. In fact, in "Island of Youth", he chooses to save Elena's life rather than retrieve his canteen to keep himself young.
When at long last the truth Esteban had tried so hard to hide is made known to Elena and the rest of the family, Esteban is remorseful and though he explains his motives for helping Shuriki, he excuses them by how he felt like an outsider in his own family, as though he were invisible and that Shuriki had taken advantage of his anger and youthful naiveté and a false promise that no one was supposed to get hurt. Esteban expects to be easily forgiven and is therefore shocked that his family instead disowns him and vote to have him exiled to Soledad Island. While he acknowledges his misdeeds, he refuses to answer for them, choosing to escape the dungeon before his sentence is carried out with the help of the Delgados. He leaves with Ash after she turns Victor to stone and Carla refuses to go with her out of fear and having no other options.
Despite siding with Ash and being disowned by his family, Esteban displays there is still good inside him. He hesitated in helping the Delgados when he saw the Royal Family portrait and although he helps Ash, he would not allow her to hurt Elena, showing he still cares for and loves his family. Esteban even attempted to reason with Elena, revealing he never wanted their family to get hurt, but she refused to listen, believing his words to be nothing but lies.
Esteban was also unhappy and reluctant after gaining his newfound magical powers and did not want to hurt anyone. However, when Elena used her magic and transported him back to Avalor to confront her unresolved feelings, she officially disowned Esteban as family, causing him to officially turn to the side of evil and embrace his magic. But despite his newfound villainous ways, Esteban continues to show he cares for Elena and others as he continues to prevent Ash from hurting Elena and was worried for Alacazar when he was injured in battle. Yet when Chatana’s pet Pili refers to him as possibly being more evil than Ash, he agrees with a smirk, implying that he has since then fully embraced his villainy.
It is shown that Esteban had trouble taking responsibility even as a child, blaming their chocolate mess solely on Elena. Despite this, he was far more caring and innocent than he is now, planting a tree to honor his grandmother and late mother, as well as happily entertaining baby Isabel.
When confronted by his grandmother about his actions, he reveals he does not see himself as a villain. In the end, he came to realize power isn't what he wanted if people were going to hate and fear him. After seeing Elena in danger of being petrified, he was willing to give his life for her. She finally forgives him, and he vows to spend the rest of his life making up for what he did; he also accepts Elena as Queen and Naomi as Chancellor.
Elena of Avalor
Season 1 and 2
Once Elena restored the throne, Esteban would maintain his role as chancellor, though he refused to confess to his crimes, instead claiming that his business with Shuriki was completely unwilling. He did everything in his power to keep this a secret because he finally saw that his family really did love him and he couldn't stand losing them a second time.
After Shuriki’s defeat, Esteban becomes a member of the Grand Council of Avalor alongside Luisa, Naomi, and Francisco. He was chosen by Elena for his extensive knowledge of the Kingdom and his management of it in her absence. Unlike his cousins, he is very knowledgeable of how much Avalor has changed during the royal family's imprisonment.
In the episode "Spellbound", Esteban is among those attending Mateo's celebration as he succeeds his grandfather as Royal Wizard of Avalor. However, Alacazar's arch-enemy, the malvago wizard Fiero, turns Esteban to stone alongside Isabel, Luisa, and Francisco, to force Elena and Mateo to find the Codex Maru to undo the spell. In the end, Mateo turns Fiero's own spell back on him, turning him to stone, while Mateo uses the Codex to create the counter-spell and return Esteban and everyone else to normal, though not without Esteban noticing half of his mustache lying on his shoulder due to Naomi breaking it off earlier while he was stone and panicking about damaging him, leaving him very puzzled.
In "Olaball", Esteban is with his grandfather to cheer on Elena and the Avalor Olaball team as they face the Cariza Olaball team. At first, it looks like Avalor will lose as Cariza takes an early lead, but thanks to Gabe and the training he completed with Elena, Avalor comes from behind to win the match, and Esteban is ecstatic with Francisco when they see Avalor won.
In the episode "My Fair Naomi", concerned about being talked about by Dona Paloma and the other big members of Avalor City when Elena decides to throw a birthday party for Naomi, who wasn't from Avalor herself, fearing that if things go wrong, it could humiliate him for some time, Esteban aids Naomi in making her Royal Quinceanera party-perfect, causing Naomi to alienate Elena, Gabe, and Mateo in the process. However, when Naomi bails on her party to make amends with Elena and the others, Esteban thinks his fears will come true as Dona Paloma and the others start to gossip about Naomi leaving her party, but when Naomi returns with her friends and manages to dance with them and get everyone else involved, Esteban is impressed, and with his grandparents encouraging him that Avalor will be talking about the good parts of the party for a long time, Esteban makes sure it will stay that way, causing an unamused and defeated Dona Paloma to walk away in disgust at having failed to disgrace the Royal Family again.
In "King of the Carnaval", Esteban is shocked when Victor Delgado and his daughter, Carla, return to help with the Carnaval, but in reality, they were seeking revenge against Esteban for not protecting them when Shuriki banished them upon taking over Avalor 41 years prior. Threatening to reveal his part in Shuriki's coup to his family, they blackmail him into stealing the Avalor Crown Jewels for them. However, when Esteban is forced to give them to Elena, Isabel, and his grandparents to wear, Victor provides a means to distract them for Esteban to steal them again, but when he is unable to take back Queen Lucia's tiara, which Elena was wearing, Victor drops the bombshell and tells Elena of Esteban's betrayal. However, when Esteban attempts to tell Elena that Victor was telling the truth, Elena however, is convinced that Victor was lying and Esteban would never do anything to harm their family. Realizing she did not buy Victor telling her the truth, Esteban goes with it, and together, they are able to stop Victor and Carla from escaping with the Crown Jewels and have them apprehended. Elena personally sees to it that they never return to Avalor again, but this results in Victor and Carla swearing revenge against her and all of Avalor, including Esteban for helping see to their exile again, despite trying to turn his family against him with the truth of his part in Shuriki's takeover.
In the special "Realm of the Jaquins", Esteban is the only member of the Grand Council not happy with Elena for having ruled Avalor as Crown Princess for one year, leaving three more before she comes of age to be Queen, even feeling nervous when the mention of the Delgados is brought up, fearful of if Elena really learns of his part with Shuriki's takeover. He sees off Elena as she leaves on Luna to go watch the Guardian Test that Skylar's younger brother Nico is taking part in under Mateo, Migs, and Chief Zephyr's supervision. Esteban assists his grandfather in trying to fight off the plant growth of the forest sprite Marimonda, after being warned in advance of her attack on Avalor by Zephyr's Jaquins, alongside the Royal Guards, to little success until Elena manages to imprison her again thanks to an illusion created with the Scepter of Light. Learning afterward that the ones responsible for Marimonda's escape from Vallaestrella was Victor Delgado and his daughter when Elena tells their grandparents everything, Esteban prepares for their return once more, knowing they want revenge for what happened with the Crown Jewels. Unknown to him, Victor and Carla are working for Shuriki, who is planning revenge on Elena for her previous defeat. Whether Esteban will be dealt with by Shuriki for betraying her at the last moment previously after he had been her faithful servant since her original takeover is unknown.
In "Royal Rivalry", when Elena calls an emergency meeting of the Grand Council to discuss the threat of Victor and Carla Delgado still being a threat to Avalor, Elena suggests allying with the neighboring kingdom of Paraíso, which Esteban is vehemently against due to Paraíso and Avalor being long-time rivals, and how if the Delgados make it across the border to Paraíso, they will never catch them and bring them to justice. Despite learning of what sparked the long-time feud from her grandparents, Elena suggests inviting the Paraíso Princess, Valentina, to Avalor to sign the peace treaty. When Elena calls the vote, Esteban is the only one to vote against it while everyone else supports Elena's idea. When Valentina arrives, she quickly begins boasting about Paraíso having better stuff, angering Esteban and his grandparents. In an attempt to quell the tension, Esteban and Elena take her to the Twin Xolos, but when Valentina finally pushes Elena too far herself, an attempt by Valentina to attack Elena brings the Twin Xolos statues to life, threatening everyone in the royal carriage. After Valentina confesses to being jealous of thinking Avalor had better stuff than Paraíso, she and Elena make amends and are able to return the Twin Xolos back to their inanimate forms. Valentina signs the treaty, and the Delgados and Shuriki are forced to rethink their plans once they see the increased patrols at the Avalor-Paraíso border. Afterwards, Esteban and Naomi try some of the Paraíso chocolate, but quickly agree that Avalor's is better.
In "Three Jaquins and a Princess", Esteban is with Elena in the kitchen, checking out Armando as he prepares his entry for the Avalor Bake-Off when Isabel comes in to show off her latest invention. However, when an accident with it ends up causing the pies it was carrying to hit Esteban in the face, he reprimands his young cousin for it, hurting Isabel's feelings. Later though, he makes it up to Isabel and helps her with her invention before she goes off to play with Migs and Dulce's new children Mingo, Zoom, and Estrella.
Later on, in the episode "Shapeshifters", Esteban learns of the return of Shuriki, and her new alliance with Fiero and the Delgados. When Elena vows to defeat Shuriki once and for all to ensure she can't threaten Avalor again, vowing to avenge her parents' murder at Shuriki's hands, Esteban is against it, saying the Royal Guards can handle it, with Francisco adding on that the Jaquins are looking for her as well. However, when Elena argues that she has to handle this, for the sake of her late parents, Esteban calls the Grand Council to vote on having Elena remain in the palace for her own safety under heavy guard from Gabe and his men. Francisco, Luisa, and Naomi all agree with Esteban, making it unanimous, but after Elena leaves saying they made the wrong choice, Esteban is still confident they made the right choice.
Esteban is mentioned in "The Scepter of Night", as being away on a diplomatic visit to the neighboring kingdom of Cordoba with Francisco and Luisa, but his earlier ruling that Elena stays in the palace under guard remains in effect, which Gabe remains ironclad to maintaining, even when joining Elena, Gabe, and Naomi with pursuing Shuriki and getting the pieces of the Scepter of Night before she does.
Esteban joins his grandparents, Elena, Isabel, Mateo, and the Turners as they travel to the Avalor Summer Palace in Nueva Vista for summer vacation in the one-hour special, "Song of the Sirenas". However, they have an encounter with the Sirenas while en route, and then meet up with Duke Cristobal upon arrival in Nueva Vista. Later on, following the parade held for Elena regarding her original defeat of Shuriki, Esteban is horrified alongside Francisco, Luisa, and Isabel, when they find themselves face-to-face with Shuriki, Fiero, the Delgados, Cruz, and Vestia, and are taken to be imprisoned in the tower. Elena joins them shortly afterwards with Princess Marisa, the crown princess of the Sirenas, revealing Duke Cristobal to be allied with Shuriki, having betrayed them for gold. Mateo, Naomi, and Gabe bust them out with Migs, Luna, and Skylar, and they attempt to flee back to Avalor City, but are pursued by Shuriki on the Duke's yacht. Luckily, Sirena King Pescoro and his people arrive to save Marisa, having been warned of her capture by her brother and Pescoro's son, Crown Prince Marzel, and soon after, Mateo petrifies Fiero again, and Elena kills Shuriki, leaving only the Jewel from the Scepter of Night behind, which Cruz escapes with alongside the Delgados and Vestia. Esteban is relieved to see Elena is alright and Shuriki is gone for good, before watching as Elena punishes Duke Cristobal for his treason, and forges a new alliance and friendship with King Pescoro and the Sirenas.
Later on, in "Movin' On Up", Esteban doesn't take too kindly to some of the changes that Rafa makes to the palace due to her wanting to be with Mateo after he was granted his own quarters in the palace, still believing he needs her help. One, in particular, is a plant he tried to hide behind some curtains. Later on, when Rafa finally heads home, now convinced of Mateo's maturity and ability to handle himself without her support, Esteban is too late to return the plant to her before she departs. At the end of the episode, he drops it from the tower so it smashes on the ground below.
In the Season Two finale, "Naomi Knows Best", Esteban joins Elena when she travels to King Joaquín's kingdom under the pretense that he had captured the Delgados, only to find that they had been lured into a trap so Carla's mother and Victor's wife, Ash Delgado, could drain Elena of the magic within her, which would kill her, using the salvaged Jewel from the Scepter of Night that Victor and Carla retrieved after Elena killed Shuriki, while Esteban is locked up with Joaquín, and later Gabe, after Gabe attempted to save Elena and botched the rescue attempt. However, thanks to Mateo and Naomi, Esteban and Joaquín are able to capture Victor, while Elena is rescued while Mateo destroys the Jewel, forcing Ash and Carla to retreat, swearing revenge for their defeat and Victor's arrest. Esteban returns to Avalor with the captured Victor to aid Princess Elena in preparing for Ash and Carla's return to rescue Victor and get their revenge on Princess Elena and her friends.
Season 3
Truth Revealed
Esteban's dark secret was revealed in "The Magic Within" by the new truth-revealing power of Elena's Scepter of Light. He was sentenced to be exiled from Avalor but escaped before his sentence could be carried out and joined up with Ash Delgado.
Working for Ash
In "Captain Mateo", Esteban reluctantly leads Ash to Takaina and later encounters Elena. Esteban tries to speak with Elena, trying to reason for his past actions, but she refuses to listen. Elena's anger towards her cousin causes her magic to leivate everyone and when she finally calms down, Esteban falls into the Well of Crystals, causing him to gain teleportation powers. However, Esteban has no control over them and accidentally teleports himself, Ash, and everyone else out of the temple. While the temple is sealed by Elena, Ash decides that Esteban must be trained to properly use his new magic before they can go back to Takaina and returns to Zopilote, her mentor in assistance, in training him.
In "Dreamcatcher", Esteban is reluctant and unhappy with his new powers and wants nothing more than to return home to Avalor, frustrating Ash and Zopilote. During one of Esteban's training sessions, he is transported back to Avalor by Elena to confront him and her unresolved feelings regarding his actions. Esteban declares he'll do whatever it takes to make things right between them and promises to reveal the location of Ash and Zopilote, but stays silent when Elena finally expresses her full anger and sadness towards him. Esteban simply apologizes and wishes he could take back what he did. However, despite Esteban's apology and remorse, Elena declares him to no longer be family, shocking and devastating Esteban. Afterwards, he is transported back to Ash and Zopilote. Following being officially disowned by Elena, Esteban decides to finally put the past behind him once and for all and officially turns to the side of evil. From then onwards, Esteban begins to embrace his magic at last and finally starts to take his training more seriously.
In “Spirit of a Wizard”, Esteban has fully mastered his teleportation powers. He and Ash learn from Zopilote that the entrance to Takaina is sealed shut by enchanted crystals, which Esteban quickly deduces is the work of Elena’s scepter, noting how powerful it’s become since Elena fell into the Well of Crystals. When Ash expresses disappointment about not being able to obtain the power Elena has, Esteban jokingly comments that now she needs her scepter for that, but Ash takes the remark seriously and therefore the three come up with a plan to obtain it. Esteban uses his powers to locate Elena and is surprised to learn that Alacazar is with her, explaining that he was once Avalor’s royal master wizard who hasn’t been seen for over forty years. Later, the three allies ambush Elena, Mateo, Flo, and Alacazar using fake firestones to lure them. After a brief struggle, Esteban manages to get ahold of Elena’s scepter using his powers, though he refuses to allow Ash to hurt Elena and becomes concerned for Alacazar when Zopilote injures him with his powers. However, Ash later discovers that she cannot use the scepter since it only channels good magic and Elena manages to get it back thanks to Mateo. When Zopilote attempts to attack Mateo, he gets turned into a small yellow bird, much to Ash and Esteban’s shock. Elena tries to blast them, but Esteban uses his powers to teleport him and Ash away. Ash blames Esteban for what happened to Zopilote, stating that he should’ve let her get Elena when she had the chance, though Esteban argues that Elena is still his cousin. Ash reminds Esteban that Elena didn’t hesitate in trying to blast him and claims that the only way to truly be safe is to stop her before she stops them. She decides to create an evil alliance with other villains and proclaims that together they’ll defeat Princess Elena. Though reluctant at first, Esteban ultimately agrees.
In “The Last Laugh”, Esteban and Ash decide to recruit Chatana, an ancient winged sorceress with the power to conjure monsters, as a member of their evil alliance. Ash explains to Esteban that she will bribe Chatana into joining them with her golden diadem, the source of all her powers. Ash then attempts to free her from her imprisonment only to discover that the vault she’s inside of is boobytrapped. Esteban and Ash are transported miles away from it, so Ash tells him to use his powers to teleport them back. Esteban argues that he can’t take them all the way back there in one jump, to which Ash says that anything is better than walking. Esteban agrees and teleports them both. Eventually, they run into Chatana and introduce themselves to her, though Esteban becomes annoyed when Ash refers to him as her trainee. After Ash explains to Chatana why she freed her and promises to give her golden diadem back if she helps them, Chatana asks her pet Pili what he thinks, to which Pili says that Ash is definitely evil, but Esteban may be even worse. Esteban agrees with a smirk, and Chatana joins their team.
In “Giant Steps”, Esteban teleports Ash, Chatana, Pili, and their new ally Tziloco to the gateway to Vallestrella, where Tziloco opens it up by producing a fake jaquin paw. They plan on recruiting Chatana’s most fearsome giant Kizin. On their way, Tziloco senses someone using magic to locate them, which Esteban realizes must be Elena and tells Ash to use her Cloaking Spell. Chatana also creates baby spider eagles as a diversion, though Esteban believes adult spider eagles would’ve been more efficient until Pili assures him that they’ll do. Once the team reaches the mountain in which Kizin is trapped under, Esteban teleports them in front of it and Ash frees him. When Esteban sees Kizin for the first time, he is baffled as to how such a babyish creature could be so dangerous, yet he still attempts to convince the giant to join their alliance by complimenting him. Though Kizin takes a liking to Esteban, he refuses to help because he is mad at Chatana for not freeing him sooner and almost steps on them until Esteban teleports them away. The allies leave Vallestrella, planning on recruiting villains from the other side of Avalor.
Redemption
In "Coronation Day", Esteban joins Ash and her team as they lay siege to Nueva Vista and Coronado as part of a plan to unleash the Four Shades of Awesome to take over Avalor. When Elena arrives to protect Marisa and the Sirenas, Elena and Ash are sucked into the Spirit World, leaving Esteban to take command of the Four Shades to invade Avalor with them. However, while it appears that they are following his instructions, despite losing one of them thanks to Isabel and her defense of Avalor in Elena's absence as Crown Princess and heir to the throne, Esteban overpowers her defenses and enters the palace, only to soon discover the Four Shades had no intention of following his command when Cahu the Time Shade, the most powerful and dangerous of the Four Shades, turns Francisco and Luisa to stone, to Esteban's horror. With this, Esteban affirms his belief there is nothing he can do to make up for his mistakes and that it is too late for him.
When Elena returns and sends the remaining two Shades with Hetz back to the Spirit World, Cahu decides to turn her to stone as well. Despite Elena having disowned him and wanting to make him pay for his part in Shuriki's original takeover that resulted in Raul and Lucia's deaths, Esteban can't bear to see his cousin meet the same fate as his grandparents, and takes the bullet for Elena. As he is petrified, he apologizes to Elena for everything he had done against her, hoping to find some redemption before his inevitable death. Heartbroken by his noble sacrifice and apology for his actions against her, Elena forgives him, resulting in her emotion magic being triggered, restoring Esteban to flesh and blood. Together, the two cousins destroy Cahu's hourglass, stripping her of her powers, before banishing her back to the Spirit World to join the other Shades once and for all, undoing all their damage to Avalor in the process. Quita Moz then arrives to reveal that Elena's test was forgiving Esteban. By forgiving him, she passed her test, and can now become Queen. With his status in the Royal Family restored, Esteban attends Elena's coronation as Queen, and when Elena names Naomi her new Chancellor, Esteban gives his blessing to Naomi, knowing that she earned it since he no longer needed it. Esteban joins in the celebratory dance afterwards, which is also attended by the Royal Family of Enchancia.
Trivia
- Esteban is technically Elena's Regent, as he helped keep Avalor intact during her absence, and serves as Elena's mentor in leadership before she takes the throne.
- According to "Island of Youth", Esteban was a picky eater when he was younger and would only eat his food if his grandparents pretended the spoon was a jaquin flying around.
- It is also revealed in "Island of Youth" that Esteban feels he was never able to pursue his own passions because he was always being told what to do and still is.
- He and Duke Cristóbal are the only Royal Family members to have lived through Shuriki's reign.
- Esteban has a rivalry with Doña Paloma, who later serves as his replacement on the Grand Council.
- His name is "Steven" in English.
- Esteban has the same sash as his aunt Lucia, meaning that he possibly wears his aunt’s sash out of remembrance.
