Mayans MC: Who Was Roel Navarro?
A title card at the end of the April 19, 2022 "Mayans M.C." Season 4 premiere dedicates the episode to the memory of a man named Roel Navarro. Given that this dedication offers viewers no additional context, some "Mayans M.C." fans may well be wondering just who Navarro was and why, exactly, he was significant to the series.
On "Mayans M.C.," Navarro plays Pavia, one of the leaders of the Mayans Tucson Charter. He first shows up in Season 2, Episode 1 and overall appears in eight episodes between Seasons 2 and 3. As a result of Navarro's death, in Season 4 it's likewise revealed that Pavia died off-screen.
Navarro's TV work kicked off in the '90s, during which he sporadically acted in unnamed roles on shows like "Unsolved Mysteries." His Hollywood career eventually started picking up in the 2010s, when he began appearing in series like "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" as the Mayor of West Covina and "Jane the Virgin" as Alba Villanueva (Ivonne Coll)'s late husband Mateo in flashbacks. He also notably portrays Richard Romo in "Bosch" Season 6. Pavia on "Mayans M.C." was one of his final acting gigs, and arguably the biggest role of his career.
The cause of Roel Navarro's death is not public knowledge
When news of Roel Navarro's death first broke, numerous outlets like TV Insider listed its date as January 15, 2019. According to a correction to this piece, he actually died on October 7, 2021. That said, neither an obituary nor official statements from any of his professional colleagues are available to clarify the details of his death, leaving its cause unavailable to the public and even its date accessible only though unofficial sources.
Some of the only responses from those who knew him are on his Instagram posts. For example, on the final post to his Instagram feed, TV actor Chris Boudreaux memorialized Navarro in a heartfelt comment. "Creating side by side with you was truly amazing. You pushed me n made me want to do better every time I stepped into that theater," he wrote.
A couple of his colleagues likewise reflected on his memory in response to his prior post, of himself alongside "Mayans M.C." stunt double Gabriel Rios. In an earlier comment from the time the photo was posted, Rios thanked Navarro and implied that this was the first time an actor he worked with ever posted a photo with him. Then, after his passing, Rios wrote, "Can't believe you're gone bro. This f***** sucks. RIP my brother!" Fellow "Mayans M.C." actor Joseph Raymond Lucero also commented a series of prayer hands both in a reply to Rios and in Navarro's memory.