Who Is The Narrator In Jane The Virgin?
From 2014 to 2019, the CW series "Jane the Virgin" merged speedy plot twists with heartfelt charm. A love letter to telenovelas, the show followed twenty-three-year-old Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) after finding out she had been accidentally artificially inseminated. Along the way, an off-screen voice known as the "Latin Lover Narrator" related the wild ups-and-downs of Jane's journey. Voiced by Anthony Mendez, the anonymous storyteller quickly became a fan-favorite character, largely due to his tongue-in-cheek observations and warm-hearted humor (via Nylon). As one reviewer noted, "His highly biased narrative helps keep the show unpredictable—and hilarious. And the way he's evolved throughout the season, incrementally developing a personality all his own, has been one of the highlights of the show" (via Slate). Notably, Mendez received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Narrator in 2015 and 2016 for his celebrated contributions to the series.
During the show's run, viewers frequently theorized about the narrator's secret identity, gleaning clues from each episode to determine who he or she might be (via Reddit). As fans deep-dived into plotlines for overarching evidence, "Jane the Virgin" executive producer Jennie Urman shared that the narrator's identity would eventually be revealed by the series finale (via TVLine). Over the years, it became clear that the mysterious storyteller was somehow linked to the Villanueva family, largely due to his insider knowledge regarding the inner workings of their lives (via Bustle). Finally, in 2019, "Jane the Virgin" disclosed the five-seasons-long mystery.
The narrator is *gasp* Jane's son, Mateo
In a reveal that many viewers had accurately surmised during the show's run (via PopBuzz), the Latin Lover Narrator identified himself as the adult version of Jane's son, Mateo. During Jane's wedding, six-year-old Mateo shared a speech he had prepared, noting that his paternal grandmother had told him he would be "great at voice-over work." At this point, the narrator briefly dropped his famed telenovela accent and said, "And, for the record, I am." Not only did this reveal confirm that Mateo had been chronicling the entire story, but it also established that the entire series had been a retelling of Jane's future novel.
In a subsequent interview with Vanity Fair, Jennie Snyder confirmed that she had always planned to reveal that Mateo was, indeed, the Latin Lover Narrator. She noted, "Throughout the whole series there have been clues peppered, and there's things that are specific about the way the narrator is relating to people in the world."
While discussing the table read of the final script, Mendez described the emotional effects of realizing that he had been playing Jane's son all along. He explained, "Not only is it so touching, the relation of the narrator to the story and to Jane and the family, but...as a father, as somebody whose life has been changed by this show, that reveal meant so much" (via Vulture). He added that having the opportunity to recite that final line in his own voice "really moved" him. While the show has ended, its bittersweet conclusion remains as impactful as ever.