Riordan Wiki
Advertisement
Riordan Wiki
Paola Santiago Not part of Riordanverse

The following article/section is from the Paola Santiago continuity under Rick Riordan Presents and not the Riordanverse canon.

I believe… in community. Being a loving grandmother, Being a kindly neighbor who who feeds a family when they are struggling. Being a safe place for a mother to send her child when she has to work long shifts. Even showing up to a group of friends who love to play bingo. These… are the things that change fates, Paola. If you remember anything I’ve told you over the years, remember this.

–Carmela to Pao shortly before she died in Paola Santiago and the Sanctuary of Shadows.

Carmela Mata was the grandmother and legal guardian of Dante Mata. Later it is revealed that Carmela is actually Paola Santiago from the future.[1]

History[]

Dante Mata

Dante Mata, her grandson.

Her youth was nearly identical to Pao's however one difference was that she joined the Niños de la Luz, but left after a century. She traveled back in time and saved three year old Dante from death after his mother abandoned him.

When her grandson was four, she invited one of the neighbor families over and they become close. Whenever teenagers went into a vacant apartment to smoke, she would chase them away with her slippers.

Carmela would watch her younger self while their mother was at work. She would put on a conservative act to push her younger self on the right path.

Paola Santiago series[]

Paola Santiago and the River of Tears[]

When her mother has a session, Paola Santiago goes to her apartment for the day and spends time with her grandson. During lunch they hear a report of kidnappings in a town three counties north of them and that it is the anniversary of the disappearance of a girl Pao and Dante went to school with. When she comments on her beauty, Pao says it is shallow to judge people based on appearance and Dante kicks their guest out as she starts cursing in Spanish. Dante talks to her about her behavior soon after.

The following day she is with Dante as two policemen ask him and Pao about Emma, she stays behind as the kids show the adults their meeting spot. She looked after Pao while her mother was at work and woke up in the middle of the night to say goodbye. A few hours later she tells Dante to go with Pao to the river and performs a ritual. She gives Dante one of her slippers, which changes into something he would wear, and a bag to Pao. She tells them that they have until the Summer Solstice in five days to find their Emma and protect the dreamer. Her eyes glow green as she passes out and Dante moves her to the couch and checks her pulse. Soon invisible waves force the two out of the apartment and her grandson clings to her for as long as he can until the waves finally push him away and out of the apartment.

A few days later Dante and his friends return and she invites them in for food. She has Dante return the Arma del Alma and reveals she was once a Niños de la Luz, but does not say anything beyond that this is just the beginning. She calls the girls parents and advises them not to reveal the truth to them just yet. She and the other parents keep the three at home for three days before allowing them to meet up for the SpaceX launch.

The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities: New Stories About Mythic Heroes[]

Bruto and the Freaky Flower[]

A few weeks after her grandson and his friends "find their way out of a cactus field", she catches Pao sneaking out to help Bruto, and she allows her to go. When Dante joins them, she gives him her Arma del Alma.

Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares[]

Soon after Dante and Pao save Emma, she starts to deteriorate mentally. Six months later, Pao and her mom return from Pizza Pete's, she calls for Dante to come inside, calling him “Alberto”. The following morning Pao visits her while Dante is at soccer practice at ask her about someone named Beto. After Seniors Mata brings out random ingredients for a dish she wanted to teach Pao to make, the girl tells her she broke up with Beto and is now dating someone named César. The old woman pauses at this and, gripping her face, says the two names are the same and that some will stop to nothing to stop her before passing out. Pao questions the old woman’s legal status and wonders if calling 911 would get her deported. She calls Emma who agrees to call and pay for a private ambulance. The ambulance arrives a few minutes after her grandson returns. Pao tells the paramedic everything that happened and goes with the Matas to the hospital.

When they arrive at the Silver Springs Hospital, a nurse gives Dante paperwork, he goes with the doctors as Pao waits for Emma. Pao and Emma enter the room, claiming to be her granddaughters, the doctors say Seniors Mata is fine physically but they are not picking up any brainwaves. Emma talks to the doctors as Pao pulls a reluctant Dante into the hallway to talk.

After Joaquín is expelled from Beto, her vitals return to normal. Pao and Emma head to the hospital to deliver the news of Dante to her. After Señora Mata calls Pao Maria again, they deliver the news. She reveals that she knows and doesn’t blame them for her grandson’s fate. She shoes them away before her bingo friends return with her lunch.

Paola Santiago and the Sanctuary of Shadows[]

A few months after her grandson goes missing, she suffers a fall and breaks her wrist, resulting in her being put in an assistant living facility. In the October following her move, Señora Mata and a few of the residents go to the Niños de la Luz's Warehouse to help them fight off the forces of El Cucuy. She snaps Pao out of her trance and the girl tells her to run as it is too risky for her, but Señora Mata insists she will fight and Pao has a job only she can do. After informing Pao that the shadows are in town, she starts to think she is asking Maria to buy ingredients before going to join the other seniors. However within the hour she senses she is close to death and heads to the Void to help Dante and Pao.

Pao is in disbelif upon hearing the news and searches for her magnifying glass but Señora Mata hands it to her. Pao inspects the old woman through it but sees herself as Señora Mata reveals she and Pao are the same person. Pao stares at the old woman in disbelief as she explains she went back into the past to nudge her on the right path, putting on an act to help her, and reveals Dante had no living grandparents when his father was killed. She also reveals her memory loss is due to traveling back after multiple failed attempts. As Pao fears her future is set in stone, Señora Mata tells her that if things go according to her plan and promises to tell Pao as much as she can afterwards. Señora Mata takes the cube, which she insists on bringing to their world, and Pao holds Dante up as they reappear in the room. They go down as the tower crumbles, and the old woman reveals this is new territory for her and refuses to hand the cube to Pao. Soon El Cucuy appears and demands the cube. Pao refuses and he sends nightmares at them and she and Dante fall to their knees. Pao creates a portal and manages to create a bubble around herself and the Matas. However El Cucuy manages to get his arm inside through his connection to the cube and starts to strangle the old woman. As Señora Mata gasps for air, Pao gets the three to the warehouse and grabs the cube, taking on the fear. They land in the warehouse and their allies take on the fear until the cube turns to dust. As she lays dying, she congratulates Pao for succeeding were she failed and spends her final moments with Dante.

After her death she is revealed to be quite wealthy and leaves money to Dante, Pao, and Emma which they can claim after receiving therapy until they are of legal age. She also leaves money to Pao's parents who use it to buy and renovate the apartment building.

Appearance[]

Abuela Mata is an elderly Hispanic woman who wears dentures.

Personality[]

Abuela Mata is a caring woman who can fly into a rage at a moments notice. She values courage, family, and community above all else.

Abilities[]

As a future, alternative version of Paola Santiago, it is assumed she has all the same abilities as her.

  • Spanish: She can speak Spanish.
  • Knifemanship: Carmela has shown skill in using a knife in combat from her time with the Niños.
  • Polearmsmanship: Carmela has shown slight skill in using a polearm from her time with the Niños.

As a future, alternative version of Paola Santiago, it is assumed she has all the same abilities as her.

  • Dreams: Carmela's dreams are empathic and often having meaning.
    • Prophecy: For many years, Carmela had vivid nightmares of La Llorona and the river before meeting her.
    • Astral Projection: Carmela can communicate with other people in her dreams.
    • Time Travel: In rare cases, Carmela can travel back in time. The only case of this happening is when she goes back a decade to when Dante's father was killed and his mother abandoned him.
    • Pylikinesis: Carmela is capable of opening portals in and out of the Void.
  • Pyrokinesis: Due to her Void heritage, Carmela can generate and put out fire.

References[]

  1. In Paola Santiago and the Sanctuary of Shadows it is revealed on pages 311-312 that Carmela Mata is actually Paola Santiago from the future and that she is not actually Dante's grandma but because Dante didn't have any living grandparents Paola stepped in and took the role.
Paola Santiago series
Books: Paola Santiago and the River of Tears | Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares | Paola Santiago and the Sanctuary of Shadows
Main Characters: Paola Santiago | Dante Mata | Emma Lockwood | Bruto | Naomi
Secondary Characters: Maria Santiago | Ondina | Marisa Martínez | Carmela Mata | Beto | Joaquín | Kit | Robin Long
Minor Characters: Karen Lockwood | Sal | Franco | Aaron | Johnny | Shadow Dante
Mythical Creatures: Chupacabra | La Llorona | Ahogada | La Mano Panchona | Lechuza | Duendecillos | Cadejo | The Hitchhiker | El Cucuy | Falsita
Related Content: Tehlor Kay Mejia | Rick Riordan Presents | Bruto and the Freaky Flower | Disney+ series
Advertisement