Vincente de Santa

"Mexico loves you, Mr. Marston."

- Vincente De Santa

Captain Vincente de Santa is a major character and a secondary antagonist featured in Red Dead Redemption. De Santa is a captain in the Mexican Army, serving under Colonel Agustin Allende.

Background
Ambitious and unprincipled, De Santa knows that he is fighting a war, and he has to win as the rebels have placed a price on his head. He will do anything for the Army and kill anyone that tries to stop him. De Santa is portrayed as a cruel, abusive and sadistic man. On a regular basis he personally participates in the slaughter of civilians that support the rebels and willingly kidnaps women to satisfy the sexual appetite of his commander, Colonel Allende. He is also a vicious sycophant, who is not above sending competitors on suicide missions for personal gain; he even makes a man dig his own grave before shooting him. Despite his rather sadistic and homicidal personality, he is also portrayed as a spineless coward when verbally abused by Allende. Despite the abuse (or perhaps because of it) he seems to genuinely admire and look up to Allende, seeing him as a savior of the Mexican way of life. He is also portrayed as a homosexual. In several missions, he is seen looking flamboyantly at Quique Montemayor, a waiter, and can be seen with his arms around him later in the game.

Red Dead Redemption
De Santa works alongside John Marston after his first visit to Escalera, sending him on various tasks, oftentimes personally helping John do these tasks. John learns to dislike him, seeing how most of the tasks involve burning down innocent peoples homes, and capturing young women to give to Allende and other soldiers. John also obviously hates the idea of a dictatorship, seeing how he fought against governmental control. De Santa tries having John killed a few times, sending John on many missions with incompetent soldiers against large armies of rebels.

Eventually, De Santa betrays John by claiming that the Mexican Army has captured Javier Escuella and Bill Williamson, and insists they are being held in the church at Chuparosa. However, upon reaching said church, John is knocked unconscious by a rifle butt to the head. Upon coming to, he is on the ground, his hands tied behind his back. As he is about to be executed, a lone bullet, fired by Abraham Reyes, whizzes through the air and prevents a seemingly imminent death. In the confusion, a large group of rebels attacks, covering John's escape. Rushing over to Reyes, John has the ropes binding his wrists cut, and hurries back to get his weapons. Unfortunately, De Santa has escaped, and is running back to the safety of Escalera. In the Luisa Fortuna mission, Captain De Santa's Downfall, Luisa explains that De Santa was sent to oversee a massacre in Sepulcro. She asks Marston to ride out with a group of rebels and finish him once and for all. Sure enough, John (with the help of his rebel friends) quickly dispatches all the Mexican army soldiers before beating De Santa to a bloody pulp. Under intense interrogation, the brutalized De Santa tells John that Javier Escuella is hiding at Casa Madrugada. In the end, It is the player's choice whether to kill the cowardly man or leave it up to the rebels. If you chose the second option he will be shot by the rebels and left there to rot in a pool of his own blood, despite the fact he has been beaten so severely he already looks like a corpse.

Captain De Santa's information about Casa Madrugada turns out to be a final lie, as only an ambush of Mexican soldiers awaited Marston.

De Santa's grave is to the far left of Sepulcro when you enter from the side facing Las Hermanas.

Undead Nightmare


During the mission &quot;Mother Superior Blues&quot;, the player will be asked to clear out Sepulcro. Once the coffins have been burned and most of the Undead cleared out, De Santa will emerge from his grave. As he rises, he will mumble, "Mexico loves you, Mr. Marston," in an eerily distorted voice. The player must kill or otherwise disable him to complete the cemetery.

Red Dead Redemption

 * &quot;Civilization at any Price&quot;
 * &quot;The Demon Drink&quot;
 * &quot;Empty Promises&quot;
 * &quot;Mexican Caesar&quot;
 * &quot;Cowards Die Many Times&quot;
 * &quot;Captain De Santa's Downfall&quot;

Undead Nightmare

 * &quot;Mother Superior Blues&quot;

Quotes
"My country is in pain. John Marston. Terrible pain."

- De Santa speaking to John Marston

"I am the government, or what is left of it."

- Vincente De Santa

"This isn't America, Señor Marston. We are poor. Kindness must take a different form."

- Vincente De Santa

"The peasants are stupid and like cows they can be herded. It only takes a few men to move many."

- Vincente De Santa

Trivia

 * His appearance was based on Al Pacino, On your first encounter, he gives you a warm welcome to Mexico a la Tony Montana (from the movie Scarface). Also when capturing him in the 'later mission' he could say "You wanna fight? Okay let's fight!" which is simillar to Al Pacino's famous quote at the end of 'Scarface'
 * It is heavily implied that De Santa is homosexual. There are numerous scenes hinting at a relationship between him and Quique Montemayor, a waiter.
 * His relationship with the waiter is hinted at in the first cutscene with De Santa, where Quique Montemayor gives John and De Santa a look of longing and desire. And, in another scene, when he is bringing women to Allende with Quique, the two leave with arms around each other. Captain Espinoza also says that he flirts with the bar boy.
 * When you first meet Abraham Reyes, John tells him he is looking for two men, and Reyes replies with, "You have been spending too much time with Captain De Santa." After De Santa's death, Reyes remarks that "a lot of young boys will sleep safe in their beds."
 * During a mission, Allende calls him a Mariconcito in Spanish, which roughly translates into "little faggot".
 * In a conversation with a rebel, the rebel comments about De Santa's cowardice, claiming he'll only attack when a man is on his knees. John comments, "He'll do a lot of things when men are on their knees," further alluding to De Santa's homosexuality.
 * The armory Shopkeeper will sometimes say, "De Santa me besa como si fuera su hermano," translating as, "De Santa kisses me like if I was his brother," hinting at his homosexuality.
 * The same Shopkeeper has another line when one opens the trade window with him, he says "De Santa solo deja que YO le toque la pistola" this translates to "De Santa only allows me to touch his gun". In spanish "Pistola" (gun) is sometimes used as a slang word for "penis" so the phrase could be translated as "De santa only allows me to touch his penis".
 * Some NPCs in Mexico will say "Capitan De Santa duerme con otros hombres!" in conversations translating as, "Captain De Santa sleeps with other men," practically confirming the captain's homosexuality.
 * De Santa himself alludes to his homosexuality during a mission; John asks him if he shares Allende's ways of treating women, and De Santa replies that he "would never touch a woman like that" and that "it is not his way".
 * Contrary to other evidence, the bartender at the Escalera saloon says, "Los dicen que De Santa con los hombres es pura mentira." This translates to, "They say that De Santa with men is a pure lie." Additionally, he says, "Capitan De Santa es muy machote," meaning "Captain De Santa is very macho." Both could be interpreted as regarding rumors of his homosexuality.
 * You may find two men in Mexico sitting around a campfire telling a story. They will talk about De Santa's cruelty, and one of them will speculate that his cruelty is related to the rumours he likes men.
 * Another possible hint to De Santas alleged homosexuality is found when looting his dead corpse. Upon looting it Horse Pills are found which could be interpreted as being used for stimulative or relaxant purposes as the Pills themselves relaxes the muscles and increases energy levels, noting the use of these being relevant due to the nature of De Santa and the waiter's intimate relationship.
 * He has a hostile rivalry with Espinoza. Both are constantly insulting each other and both feel they are Allende's right-hand man. De Santa describes Espinoza as "a dog (they) release from time to time," while Espinoza describes De Santa as "a maid that he (Allende) cannot fuck."
 * He actually has a lazy eye, if you look at his picture below, you can see it. It is not as noticeable as Eli's, however.
 * In Undead Nightmare his tombstone reads, "Hombre Tierno, Soldado Feroz", roughly translating into "Man of tenderness, fierce soldier", a comically ironic statement, as Captain de Santa both openly supports and encourages his superior's harsh treatment of women, and tends to shy away from combat.
 * His name translates to Vincent of Saints, another ironic statement.
 * If the player kills him, he will be counted as a "civilian killed" in the stats.
 * In the Blackwater Ledger; it is reported that he died at age 34.
 * John may have known De Santa was homosexual, because on the mission Must a Savior Die? when you save Reyes, John will mention that he is looking for two men (Williamson and Escuella) Reyes will sy, "You have been spending too much time with Captain De Santa." To which John will reply, "Very funny, not like that."

Gallery
Vicente De Santa