The Mysterious Cities of Gold was a wonderful animated series that aired during the 80s. Even though it is almost two decades old, the show has an aura of timelessness that makes it superior to even today's cartoons. It combined history, science fiction, adventure, South American vibes, and careful characterization to create an experience that's nothing short of miraculous. Its exciting pacing and wonderfully crafted story kept the show fresh throughout the episodes, not just within the individual episodes. It told the story of three young adventurers and their companions who hoped to one day find the legendary Cities of Gold. Yet there was much more to this cartoon than that. It featured many adult themes and emotions you wouldn't find in a normal kid cartoon these days. To this day, I still consider it to be one of the best animated series ever made.
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Main Characters:
Esteban is the hero of the show. He was rescued from a storm when he was a baby by Mendoza and was adopted by Father Rodriguez in Barcelona. He hopes that his real father is still alive and that he will one day find him. He wears a mysterious medallion around his neck. Many people seem to believe he has the power to call out the sun.
Tao.
Tao is a descendant of the people of Heva, an advanced race that destroyed themselves long ago much like the people of Atlantis. He is intelligent, but this sometimes puts him at odds with Esteban's "this is no time to sit and think" approach to some situations. Tao carries an encyclopedia, has a pet parrot named Kukapetl, and briefly owned the ancient Hevan battleship The Solaris.
Zia.
Zia is a young Inca girl who was kidnapped by governor Pizzaro when she was little for her ability to read the knots in the Golden Quipu. She is very brave and kind and has a deep passion for finding her home and her father. She also owns a mysterious medallion.
Mendoza.
Mendoza is one of the most complex and interesting characters of this or any series. Much of the time, it is hard to tell his true intentions. While it was he who rescued Esteban from a storm, he also seems to be interested in only the gold. Over time, however, his character seems to develop. He is very cunning and is a very skilled navigator. He gets the coolest lines.
Sancho and Pedro.
Very little is known about them, and there's very little to say about them. They are shallow, bumbling, and cowardly, and they stay that way throughout the entire series. They're mostly in the series for comic relief. Sancho is the big-boned one while Pedro is the monkey-faced one. Both seem to "belong" to Mendoza.
Commander Gomez.
Commander Gomez is one of the Spaniards hungry for gold. He hardly ever lets his greed cloud his judgement, however, and is capable of great intelligence. He has a strong military mind.
Gaspard.
Gaspard is Captain of the Guard. He doesn't like being made a fool of, but he sometimes comes across as an oaf only good for his fighting skills.
Governor Pizzaro.
Governor Pizzaro's greed is immeasurable, even compared with the other Spaniards. He doesn't appear very often during the series, but his devious nature is clearly felt. It was he who captured Zia when she was young.
Doctor.
The doctor is one of the villains who appears much later in the series. He is devious and has a vast knowledge of many poisons, but he hates dirty work, so he uses the brute Teteola to intimidate.
Marinche.
Marinche is the doctor's partner in crime. She is sultry and seductive, yet also very intelligent. A very dangerous person, she is also a very interesting villain.
Teteola.
Teteola is the doctor and Marinche's brute force. He is clearly very strong but as he doesn't say much, it's not clear whether he is intelligent or not.
Menator.
Menator is the leader of the Olmecs, a race of advanced humans who suffered a cruel fate. Unlike the Spaniards, Menator isn't interested in gold. Instead, he seeks out The Mysterious Cities of Gold in the hopes of finding the powerful Sun Power Unit, which may make his people live very long lives.
Other characters:
The Mysterious Cities of Gold was such a complex cartoon that the list of minor characters would probably be longer than the list of major ones, but here are a few of the important ones.
Father Rodriguez.
Father Rodriguez is a kindly old man who adopted Esteban. Sadly, he doesn't make it beyond the first episode.
Kukapetl.
Kakapetl is Tao's yappy bird who fortunately has a knack for sensing when danger approaches.
Papa Kamayo.
Papa Kamayo is Zia's long lost father.
High Priest.
He is the mysterious high priest who guards the gates of the Cities of Gold. He hides a dark secret, and his face is seen for only a fraction of a second.
Episode guide:
The Mysterious Cities of Gold unfolded with wonderful pacing as each episode tied into the next. The series focused mainly on adventuring and mystery, but elements of light humor, drama, and dark violence where thrown in as well. A magnificent theme song at the beginning of each episode and wonderful instrumentation throughout them enhanced the experience. The following episode guide might contain spoilers.
1-Esteban, Child of the Sun
A great start to a great series, the first episode quickly establishes the characters, certain plot points and themes, and gives a feel for the series' Spanish influence. In this episode, Esteban escapes being lifted up into the crow's nest of a ship so he can stop the rain and finds Mendoza in a bar in Barcelona.2-Crossing the Atlantic
The Esperanza sets sail for the New World. Esteban meets Zia and discovers they both wear identical medallions. Mendoza, meanwhile, has to navigate the ship without sleep through the dreaded Straits of Magellan. This episode has several cool animation sequences.3-Heroes Again
The Esperanza makes it through the straits. Esteban is reminded that his father was last seen near the ship's position. Zia falls ill by the drinking water and a typhoon threatens the ship.4-Adrift on the Endless Sea
The Esperanza is pulled apart by the storm. Commander Gomez and Gaspard escape, and Mendoza, the sailors, and Esteban and Zia are set adrift on a surviving part of the ship.5-The Abduction of Zia
The group find themselves on a seemingly deserted island populated with nothing but giant turtles. During the night, however, a strange creature enters the camp and steals Mendoza's sea chart and pistol. Esteban gives chase, but the creature kidnaps Zia and takes her off the island in a boat. Esteban swims after them, and when he reaches another island, he discovers a magnificent treehouse, where he finds Zia asleep in a bed and discovers that the "creature" is really a boy his age named Tao.6-The Ship Solaris
This episode introduces Tao a little bit more and a prophesy foreseeing the arrival of Esteban and Zia to the island, explains the history of Heva and the role of the Mysterious Cities of Gold. It introduces a mysterious jar, one that legend says only a High Priest of a City of Gold can open. A series of events leads Tao and the group to the discovery of the Hevan ship The Solaris.7-Secret of the Solaris
In this episode, Mendoza, Sancho, and Pedro offer their services to Tao, who reluctantly accepts. Tao destroys his treehouse, and everybody tries to solve the mysteries of The Solaris as a galleon carrying Gaspard and Gomez attacks.8-The New Continent
The Solaris reaches land, but the group is captured by Spanish guards. Pizarro seives Zia and forces her to read a quipu.9-The End of the Solaris
The Spanish have The Solaris surrounded, and the galleon has its cannons trained on an Incan village, hoping to lure out Zia. Tao reluctantly opts to use The Solaris' self destruct mechanism.10-Secret of the Temple
The children make their way south to Zia's village, and the sailors join them in the hopes of discovering clues to the location of a City of Gold. The way, however, is blocked by Pizarro's fortress.11-Messangers of the Region
The children make their way to Zia's village, but they find it deserted except for Zia's pet condor and Gaspard, Gomez, and soldiers. Zia tells the Spanish what she read in the quipu. The children are rescued by Weyna and Kecha, who are mysterious warriors, and taken to High Peak.12-Secret of the Medallions
Gomez plans to strike at the Fort of the Black Eagle on High Peak, but Mendoza plays double agent by hinting to Esteban that the attack will come at night.13-Mystery of the Parents
In this important episode, Esteban learns a little bit of the history of his father. He hears a tale about a foreigner who falls in love with an Incan priestess, has a son, and is set adrift with the son while the priestess is sacrificed. Despite the importance of this episode, after all the chases by the Spanish, this episode allows the children some good silly fun, including a skinny-dipping scene.14-Esteban's Medallion
In order to continue, Esteban feels he needs the piece of the medallion Mendoza stole from him when he was a baby. Meanwhile, The Spanish are marching towards the Fort of the Black Eagle with a cannon.15-The Subterranean Secret
Mendoza tries to warn the people of the fort about Gomez' coming attack. They ignore him until Esteban tells them Mendoza can be trusted. Despite their best efforts, the fort is breached, and the defenders retreat to the High Peak. The children are cornered and escape to a cave, pursued by Gaspard and his soldiers. The cave ends in a pool of water, but Tao finds an underwater passage, and the children swim to safety.16-The Urubus
Mendoza cuts the rope bridge to stop the Spanish from following, and the children tell Chief Kraka of High Peak they plan to journey to a city in the south. In this episode, the group encounter a tribe of giants called Urubus and help the people of Lake Titicaca fight them off.17-The Golden Condor
In this important episode, the group discovers a ruined city while escaping from the Urubus. Inside a temple, they discover a giant condor made of gold.18-Maiden Flight of the Great Condor
In this episode, a tremor rocks the city. Zia finds another quipu and reads it. "A great danger will threaten the city. All the people have run away to the land of the Maya. In the time of danger, the condor is supposed to help them." Mendoza finds out the city is right on top of an active volcano. However, when they climb inside the condor to take shelter, they discover it's really a flying machine, which takes off and goes into autopilot.19-The Nazca Plateau
In this episode, the condor lands in the Nazca plateau, and the group and the condor nearly fall into the clutches of the greedy Pizarro.20-The Spaniards' Cannon
The party agrees to fly to the land of the Mayas, so they set off for High Peak for directions. When they get there, they find the Spanish are rebuilding the rope bridge to High Peak and are bringing along a cannon.21-The Amazons
The condor flies over a jungle, but a huge storm cloud mysteriously gathers in front of them. Without sunlight, the condor loses power and crashes into the jungle. They are ambushed by Amazons and taken to their village, where their priestess plans to sacrifice them to appease the rain god. Can Esteban's supposed power save them?22-The Mirror of the Moon
The heroes stay with the Amazons as guests, but the priestess still asks the queen for a sacrifice. The queen's handmaiden tells that the priestess has plans to depose the queen, but without proof, nobody can get rid of her because only she can talk to the rain god. Tao is suspicious of this and finds a Hevan barometer in the priestess' temple. He rigs it to give a false prediction. After getting rid of the priestess, the Amazons help the condor take off by using the queen's sacred mirror to reflect sunlight onto it.23-The Jade Mask
When the condor flies through a strange rainbow, it loses control and crashes into a large hole in the ground. The group find a ruined city, a winged serpent with Heva-like inscriptions on it, and a mysterious jade mask.24-The Manuscript
This episode introduces the Doctor, Marinche, and Teteola. When the children discover how to correctly utilize the jade mask, they find half of a manuscript. Unfortunately, the villains have the other half, and they too want to find the Mysterious Cities of Gold.25-The Lake of Gold
The children discover a lake with something shining at the bottom. When Esteban steps into the water to get a closer look, they are captured by Indians friendly to the Doctor and Marinche who are angry that the water has been defiled.26-The Swamps
Tao now has both sides of the manuscript, but the Doctor and Marinche are hot on their trail. To make matters worse, they've stumbled into a swamp filled with alligators.27-The Doors of Night
The group pass through a dangerous mountain pass referred to by the manuscript as "the two tunnels". They find another ruined city, but they are ambushed by the Doctor and Marinche. The children are taken to a temple guarded by a mysterious jaguar statue puzzle, and Tao is force to translate the heiroglyphics, which read "when he calls out, face the sun and the doors of night will open". When they solve the puzzle by using Esteban's medallion to reflect sunlight into the jaguar's eyes, they find another manuscript, but when the Doctor takes it, the floor starts to sink, and Kukapetl grabs the manuscript.28-The Forest of Statues
The party finds another ruined city and with it, another manuscript. The manuscript makes no sense, but when it accidently gets wet, a new message is revealed. "To the west of the land of the Mayas, look for the Burning Shield".29-The Burning Shield
The Burning Shield is actually a mountain, inside of which is a mysterious crystal spire, to which Tao's jar mysteriously reacts. The mountain is also the home of the menacing Olmecs.30-The Escape
The Olmecs plan to use the children in their experiments for longer life while the sailors are put to work cleaning out the reservoir tanks. But after Kukapetl's help distracting the guards, Mendoza messes around with the Olmec's power system.31-The Village of the New Sun
The group escape to a Mayan village, which is being threatened by the Olmecs. But the Mayans, mistrustful of the Spanish, lock them up. Meanwhile, Zia is unaware that the village's chief is Zia's long lost father Papa Kamayo, who is unaware that Zia is in his village.32-Attack of the Olmecs
The Olmecs are on the march towards the Mayan village. Meanwhile, the children come across Gomez and Gaspard, whom they thought had died. They help rescue the condor from the Olmecs. Esteban flies over to the Mayan village, which is being set aflame by the Olmecs. Papa Kamayo leads the fight against the Olmecs but is wounded by an arrow.33-The Reunion
Hands down the best episode of the series. Zia is reunited with her father, who tells them his and Zia's story and the exact location of the City of Gold. And then he dies.34-Revolt of the Mayas
Zia quietly prays at her father's grave. Meanwhile, the Mayans plan an attack on the Olmecs. Tao rigs the condor to drop rocks from baskets tied to its wings.35-The Olmec Machine
The Spanish and the children wind up inside the mountain. Menator shows up and captures Zia. Esteban is forced to tell him the location of the City of Gold. The Olmec flying machine then burrows its way out of the mountain. The Doctor and his companions are killed in the aftermath.36-Aerial Pursuit
Things get violent as the Olmec flying machine attacks the Mayans, using its vaporizing heat ray. Esteban returns to the condor and engages the flying machine in an intense aerial battle. He flies the condor over the machine and flips the condor upside down. He opens up the canopy and bravely jumps onto the flying machine. He is then followed by Tao. Both have hopes of rescuing Zia. This one is an incredibly exciting episode.37-The City of Gold
Esteban and Zia meet up with the High Priest of the City of Gold. The Olmecs show up on the scene, dangling Tao from a rope attached to the flying machine. Rather than seeing their friend hurt, Esteban and Zia agree to let the Olmecs into the City of Gold. But before that happens, the High Priest tells to all the history of Heva and the purpose of the Mysterious Cities of Gold and how the emperor of Heva wanted the awesome power of Heva to be held within the hands of innocent children. And with that, Esteban and Zia use their medallions to open up the City of Gold's gates.38-The Great Legacy
The Olmec machine attacks the outer doors to the City of Gold. Gomez and Gaspard charge it, with hopes of looting its gold. Meanwhile, Mendoza sneaks inside and helps Tao escape. The Olmec general Kalmec stabs the High Priest and takes the sun power unit. This sets off the City of Gold's security system, which uses the sun's rays to shoot down the flying machine.39-The End of the City of Gold
Gomez and Gaspard start greedily gathering gold. At the burning shield, Kalmec installs the sun power unit beneath the crystal spire. It overheats and burns its way into the ground. Back at the City of Gold, the High Priest realizes what has happened as tremors shake the city and explains that Tao's jar is the sun power unit's safety. Even in his wounded state, the High Priest sets out to install the jar and deactivate the power unit. Meanwhile, Mendoza discovers a shocking revelation. The real High Priest had died three years earlier, and this High Priest is Esteban's father. The City of Gold is swallowed by the earth, taking Gaspard and Gomez with it. The High Priest succeeds in shutting down the sun power unit, but the severe heat ultimately kills him. Esteban, Tao, and Zia climb into the condor with hopes of finding the other six Cities of Gold while Mendoza vows to wait in Barcelona. The condor then takes to the sky, bringing the series to a wonderful finale.
Favorite quotes:
Mendoza: I'm sorry Esteban, but death no longer upsets me.
Esteban: You really have a heart of stone!
Tao: I think you're wrong. He is really very sad, too. Yes, I understand. That's just how I was after the death of my father. I started to build those houses up in the tree straight away. I just couldn't stop. I had to keep busy to survive.
Favorite links:
"Official" Japanese page:
http://www.pierrot.co.jp/english/80/esteban/http://dilbert.lfc.edu/mcog/index (MCoG "download center" )
ftp://mcog.deathace.net (low quality realvideo's )
http://www.unity.force9.co.uk/mcog (fan site)~ Steven
The Stuff I Like Site ~ a great source for some old, terrific, but nearly-forgotten animated shows like this one.
~ Kat
Favorite images:
From a documentary ~
From the [very cool] beginning of an episode ~
Esteban in Barcelona ~
The most important characters of the series [this is from a publicity folder] ~
~ Steven
This page created by Mario
