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Ministry Superiors
Salvador
Salvador Martínote
"We are Spanish, no? Improvise!"
In 1956
Played by: Jaime Blanch, Arnau García (young)
The Undersecretary of Special Assignments of the Spanish government, aka the main responsible of the Ministry.
- 10-Minute Retirement: It only takes him two episodes to regain his position as undersecretary after Susana gets him fired.
- Badass Bureaucrat
- Big Good: He leads the good guys' team.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He is a bit of a maverick as the Ministry's chairman, taking rather personal and informal approaches to the cases, but it always works to his favour. However, this is deconstructed in Season 2 when Susana Torres exploits the consequences of his unorthodoxy in one of the cases to get him expelled of his job.
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: Started the series as the Captain Smooth to Ernesto's Sergeant Rough, but their roles eventually got reversed when Ernesto was turned into a family man while Salvador showed his most bitter side.
- Character Tic: Playing languidly with his glasses. Also Finger-Tenting like in the picture.
- Cheshire Cat Grin: His favourite kind of smile.
- Cool Old Guy: He is firm as a boss but still charismatic and charming man in his sixties.
- Cool Shades: He wears a pair when he rescues Ernesto and the young Lola from the concentration camp.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Might look like a benevolent, somewhat dorky boss, but he is a more than capable strategist.
- Deadpan Snarker: In a good-natured light, unusual for most examples.
- Face Death with Dignity: His career's death, actually. Instead of taking the offer to join some company's board of directors, he tells Susana he would rather retire. And that he prefers going on the subway instead of in a government car.
- Happily Adopted: when he was 9, an age in which he did not expect to be adopted, a couple of diplomats did, and, considering how he speaks of them, Salvador clearly had a happy childhood with them.
- Happily Married: A hungover Velázquez asks him what his wife brought to the marriage. Salvador answers "40 years of happiness".
- Killed Mid-Sentence: King Philip II shoots him twice in the chest as he was about to tell the Government the king's ambitious plans. He revives, of course, as the timeline is back in order again.
- Must Have Caffeine: Fittingly for a public civil servant, he has Angustias providing him regularly with coffee.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He takes no nonsense when running the Ministry as he knows it's a serious and risky job. He wouldn't have let an employee infected with Spanish Flu in the Ministry in the first place like Susana did, no matter if it was Irene.
- Straight Man: With Velázquez's eccentric personality.
- The Mourning After: Since his wife's death, he has not been with other women.
Irene
Irene Larra
Played by: Cayetana Guillén Cuervo
The Ministry's logistics boss and a good friend of Ernesto. She came to the Ministry in 1962.
- All Gays are Promiscuous: She is lesbian and very unfaithful to her wife, and makes advances towards roughly every female character she sees. In fact, she kisses Amelia right after meeting her, and is disappointed when she says that she still likes men.
- The Corruptible: Sports inner doubts over her job, which are exploited by Susana with a dose of love interest incitement to get her to her side.
- Driven to Suicide: Before she was recruited by the Ministry, she had an unhappy life as she was a closeted lesbian from the 1960s and was forced to marry to a man. She almost threw herself but Leiva convinced her to join the Ministry.
- Lipstick Lesbian: A worldly woman.
- Mrs. Robinson: A subversion. Any time line she visits, she will always have an affair with a young woman. When she had to travel inside Hitler's train she missed seducing women.
- Older Than They Look: She was born in 1930, but she looks like in her forties or early fifties.
- The Mole: She did this in Leiva's group to stop his attempt to take over the Ministry. She then becomes one for Susana Torres in the first half of season 2, though she gets better.
- The Paragon Always Rebels: Following the paths of Leiva and Lola, Irene becomes another one for some time. She collaborated with Susana to make the Ministry a much better place.
- Those Two Guys: Used to be always seen with Ernesto.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist
Ernesto
Ernesto Jiménez / Pedro Fernández de Torquemada
Played by: Juan Gea
The Ministry's director of operations and Irene's best friend. He has a Mysterious Past.
- The Ace: Despite coming from an even earlier time than perennial Fish out of Water Alonso, Ernesto is shown to have adapted to present day better than any other time-displaced character. He speaks several languages, handles modern technology perfectly, and shares comfortably current ideas about people and life. It goes to the point that nobody who doesn't know his personal story can easily deduce which time he is from (not that he'd help much should you try).
- Authority Equals Asskicking: As director of operations, he is a brilliant field agent.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Ernesto always wears nice polished suits. Julián once compared his suits to James Bond.
- Bad Boss: King Philip II's alternate timeline has him as the Ministry's secretary, but he is different as the man that everyone once knew. He has the same ideals of a 16th century man and is an expert in using violence to get information.
- Badly Battered Babysitter: Poor Ernesto has to gain the confidence of the young queen Isabel II after Leiva's mayhem to prevent the Ministry's closure. His plan? Take her and her sister, infanta Luisa Fernanda, to watch a 3D movie.
- Break Them by Talking: When interrogating someone, this is how he does it: getting serious and intimidating the interrogated person.
- Butt-Monkey: The guy cannot get a break with his personal life, and even his least pleasant jobs are played for laughs.
- By-the-Book Cop: Stern and serious, he believes in the rules and abides them, at least when his loyalty to Salvador is not compromised.
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: Initially the Sergeant Rough to Martí's Captain Smooth. Later the opposite.
- The Consigliere: Especially in later seasons, Ernesto acts as Salvador's Fuyutsuki, often hanging around him in his office and offering his insight when asked.
- Cunning Linguist: Speaks German, English and probably other languages.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He almost cultivates this image in order to prevent people from bugging him with the matter. Has reasons, definitely.
- Disappeared Dad:
- Ernesto didn't know he had a son with his deceased old flame Luisa named Javier, but he is trying to get in touch with him as much as he can.
- And also to Tomás de Torquemada whom he left to work with the Ministry.
- Good Is Not Soft: A pretty somber individual, but apparently deep into the good guys's side.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In order to stop rabbi Levi's time loop and save the Ministry's secrecy, he's willing to stay in place of Levi and being burned alive instead. Fortunately for him, Alonso arrives just in time to rescue Ernesto in a motorbike.
- Identical Grandson: He is Tomás de Torquemada's father, and as such he could pass for a twin brother whenever they have the same age. It is somewhat Hand Waved.
- Luke, I Am Your Father:
- It's revealed to be Pedro Fernández de Torquemada, the father of Tomás de Torquemada.
- In season 2, he discovers from a letter that he had a secret son. After investigating some of his old romances, he finds Javier, a YouTube celebrity and the son of Luisa, who died some time ago.
- Mysterious Past: As stated by Gil Pérez, no one knows from what time Ernesto comes from. Ernesto himself says he can't even remember it. Which is false. He comes from the 15th century.
- Perpetual Frowner: His default expression is stern, though he has warmed up since the start of the series.
- Really 700 Years Old: He's from before 1491.
- Really Gets Around: At least, in his youth. When he learns, from an anonymous letter, that he has a secret son, he calls quite a lot of women in order to find out who wrote it.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: While he admits to be an Out-of-Character Moment for him, he is not above breaking the rules to follow his moral code. After Susana's takeover, he definitely feels more willing to embrace this view.
- Team Dad: Sometimes plays the role, especially towards Alonso, the nearest to him in terms of procedence.
- Those Two Guys:
- In Season 1, he was always seen with Irene.
- Since Season 2, he is seen more with Salvador, as she became another treacherous agent like Leiva or Lola in the season 1 finale. Even after she gets better, she is often sent to missions while he stays in the ministry.
- Tranquil Fury: Almost his default look.
- Undying Loyalty: To Salvador.
Angustias
Angustias Vázquez
Played by: Francesca Piñón
Salvador's secretary and the widow of a Ministry agent. She's from the early 20th century.
- Big Beautiful Woman: She is away from a conventional beauty canon, but Napoleon Bonaparte falls instantly for her, and so does the theater owner from "La verbena del tiempo".
- Desk Jockey: She works as a secretary after all, and pretty much prefers it over field missions.
- First-Name Basis: She's almost always referred to by her first name. In fact, she went without a surname until episode 3, when she said that her surname is Vázquez. While saying the sentence "We Vázquez(s) always pay our debts."
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Her Adeste Fideles solo during the Christmas Mass in episode 12 is... not very good.
- Married to the Job: After becoming widowed.
- Meaningful Name: Her name is the plural for "anguish" in Spanish, and it reflects her difficult love life.
- Older Than They Look: She looks like she is in her fifties-sixties but she is from late 19th century.
- Running Gag: She has a habit of not knocking on the door of Salvador's office, which he finds somewhat annoying.Salvador: Angustias, the day you knock before entering, I'll give you a pay rise.
Other Ministry Personnel
Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez
In 1617
Played by: Julián Villagrán, Pepe Zafra (young)
"Surely the fucker is good. He is Velázquez."
—Salvador Martí
One of the biggest names in Spanish painting. He is always seen as a usual Ministry employee, helping making facial composites, though he sometimes attempts to do clear forbidden things, much to Salvador's disdain.
- Berserk Button: Saying that his drawings are just mere "drawings" in front of him will offend him very much.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He is a genius painter and a Ministry usual employee, though he causes more than one headache to the Straight Man Salvador.
- Informed Flaw: To a point. Velázquez is full of himself and clearly not a guy easy to work with, but he's still remarkably polite for all his whims, which makes other characters' reactions (particularly Salvador's) come across as a bit excessive. Of course, with him being presumably like that offscreen too, it could be inferred that the Ministry staff simply ran out of patience towards him a long time ago.
- Insufferable Genius: Although he is an interesting example in which he is not the object of his praises. He will school anybody who tells him that he is the greatest Spanish artist.
- Limited Wardrobe:
- Is always seen wearing his signature, Santiago Cross-sporting black outfit.
- In later season, however, as he is doing a few missions he has to disguise and in the wedding he is wearing sunglasses to pretend he is from the 21st century.
- Loony Fan: Of Pablo Picasso. He always tries to get a chance of meeting him but fails. Curiously, he was one of Picasso's influences in real life.
- Super Identikit: He might very well be one of the best facial composite draftsmen ever, making perfect portraits of two suspects out of the vague description provided by Julián in the first episode.Julián: It's them. It's exactly them. He's good.
Salvador: Surely the fucker is good. He is Velázquez. - El Viejo Español Masacrado: He keeps calling His Secretary to Salvador.
Germán
Germán
Played by: José Ramón Iglesias
The Ministry entrance's janitor.
- Incurable Cough of Death: He is one of the first main characters along with Velázquez to fall sick from the Spanish Flu.
- No Full Name Given: His first name was not revealed until episode 13 where he is sick of the Spanish Flu and has a flashback. His surname is still unknown.
The Rabbi
Rabbi Abraham Levi
Played by: Paco Obregón
A Spanish rabbi that found out the secret of the time doors and told queen Isabel of Castille about it therefore founding the Ministry of Time. But was sentenced to death by the anti-Semitic inquisitor Torquemada for witchcraft in 1491.
- Functional Magic: He can work magic, presumably related to Kabbalah, to travel through time.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: The door that leads to his 1491 death is a constant time loop. For bad or for good, he isn't aware of it.
- Magical Jew: Literally, as he is a Kabbalist with knowledge of the time doors, though he doesn't act as a mentor.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Receiving part. The poor man had discovered the Ministry doors and was sentenced to death in a bonfire because he was a Jew. But thanks to Ernesto's Heroic Sacrifice he is finally saved along with his wife and put an end to his time loop.
Gil Pérez
Gil Pérez
"That's History. Wars, deaths and loss. But never tell it to the children."
Played by: Miguel Rellán
A Ministry agent in the 17th century that helps the trio to save Lope de Vega's life. He is also an old friend of Ernesto.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: He tells the heroes that there are two mysteries inside the Ministry no one has an answer: Ernesto's origins... and why Di Stéfano played for Real Madrid F.C. when he signed for Barcelona F.C.
- Cool Old Guy: Gil Pérez is quite an affable man that anyone can talk to.
- Not So Above It All: For all his hardworking looks, when the story first cuts to him in episode 11, he's seen playing a videogame with his computer.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Gentle, fun, yet capable of showing who's boss. He also plays this to ensure Lope de Vega is sent on the right ship and has no problem in helping keep Alonso's son safe by sending him on the same ship.
Spinola
Ambrogio Spinola
"Yippee-ki-yay, hideputas!"
Played by: Ramón Langa
The Italian general that conquered Breda for the Spanish Crown and was immortalized in Velázquez's The Surrender of Breda. Comes to the rescue just in time to stop Himmler's schemes to take the Ministry.
- The Cavalry Arrives Late: Spinola is required at a castle where Fadrique and his men were causing chaos in a wedding, but everything is solved thanks to the help of the patrol the time he arrives.
- Frontline General: He is a general of the Spanish Crown and practically the Ministry's security head, but this doesn't keep him from doing occasional field missions.
- Goatee Guy
- The Strategist: Though still prefering their daggers and arquebuses over modern weapons, Spinola and his troops are efficient enough to take on Nazi soldiers and win the battle thanks to their stealth and close-quarters expertise.
- Temporary Substitute: As Julián is unavailable to do field missions for some time, Spinola serves as a third member when Amelia and Alonso go to investigate the fake Cid.
Leiva
Armando Leiva
Played by: José Antonio Lobato
The Ministry agent that recruited Irene and respectable veteran from the 19th century, who turned into a Fallen Hero after his son died of leukemia and caused a massive strike. He was subsequently sent to a prison in 1053. Then he faked his death and wants revenge against the Ministry and the agent who accused him of treason.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Despite being on a killing spree against 1843 Ministry agents and kidnapping the dowager queen Maria Cristina to the point she wanted to close the Ministry of Time, he helped a closeted lesbian woman in trouble to work for something greater and he wanted to save his sickened son but the Ministry didn't allow it. Then he commits suicide.
- Ax-Crazy: His unstability becomes more progressive as he gets freed from his prison.
- Beard of Evil: Leiva has a very thick beard and very cruel intentions against the Ministry.
- Driven to Suicide: After he finds out who betrayed him (Irene) and causes enough emotional damage to the traitor he throws himself from the same building where Irene wanted to commit suicide.
- Evil Plan: He wants to destroy the Ministry by helping prince Carlos, king Ferdinand VII's brother, and his supporters the carlists to get to the throne instead of his niece, the young queen Isabel II.
- Fallen Hero: From an efficient agent to a crazy man who wants revenge against the Ministry agent who told his name.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Leiva is sick during his stay in prison, until Irene brings him some medicine.
- The Paragon Always Rebels: A respectable veteran and one of the best agents but he had to rebel to save his sickened son.
- Tragic Villain: He lost his son due to Salvador forbidding him to give him modern medical attention, prompting to try to overthrow the Ministry.
Susana
Susana Torres
Ortigosa
Alberto Ortigosa
Played by: Richard Sahagún
An agent who has worked for the Ministry in different periods, now assigned to the 2016 Ministry.
- Happily Married: In a serious contrast to Constanza's Arranged Marriage with Fadrique, both Ortigosa and Natalia are seen to be happily in love.
- Hero of Another Story: He was first seen as the contact in 1924 in the season 1 finale, apparently his home year. He claims that he's a gardener and the Ministry job is just a way to get some extra cash. In the season 2 premiere it's implied that he was reassigned to 1960 and promoted to time patroller, appearing in the prologue of the episode as Rogelio Buendía's companion in a mission in the Middle Ages that does not end very well. Salvador name-drops him in Episode 17, hinting that he was moved to 2016 and now he leads his own patrol, but is unavailable for the mission in hand because he's off to secure a trade with the Phoenicians.
Rogelio, the Fake Cid
Rogelio Buendía
Played by: Sergio Peris-Mencheta
Rogelio was a Ministry agent from the 1960s. As Charlton Heston was investigating to get in character for the Historic Epic film El Cid, Rogelio was sent to the Middle Ages to gather information in first hand but the real Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar "El Cid" was killed by accident when he found Rogelio recording. The Ministry then decided to place Rogelio as the new Cid.
- Genuine Imposter: Rogelio managed to pose as Don Rodrigo during his whole life, even when Amelia and her team arrived to investigate.
- Preferable Impersonator: Jimena, El Cid's wife, played along with his charade because she decided he was a better man than the real Rodrigo.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Rogelio is staying in the Middle Ages to pose as the Cid and keeping History and the legend in its right place.
- You Will Be Beethoven: Tasked with replacing El Cid after he is killed twenty years too early.
Dr. Vargas
Dr. Vargas
Played by: José Luis Torrijo
The Ministry's healthcare superior. He faces the challenge to stop a spread of Spanish Flu infection in the Ministry.
- The Cassandra: He warned about the dangers of the Spanish Flu to Susana, but the former who was blindly in love with Irene refused to leave her behind.
- The Mole: He works secretly with a German pharmaceutical company to bring a sample of Spanish Flu to find a cure. After he realizes what he has done, he helps the Ministry to stop the company's intentions.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wanted to bring a sample of the Spanish Flu in secrecy for a German pharmaceutical company to find a cure in case another infection might happen. He would have succeeded if Susana didn't order to bring Irene back.
Argamasilla
Joaquín María Argamasilla
Played by: Miki Esparbé
A young Spanish magician billed as "the man with X-ray eyes" who is also an agent at the 1924 Ministry of Time. He has the intention of sell the Ministry's secret to the FBI.
- Covert Pervert: He claims to be over the natural Power Perversion Potential of his vision, but he still uses it to freak out the trio after being knocked out by Alonso. Later on, he is brought to the 2016 Ministry and gets caught looking through Irene's clothes.
- Horrible Judge of Character: He genuinely believes that Hoover's FBI will do a good usage of the time doors.
- Magicians Are Wizards: Unlike (apparently) his real life self, this Argamasilla's powers are real.
- Stage Magician: His demonstrations in real life were bought by people like Valle-Inclán and Ramón y Cajal, though not by the historical Houdini.
- X-Ray Vision: His eyes are capable to see through solid matter, but the skill apparently requires him to focus, and it can fluctuate when strongly handicapped.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Despite being made a full-fledged member of the Ministry by the end of his introductory episode, he never appeared again.
Julia
Julia Lozano
Played by: Alexandra Jiménez
A young teacher that has an uncanny resemblance to Teresa Méndez, a woman member of the "Hatless" group from the 1930s.
- Catapult Nightmare: Both Julia and Teresa wake up from their nightmares like this.
- Long-Lost Relative: Teresa is her twin sister. They were separated when Enriqueta was escaping from the police through the Ministry.
- Older Than They Look: Julia and Teresa were born in the early 20th century, although Enriqueta entered the Ministry's time doors, she passed through a door that could send to 1986 and was adopted in those years.
- Twin Telepathy: Julia and Teresa can sense each other's sensations. As said by Julia, twins are somehow linked to each other in some way.
Lombardi
Sebastián Lombardi
"Wonderful!"
Played by: Roberto Drago
An Argentinian former host of a paranormal program who holds a grudge against the Ministry and wants to unveil its secrecy on the Internet.
- Abusive Parents: He takes his daughter Sonia along to record everything, but his goal of achieving his public pardon makes him psychologically abusive towards her. He gets better when Sonia is taken hostage by some Portuguese spies.
- Alternate History: minimized. Lombardi travels back to 1485 and became the one who discovers America instead of Christopher Columbus.
- Fascinating Eyebrow: When Lombardi is hosting, he likes to raise his eyebrow to emphasize something.
- Heel–Face Turn: He eventually agrees to work as a presenter for the Ministry again despite all the trouble he brought them... and they brought him.
- The Cassandra: He knows the existence of the Ministry but Salvador managed to shut him up and he is thought to be crazy.
Carolina
Carolina Bravo
Played by: Manuela Vellés
A former Un, dos, tres contestant who didn't enjoy much the big prizes she won because of her abusive husband. After stumbling into a time door in her apartment, she found herself in the court of Philip IV.
- Domestic Abuse: She was abused by her husband, and her introductory scene heavily implies that he would have killed her had she not found the time door. At the end of the episode, she's recruited into the Ministry after failing to prevent herself from marrying her husband.
- Runaway Bride: Subverted. She reveals that she already disliked her husband before they married (the whole thing was an arrangement by their families) and planned to elope with an old flame of hers, but got cold feet at the last second. When Irene takes her to the past to stop her wedding, said old flame fails to show up, again preventing the elopement from happening.
Jordi Hurtado
Jordi Hurtado
Played by: Jordi Hurtado
"Don't trust appearances. Sometimes they deceive; other times they don't."
Host of the daily quiz show Saber y Ganar and Voice Actor. He is also a Ministry employee and uses the time doors to host the show daily, hence why he always looks so young.
- Adam Westing: He plays a fictional version of himself, parodying the joke that he always looks young.
- The Ageless: Parodied in the episode. The reason why he looks young for more than 19 years is that he uses the time doors to host Saber y Ganar.
- Older Than They Look: You probably wouldn't guess that he turned 58 two months after his first appearance on the series was aired.
