Alex Herrera

**Alejandro "Alex" Gustavo Herrera** is a major character in *The Savages*. He is introduced as the fourth and original member of The Savages, and a junior at James A. Masters High School. Alex, originally born in New York, comes from a rough background which enhanced his aggressive personality.

Trae describes him as physically attractive yet very scary, which encouraged him to appoint him in the group. Throughout the series, Alex appears very loyal to his clique and his friends. When others confront his friends, he takes initiative to attack and defend his own. Despite his aggression, he's very down-to-earth, sensitive and often lively. Once he meets Gina, he has a change of heart.

In Season 1, Alex's core conflicts surround his issues with accepting reality, notable for his melancholic feelings towards his estranged ex-girlfriend Marisol De La Cruz, who later appears in the sixth episode The School For Scandal as his cousin Andres Rivera's girlfriend. His quest to win Gina's affection gradually succeeds as the two begin dating in the finale.
However, in Season 2, Alex and Gina's relationship is often tested when the two must meet each others' distinguished parents and receive scarlet letters that reveal dark secrets they both hide from each other. Alex, meanwhile, becomes suspicious of Gina's background and motives. His close friendship with Trae also slowly deteriorates prior to his decision to quit The Savages.

He is portrayed by **Diego Tinoco** and is based on **ChiefAlejandro.**

## Biography

Alex Herrera was born and raised for the first few years of his life in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. When he turned four, his family moved to Seattle, Washington. Alex grew up in a family with his parents Armando and Maria, and three older siblings, Roberto "Robbie" (26), Isabella "Izzy", and Fernando "Fernie" (19). His family is very argumentative, leading to constant battles between each other.

It is revealed in The Wild Ride that Alex attended Children's Academy Elementary School during pre-school and shared Ring Pops together in Ms. Hayes' class with Gina Woods.

Two years before joining the Savages, Alex dated a girl named Marisol, who left him behind when she moved to California. This effected Alex heavily, as she is all he used to bring up when someone talked about love. Also before joining the Savages, Alex was the Quarterback of the James A. Mathers High School football team. After a physical altercation with another student that had to be broken up by a teachers, and a subsequent trip to Principal Rose De Vil's office, Alex was suspended and removed from the team and replaced by Rufus King.

During his suspension, Alex's originally altruistic personality dramatically shifted into an aggressive one. Once Alex returned to school, he no longer associated with those he once had, opting to join Trae Ventura's clique, The Savages.

## Storyline

* Season 1
* Season 2

Alex is introduced as an original and fourth member of The Savages. According to Trae, who took him under his wing, he was originally a jock for the Redhawks. However, he lost his quarterback position and was replaced with Rufus King, shortly after a physical altercation that got him suspended sophomore year. In the present, Alex stands by Trae's idea to recruit new members into their clique. Alex mostly defends Trae and the Savages from rival cliques, particularly The Moneybags, who provoke the group in the cafeteria. When Trae introduces The Savages to new member Gina, Alex becomes immediately infatuated and is willing to get to know her.

Alex and Gina develop a bond, where he reveals his insecurities after being a jock and his jealousy towards Rufus. As the two get to know each other, Gina's attitude towards him shifts when Sydney tells Gina that she's dating him. Alex, however, is oblivious to this situation until Trae explains Sydney's intentions to him later on. Alex takes Trae's advice that he should give Gina space before pursuing her, but his interests in her take a toll on him, especially with Gina's silence. (*The Mafia, The Devil's Protégé*)

Shortly after confronting Felix Winchester in the hallway with Trae Ventura, Alex gets confronted by Carl Touché and Joe Bender for his obsessive affections for Gina, encouraging him to act natural. Alex makes a priority to show Gina a different side of him. The next day, however, Gina calls him a "loverboy" and poses a disinterest in his presence, when in reality she's very interested in him. Eventually, Alex and Gina reconcile and renew their relationship with each other, when he reveals his past with his ex-girlfriend Marisol and she reveals issues with her past relationships as well. (*The Boomerang Effect*)

The relationship between Alex and Gina becomes a core storyline for the rest of the season; during a night out with The Savages, Alex impresses Gina by defending her from a group of guys who sexually harass her. Aware of Carl's advice, Alex decides to take baby steps with her. Alex also sends support to Gina for taking a stand against misogyny. Meanwhile, Alex becomes very adamant towards Rufus's addition to The Savages, after Rufus proposes his loyalty to Carl. Alex is then interviewed about feminism, wher ehe believes women are deprived of their rights and deserve equality. (*The Feminist Manifesto*)

Alex and Gina's relationship strengthens, to the point where Trae is aware of it because he used his money to tip the cashier at the movies, just to impress Gina. But, during the Savages's road trip gone wrong, Alex and Gina both realize that they have known each other since kindergarten, because of a childhood memory. In the end, Alex helps an intoxicated Gina when they go to The Rave. After the situation in Oregon, Alex and the clique go to the police station, where Alex's mother Maria berates him and assumes he was arrested.

Alex reveals that he was born and raised for the first few years of his life in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. However, his parents realized that New York was too dangerous for their family and relocated to Seattle. Alex mentions that his older brothers and sister, Robbie, Fernie, and Izzy, were very dysfunctional siblings when they were young. Alex realizes how dramatic his family is.

Worse enough, he prepares for his troublesome cousin Andres to stay, reminded that his aunt's breast cancer returned. Much to Alex's anger, he is forced to be friendly. His mother insists that his cousin goes to school with Alex for the week. But, Alex's passive-aggressive attitude towards Andres takes a toll on him, as he tries to balance hospitality and focusing on a potential relationship with Gina, who secretly has feelings for him. Alex feels invaded by Andres's company; specially after he is forced to decline a dinner date with Gina and Zachary for dinner with Andres and his girlfriend, who is shockingly revealed to be Alex's ex-girlfriend, Marisol.

Alex reaches his breaking point with Andres, confronting him for years of trouble, causing Andres to threaten to leave. Marisol, however, seeks closure with Alex, who seems very bitter with her departure. Uncertain to forgive easily, the two put differences aside, which gives him more hope to take a chance with Gina. The next day, before he apologizes to Andres, he contributes to a bro-talk with Carl and Trae, who share similar issues. Afterwards, Alex and Gina finally come to terms with their interest in each other, and they share a kiss. (*The Wild Ride*, *The School For Scandal*)

In the final two episodes of the first season, Alex becomes a support system for Trae, as he faces anger management issues, gets suspended and agrees to take action against Rose De Vil and the school system. Alex also confronts Nate for quitting and turning against The Savages, realizing Joe's bad influence on him. After participating in the riot and Trae gets shot, Alex and Gina remain optimistic with The Savages's fate. However, the group slowly deteriorates and it gives the two the potential to come to terms with their romantic feelings for each other. The two finally begin dating, despite Gina's warnings about her insecurities. (*The Psychological Warfare*, *The Beast Unleashed*)

A month later, Alex and Gina's relationship remains a staple, although Alex becomes very resistant of the new principal Jennifer Gordon, who enforces new, unfair rules that forces him to spark a rant across the school. He gets suspended, eventually. As Alex returns, he is bombarded with news by Sydney about Trae's mastermind-like responsibility in the video scandal. Unlike the others, Alex remains loyal to Trae and defends him when Sydney proposes that they kick him out of his own group. After an intervention with Trae once he returns, Trae quits and Alex tries very hard to convince him to return. (*The Alibi*, *The Scarlet Letters*)

When this plan fails, Alex comes to terms with Trae's decision to separate, while also blaming Sydney for targeting and degrading him. Aside from this, Alex and Gina already face complications in their relationship. While the two explores intimacy, Gina resists regarding a traumatizing past, which is revealed to be a sexual assault from her ex-boyfriend, correlating with the time Alex was the quarterback for the Redhawks. In a flashback, he gets into an altercation with Brian, which causes him to get taken off the team for aggressive behavior. At the same time, Alex cheats on then-girlfriend Marisol with Sena Demir. This past secret is known by an anonymous source when Alex and Gina both receive scarlet letters.

When they both come forth with receiving the letters, they both realize that after Sydney got a letter, they were targets, slightly tying his involvement with Felix's murder. Aside from this, **Alex Herrera** is the first person to know that Eli Hawk, from Portland, is living with Carl Touché and he doesn't seem to give him any useful advice aside from feeling Eli out to see if he's truly dangerous. He also chooses to attend Kyler's party for Felix, but it goes awry when he stops Sydney from attacking Andrew. (*The Conflict of Interest*, *The Roman Holiday*)

As a student, Alex still remains dissatisfied with the new rules and the security system put in place at the school, and still hurt by Trae's departure from The Savages -- but once
## Appearances (18/18)

* The Devil's Protégé
* The Boomerang Effect
* The Feminist Manifesto
* The Wild Ride
* The School For Scandal
* The Psychological Warfare
* The Beast Unleashed
* The Scarlet Letters
* The Conflict of Interest
* The Roman Holiday
* The Rose That Grew From Concrete
* The Family That Preys
* The Blackout
* The Night He Was Murdered
* The One That Got Away
* The Promenade

## Songs

Solos

Duets

Solos (In a Group Number)

* S1
* S2

Solos
**Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic**
(*The Boomerang Effect*)
Duets
**Take Care**
(Gina)
(*The Beast Unleashed*)
Solos (In a Group Number)

Unreleased songs
* Problem by *Natalia Kills* (with Lily and Zachary) (*The Wild Ride*)

Solos
**Another Brick in the Wall**
(*The Alibi*)**In The Night**
(*The Family That Preys*)
Duets
**Two Sides to Every Story**
(Carl)
(*The Scarlet Letters*)**Anyone Else But You**
(Gina)
(*The Conflict of Interest*)**Jump**
(Andres)
(*The Family That Preys*)
Solos (In a Group Number)

 Royals | *The Family That Preys* | Carl, Gina, Iesha, Lily, Sena, Sydney, Trae, and Zachary

## Trivia

* Alex is one of the five original members of The Savages.
* Alex is the fifth person to join The Savages.
* Alex is the only member of the original five Savages to have been a part of the Jock clique.
* Alex has Ms. Stansfield's Algebra II class with Sydney and Nate, Mr. Lee's Chemistry class with Carl and Zachary and Ms. Ortiz's Spanish I class with Gina.
* Alex is the only member of the Savages to have joined after being kicked out of another group.
* Alex is, at the moment, the only Hispanic member of The Savages.
* Alex is the only member of the Savages to have a family member join the student body (Andres, his cousin joins the school in The School for Scandal.)
* Alex is the character with the most family members introduced in an episode with his cousin Andres, parents, and two of his siblings making their first appearance in The School for Scandal.
* Alex is the first character and first member of The Savages to have older siblings introduced.
* As such, Alex is also the Savage with the most relatives on the show at the moment.
* Alex is the first character to be revealed as being from another state originally.

## Gallery

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