After arriving at Firehouse 51 under a cloud of mystery, Chicago Fire fans finally started to learn why Sal Vasquez (Brandon Larracuente) keeps his cards so close to his chest after his domineering father, Ramon “Ray” Vasquez (Gonzalo Menendez), began stirring the pot during “Ghosts.”
Vasquez isn’t the most forthcoming with his 51 colleagues, but the firefighters have learned a few interesting morsels of intel: Vasquez spent time at the police academy before pivoting to the CFD, and his father is an ex-detective imprisoned for 10 years, charged with planting evidence at a murder scene.
Vasquez seems conflicted over how to treat his father’s imprisonment, but after Ray insisted on recruiting his son for help clearing his name, Chicago Fire viewers were on the edge of their seats.
Why you recognize Chicago Fire guest star Gonzalo Menendez
Menendez boasts a lengthy entertainment career that began long before he made his way to Season 14 of Chicago Fire. The television titan has been active since the early 1990s, when he guest-starred on General Hospital, later appearing in several action series like Pacific Blue, NYPD Blue, and 24.
Menendez is no stranger to procedurals, appearing in several CSI series, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, and The Mentalist. Some of his recurring television roles include Dan Taylor in The Event, Les in The Ropes, Detective Curtis Contee in Hollywood Heights, and Detective Kalanchoe in the Emmy-winning series Breaking Bad.
Some of Menendez’s recent credits include playing Mendez in the dark comedy series Bad Monkey and Ken Gurbizs in the cop drama Bosch: Legacy. While he is best known for his television projects, Menendez has also appeared in big-screen hits like Blow, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and The Dark Knight Rises.
What’s the deal with Sal Vasquez’s dad on Chicago Fire?
Viewers soon learned that Sal’s father, Ramon Vasquez, is a disgraced former detective who was imprisoned after being charged with planting evidence at a murder scene.
Feeling that his dad was wrongfully imprisoned, he connected with one of his friends from the police academy and obtained his father’s case file and started looking for anything that might clear Ray’s name. Vasquez soon realized that the case file was missing a critical component: The medic report, which could prove that the murder weapon was always there and that his dad was simply returning it to its original place.
Vasquez had a tense visit with his father in prison. He excitedly shared his findings on the medic report, but his father remained adamant that he needed mercy, not proof. And it was Vasquez’s job to clear the family name.
Vasquez urged his dad to focus on the medic report, but his dad told him to listen to orders. Vasquez struggled to evade his dad’s domineering influence after Ramon called Firehouse 51 from prison. Ramon told him he needed his help within a few days, but Vasquez shrugged him off, implying he was jeopardizing his stability at 51 just like he had when Vasquez was at the police academy.
Viewers finally learned about the case that led to Ramon’s imprisonment: After a woman named Lindsay Belfort was killed by a vengeful ex, Ramon was the lead investigator who blew the case after being accused of planting evidence. The murderer went free, and Ramon was found guilty of botched police work.
Ramon felt that if Vasquez could convince Lindsay’s Belfort’s husband to testify on Ray’s behalf at his upcoming parole hearing, he’d be released. But getting a widower to vouch for the detective who messed up his murdered wife’s homicide case was a tall order. Vasquez just wanted his father to drop it altogether.
Vasquez visited his father in prison, and Ray explained that the only reason Vasquez still had a job was because Ray used his connections within the CPD and CFD to cash in a favor. Vasquez told his father he didn’t need the help, but Ramon remained focused on clearing their name. What he was asking of his son was difficult, but needed to be done.
“Can’t you help me with that, like I helped you?” Ramon asked sinisterly.
Vasquez was tormented by his father’s scathing message, well aware that even though his dad was behind bars, he maintained just as much control over his life.
