Days of our Lives Performer of the Week: Al Calderon as Javi Hernandez 

Pity the poor judge who may eventually get involved in the baby Tesoro custody case when his true parentage comes to light on Days of our Lives. His surrogate pop, Javi Hernandez, played by Al Calderon, is falling in love with the little guy with each passing day. Calderon's poignant portrayal of Javi has earned him Soap Central's Performer of the Week honors.

Days of our Lives, Performer of the Week, Al Calderon

Javi sought out advice from Steve (Stephen Nichols) on how he might go about keeping Tesoro as he entertained the idea of becoming a father. "I don't think I'm ready to say goodbye," Ravi told Steve, after pointing out that the baby is available to be put up for adoption.

Calderon chose to have Javi continue to check in on Tesoro even though the infant was safe in his stroller that was within arm's reach. Javi has Tesoro's best interests at heart, and he's hoping that those interests can be joined together with his own desire to become Tesoro's legal dad.

After getting information from Steve, Javi stopped by to get more formal legal advice from Melinda Trask (the always terrific Tina Huang), who ironically is the person who has been supporting Sophia (Rachel Boyd) in her quest to hide the identity of the baby she gave up for adoption (Tesoro!).

Legal aid

Melinda observed that Ravi's love has been a gift for Tesoro, which prompted the surrogate dad to respond, "I'm the one who's been given the gift, one that I'm not ready to part with. I'm exploring an idea. I wanted to make sure it was even possible before I mentioned it to anyone. What are the chances my partner [Leo, Greg Rikaart] and I could adopt Tesoro and raise him right here in Salem?"

Calderon mixed joy and nervous energy into his performance, showing the love that Javi wants to shower upon the baby. "Everybody adores little T," Javi added. "Rafe [Galen Gering] is his foster parent of record, but Leo and I are his primary caretakers."

Melinda advised Javi to consider adoption as a single parent, given, shall we say, Leo's record. Always covering her bases, the attorney hastened to add, unless there was any reason why Ravi wouldn't make a good single parent.

Father's daze

"Actually, it might be," Javi added. "Because I, um, because I had a child, who died." Whoa! This shocking revelation was two-fold. It made us feel sympathy for Javi, and we understood why he wanted to become a parent even more.

Additionally, it's provided information that may prove to be a roadblock to Javi being declared fit to be an adoptive parent. Off Melinda's reaction, Javi beat a hasty retreat, carefully pushing Tesoro's carriage out of her office.

Trending

We don't know all the details yet about Javi's past as a parent, but Calderon is already pulling our heartstrings in his performances. We expect him to do more of the same when details about his late child come to light. In the meantime, just as Tesoro has stolen Javi's heart, Calderon is stealing ours! Bravo!

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