bruxa’s bestiary
To Antonio Vazquez, voice acting is his calling. Within second of speaking with him, you can hear it. The journey to discovering that calling is one of creative exploration and self discovery.
Born in Chicago, Illinois to Puerto Rican parents before moving with his family to the northwest suburbs as a baby. Growing up alongside his older sister, he was surrounded by art and music from the start — inspired by Salvador Dalí’s surrealism, the energy of graffiti culture, and the eclectic sounds that filled his home. From the salsa and boleros his father played, like Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, and the Fania All Stars, to the hip-hop, funk, metal, and soul he discovered on his own — J Dilla, A Tribe Called Quest, Slipknot, Earth, Wind & Fire — Antonio’s creative influences have always been wide-ranging and deeply personal.
Antonio Vazquez
By junior high, he was already making beats, rapping, and covering walls, trains, and streets with intricate letter-based graffiti. Drawn to the creativity and challenge of wild-style pieces, Antonio saw each one as both an expression and a test of skill.
After a short stint in Colorado, he returned to Chicago and found a home in the service industry, beginning at The Kitchen Chicago, owned by Kimbal Musk. Since then, he’s worked across some of the city’s most respected restaurants and venues — from the Alinea Group to the Chicago Athletic Association and The Salt Shed. With several years of serving experience and over four years as a professional bartender, Antonio has developed a style that’s equal parts fine-dining polish and genuine personality. He thrives on connection, never robotic or rehearsed, and enjoys introducing guests to new spirits and classic cocktails with authenticity and care. All along, another gift followed him: his voice. Deep, bold, and unmistakable, it’s been a signature since childhood — with friends and strangers alike insisting he belonged on the radio. After becoming a father, Antonio finally decided to pursue voice acting, inspired by legends like Mel Blanc, Keith David, and Billy West. What excites him most is the vulnerability and playfulness of the craft — the chance to be silly, inventive, and fearless while shaping a character that people can connect with.
“After becoming a father, Antonio finally decided to pursue voice acting, inspired by legends like Mel Blanc, Keith David, and Billy West. What excites him most is the vulnerability and playfulness of the craft — the chance to be silly, inventive, and fearless while shaping a character that people can connect with.”
Across every chapter — graffiti, music, bartending, and now voice acting — Antonio’s philosophy has stayed the same: believe in yourself, create boldly, and build a life you truly enjoy. It’s a lesson he hopes to pass on to his son — proof that passion and happiness are worth chasing."
Photographer: Baitul Javid
September 1, 2025.
voice actors
Species: Human (vocal mimic)
Habitat: Recording booths, sound studios, echoing halls of imagination
Disposition: Chameleonic, precise, unseen
Voice actors are unseen shapeshifters—creatures of tone, breath, and cadence. With nothing but a voice, they conjure lives, lands, and legends. They vanish behind characters, slipping in and out of roles like mist, their real selves always just out of reach.
Their tools are not faces or bodies, but vowels sharpened to blades and whispers woven into spells. They train endlessly: mastering accents, emotions, screams, and silences. Most are haunted by scripts, and speak to ghosts (or microphones) more than people.
Few recognize them in public, yet millions know their sound. That is their gift—and their curse.
Do not mistake invisibility for weakness. Their words linger.
