Who is Santiago in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist?

"The boy's name was Santiago" (3).

Santiago is the name of the boy who is Coelho's protagonist in The Alchemist. Coelho only mentions the name of the boy once at the beginning of the novel. It is a wonder that Coelho doesn't use Santiago's name more often throughout the book because he is just "the boy" from that point forward. Since The Alchemist is a bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story, it is possible that Coelho calls his protagonist "the boy" because he has not matured yet. However, the name "Santiago" is never used again after the first page--not even in the epilogue. Whatever the case, the boy journeys in search of treasure from Spain, across the sands of Africa, to the Egyptian pyramids, and then finds himself back in Spain at the dilapidated church where he began. Along the way, Santiago discovers everything that is involved with achieving his Personal Legend and realizing his dreams.