Make the Dream Real: World Building Performance by El Vez, the Mexican Elvis

Explores the intricate world-building of El Vez's performances and how they enable audiences to imagine a more socially just society.

El Vez, also known as the Mexican Elvis, presents a powerful message of social justice and inclusion in his performances. Make the Dream Real interrogates how this message is activated through world-building: the use of a variety of theoretical, theatrical, and musical tactics that bring into being a progressive social space that refutes the current economic, political, social, and cultural configurations of the United States.

World-building in an El Vez show immerses the audience in a social space in which equal rights are guaranteed, inclusivity is fostered, difference is valued, and the violence of economic inequality is mitigated. Using a dramaturgical methodology that marries critical inquiry with theatrical practice, the book delves into the theoretical foundations that inform artist Robert Lopez's work, and each chapter analyzes a different performative component he uses.

Make the Dream Real interrogates how El Vez's playful engagements hold the United States to its egalitarian promises, voicing and enacting--however fleetingly--a just and richly inclusive social space through performance.

Author: Karen Jean Martinson
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Intellect (UK)
Published: 05/07/2025
Pages: 240
Weight: 1.65lbs
Size: 9.80h x 6.90w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781835951002