My friends Michelle and Jaime took me to see El Vez, the Chicano Elvis impersonator. It was quite wonderful and hilarious; El Vez channels Elvis, but at the same time he alters Elvis, messes with him, “Mexicanizes” (or “Mexican-Americanizes”) him. The show is quite an extravaganza, with costume changes, male strip tease, rewriting of Elvis’ lyrics, etc. The picture here shows El Vez in Quetzelcoatl costume; but there was also the black vinyl look, the East LA gang look, even the S&M look with a tall dominatrix. I can’t say anything about the cultural significance of El Vez’s act, that hasn’t already been better said by Michelle Habell-Pallan. But I can testify that the set was a sheer, high-energy delight.
El Vez
My friends Michelle and Jaime took me to see El Vez, the Chicano Elvis impersonator. It was quite wonderful and hilarious; El Vez channels Elvis, but at the same time he alters Elvis, messes with him, “Mexicanizes” (or “Mexican-Americanizes”) him. The show is quite an extravaganza, with costume changes, male strip tease, rewriting of Elvis’ lyrics, etc. There’s the Quetzalcoatl costume; but there was also the black vinyl look, the East LA gang look, even the S&M look with a tall dominatrix. I can’t say anything about the cultural significance of El Vez’s act, that hasn’t already been better said by Michelle Habell-Pallan. But I can testify that the set was a sheer, high-energy delight.