Review: Rogelio López & Dancers presents “Entre Mucho Machismo Hay Pocos Machos” Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco, September 18-20, 2026
Art has the power to change hearts and minds, to build empathy and to inspire dialogue. Rogelio López & Dancers’s Entre Mucho Machismo Hay Pocos Machos (Mucho Machismo), playing this weekend at Dance Mission Theater, described by one of the collaborators as a “big gay Latino spectacle,” is exhilaratingly defiant of cultural norms and gender expectations. Creator Rogelio López, in an autobiographic role, plays a queer Mexican folklorico dancer who, over the course of the one-hour show, learns to ignore the judgement of others, reject the false promises of an unworthy lover, and appreciate his own self-worth. The ethos is the emotionally heightened world of the telenovela and the language is dance. This piece, which had a promising work-in-progress showing last year, has been honed and polished to perfection. The story-telling is clear, the productions values are strong, and the delivery confident.
Mucho Machismo features López and a quartet of male dancers in showpiece numbers which draw from folklorico, modern, jazz, and burlesque dance. López is a charismatic mover, equally skilled in both the folklorico and contemporary forms. He portrays the protagonist’s private misgivings in heart-breaking solos. His expressive face is alive with doubt and longing. Wrenching forward, arms splayed upward he struggles to conform. Later, as self-acceptance blossoms, he spins with his arms widespread behind a transparent drape upon which colorful projected flowers bloom and butterflies perch. Receiving a sealed love letter, López savors the anticipation of its reading. Discarding his boots, removing his pants, and donning a floaty floral kimono, he is giddy with hope as “I Feel Pretty,” from West Side Story plays. We lean in to the schmaltzy gentle humor and universality of new love.
Dancers and choreographic collaborators Kevin Gaytan, Matthew Han, Luis Isiordia, and Josue Oregel are campy and fun in their myriad roles, whether strutting their stuff in unison dance numbers or portraying a version of López ’s masked lover. Over the course of López ’s journey, each collaborator plays a masked version of the love interest at different phases in the relationship—falling in love (Oregel), lustful honeymoon phase (Han), first fight (Gaytan), and break-up (Isiordia).
Displaying impressive versatility, the ensemble embraces the varied vibe and dance genre of each section. One moment they are in jeans and plaid shirts reeling across the stage, their manly torsos assertively upright, as their hard soled boots lay down staccato folklorico heel beats. Returning moments later, in cut-off micro-shorts and midi-tops, their sassiness subverts the hyper-masculine expectations set for Latin men as they tease López.
Owning gay male sexuality is at the center of this work. As López and his crew push against gendered expectations and seek to expand what is possible within and without the folklorico form, it is imperative that they not white-wash or paper over the role of overt sexuality in gay male environments. Body caresses, crotch grabs, and sly, winking lip-licking is celebrated here. The most provocative section features a shirtless duo in chaps, partnering scantily clad men, dressed only in black thongs and patent-leather platform heels, whose legs keep falling open into scandalizing deep V’s.
Part of what makes Mucho Machismo so entrancing is the imaginative, highly theatrical, and visually stunning world that López crafts for his characters. Multi-talented López, not only conceives of and choreographs but, also designs and constructs all the costumes, props, and projected imagery for his productions. When a trio of cowboys appear on horseback, they ride in holding the reigns of artistically-stylized horseheads, whose innovative custom harnesses allow the animal’s to naturally rise and dip as their riders canter.
As he did in his coming out piece, Entre Despierto y Dormido (2022), the finale features López in female folklorico dress. His Cinderella-worthy costume transition is aided by his fairy godfathers, who appear in beatific round porcelain-esque masks crowned in an abundance of blood red roses. As López exuberantly ripples the cascading flounces of his newly-donned skirt, his every flourish is matched by an onscreen twin, who appears initially in silhouette and then in life-like color in precisely choreographed filmed images, all crafted by López. One wonders where he finds the time, and if there is any theatrical talent he lacks. López’s life partner, Andrew Merrell, plays a large supporting role as rehearsal director and stage manager and is credited lovingly in the program.
Stories of gay men trapped in hypermasculine and/or religiously conservative communities are having a moment of late. Rival hockey players and secret lovers, Shane and Iyla live in dread of discovery in HBO’s blockbuster series Heated Rivalry (2025). The Jamaican gay men in author Marlon James’s epic The Disappearers (2026), suffer extreme violence and societal erasure. The unrelenting denial and self-hatred among a closeknit group of closeted Scottish men, within a rustic island’s community, lays waste to generations of family in Douglas Stuart’s novel, John of John (2026). LGBTQ civil rights’ gains in America are at renewed risk under the Trump administration. Immigrant communities are under siege. Tolerance is not sufficient; acceptance and equality are imperative. Mucho Machismo takes its place among these award-winning works as an artistic instrument for change, while also being truly entertaining and providing joy filled release to its audience.
Review by Jen Norris, published September 20, 2026
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Production Credits:
Rogelio López & Dancers presents “Entre Mucho Machismo Hay Pocos Machos” Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco, September 18-20, 2026
Choreographer: Rogelio López
Rehearsal Director: Andrew Merrell
Dancers: Kevin Gaytan, Matthew Han, Luis Isiordia, Josue Oregel and Rogelio López
Scenic, Lighting, Costume Design and Construction: Rogelio López
Music
Son Del Chile : Lila Downs
Yesterdays: The Jazz messengers
I Feel Pretty: Sophie Milman
Besame Mucho: Il Divo
Daníel by the sea: Alex Somers & jónsi
El Caballito: Arriba my rancho
Coco: los folkloristas
Raiz Viva (Prehispánica): Los foklorstas
Besame Mucho: Voz en punto
Mezcalito: Lila downs
The longest night: David franklin
Rosa de castilla: los folkloristas
Hasta la raiz: Natalia Lafourcade
por ti volare: mariachi vargas
Films
Opening Novela: Rogelio López
Hasta La Raiz SOlo:
Camera men
Corey Sheppard
Cut Canvas Creative.
Director: Rogelio López
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