Theater and performance have the unique quality of existing equally apart from “reality” and as a part of “reality.” Mimesis and illusion are, paradoxically, part and parcel of the continuum of spectacle. Consequently, the semiotics of classic theater and contemporary performance remind us that a fundamental difference arises between the representation of a role (character/ personaje) by an actor and the ephemeral phenomenon of the performer who speaks and acts in his/her own name to a public (Pavis 333–34). It is this interstitial space, uniting and separating the two functions of spectacle, which forms the basis for my inquiry into the performances by and theatrical enactments of four contemporary idols: Frida Kahlo, Carlos Gardel, Eva Perón, and Selena. I envision these artists as embodying modern secular notions we ascribe to the understanding of icons as markers of a plurality of discourses, though at times these icons may also retain the vestiges of their traditional function as a medium for communicating moral dogma. Thus, these artists have become iconic figures of performance through their symbolic personal actions, and because they endowed their artistic media with a miscellany of meanings. Additionally, all of these cult figures appear as characters in recent theatrical pieces, and dramatists use them as a means for exploring fields of study as diverse as performance, cultural studies, gender studies, national identity and politics, border crossing, exile, and immigration. In this way, these four cult figures bridge the disparate ends of the spectrum of spectacle, while at the same time uniting diverse time periods and socio-political movements through both theater and performance.

Kahlo, Gardel, Eva Perón, and Selena have transcended time to become symbols for various national and international scripts because of their iconic qualities. Through the analysis of theatrical texts, performances, and films, this project explores how trends of popular culture in Latin America and the United States are embodied in these artists. However, though they are contemporary icons, Kahlo, Gardel, Eva Perón, and Selena are also figures who have much in common with ancient icons and images that epitomized the scripts and scriptures of past civilizations. These dialectic tensions between past and present, performance and theater, and “reality” and illusion nurture our fascination with these figures long after their deaths.