Power and Political Theatre at the Capitol

The Zócalo – the central plaza in Mexico City – is the place to stage for central stories about Mexico’s past and future. From ethnic diversity and racial hierarchy during Spanish rule and ethnic politics and state authority, Dr. Ana Martínez’ book Performance in the Zocalo tracks five different moments – from the early conquest through the Porfiriato and past the Zapatista uprising – to examine the way different actors played and challenged the roles available to them in the Plaza Mayor. 

Dr. Ana Martínez’ book Performance in the Zócalo tracks five different moments – from the early conquest through the Porfiriato and past the Zapatista uprising – to examine the way different actors played and challenged the roles available to them in the Plaza Mayor.

Ana Martínez teaches theatre history, theory, and criticism. Her fields of specialization are theatre practices in Mexico, Latin American drama, and performance design. Her book, Performance in the Zócalo: Constructing History, Race, and Identity in Mexico's Central Square from the Colonial Era to the Present (University of Michigan Press, 2020) is the first full English-language manuscript to address the ways in which the material center of the Mexican capital, the Zócalo, manifests and contests its symbolic power through performances practices.

She holds a doctoral degree in Theatre Studies from the City University of New York Graduate Center, an MA in Scenography from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, and an Architecture degree from Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City.