John Esquivel, best known as “Hispanic Elvis,” a rockin’ and rollin’ San Antonio street performer, has died. He was 76.
Esquivel was a local icon in the Alamo City and spent most of his days around the downtown area dressed from head to toe as the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, Elvis Presley.
According to MySA.com, Esquivel was hospitalized on January 10 with an esophagus infection and COVID-19. Last week, his family updated his fans that he had been placed in hospice care. On Thursday (March 31), they confirmed his death.
His brother, George Cisneros, said Esquivel used to be a musician in the 1960s and started dressing like Elvis more than 20 years ago.
“Some people don’t understand him because of what he does,” Cisneros told MySA. “My brother’s living his dream, even though it’s later in life, but he has always been a performer. He’s not out to hurt anyone.”
Last year, a video of Esquivel dancing to “Jailhouse Rock” at a bus stop went viral on TikTok. Dressed in a shiny orange cape and gold scarf and wearing a pair of sunglasses, “Hispanic Elvis” stood up and started shaking his hips when someone blasted the hit song from their vehicle.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with funeral arrangements. As one fan posted, “Hispanic Elvis has left the building,” but his memory will live on.