Lopez looks back on his recent appearance on the Mexico City-based reality series “Santos Bravos.”

By Jana F. Brown | Photos courtesy of the artist

In preparation for a foray into solo reality TV stardom, Diego Lopez ’24 had to train his brain to do the opposite of what he’d been taught his entire life as a dancer. But it wasn’t the dancing that needed reverse thinking, but the singing that accompanied it.

“Singers are taught to expand as they inhale and then press in through the diaphragm as they exhale,” Lopez explains. “For dancers, it’s the opposite. They’re taught to breathe in and activate the core and relax as they exhale.”

For his recent appearance on the Mexico City-based reality series “Santos Bravos,” a competition that endeavored to create a five-member Latin boy band of the same name with K-pop training methodologies, Lopez flashed his dancing prowess, but he also had to learn how to croon — on the fly — with no prior training.

“I was putting myself out there to millions of viewers without knowing how to sing,” Lopez adds, “hoping my work ethic and my dance would showcase otherwise.”

The three-month process of training that preceded the live shows, which began in August 2025, were equal parts grueling and enlightening. Despite being a singing novice, Lopez was only one spot away from making it into the top 10 from an original pool of 17 contenders — and a chance to perform for 10,000 people at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City— when he was forced to withdraw due to a herniated disc. He underwent successful surgery for the injury in November.

During his stint with “Santos Bravos,” Lopez earned praise from the show’s vocal coaches for his continuous improvement. Among the many highlights was his performance with two fellow contestants (including Drew Venegas, who’s now in the band) of “Stitches” by Shawn Mendes. Drawing from his dance roots, Lopez co-choreographed the camera movements with Venegas for the live show. While the actions were second nature, Lopez also felt good about his vocals, which required another new concept — harmonizing.

“I was given two days to work on that song,” he says, “and I sang my heart out.”

In addition to navigating new skills in front of a live audience, Lopez also had to contend with online critiques, which weren’t always kind. But he was encouraged by comments that applauded his evolution as a singer. Social media feedback was not a foreign concept to Lopez, who can rightly label himself a reality TV veteran. At 16, Lopez and his dance group, Connection Crew, from his hometown of Chihuahua, Mexico, appeared together on the second season of NBC’s “World of Dance.” At the time in 2018, Lopez and Co. were also somewhat of an underdog compared with their more experienced counterparts, many of them professional dancers who already knew how to work the camera to their advantage. While the experience had it challenges, Lopez began to feel the pull of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, where the show was filmed.

Two years later, Connection Crew was again cast on a reality series, this time a Mexican show called “El Retador” on Televisa/Univision. Lopez believes the group’s previous experience gave the dancers an opportunity to strut their skills while also highlighting what they’d learned from “World of Dance” — and they made it to the finals.

“That was very interesting,” Lopez says. “We were still dancing, but we knew how to play the game a bit more because of our past experience. We had a great time showcasing our skills within Mexico.”

Born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Mexico, Lopez began dancing at age six after watching his sister’s ballet recital videos. What began as childhood curiosity quickly evolved into serious training, with Lopez competing from an early age. But it wasn’t until his appearance on “World of Dance” that he became curious about pursuing the arts as a profession. Still, Lopez faced a crossroads between studying computer science in Mexico or dance in the United States. A gap year training at the Joffrey Ballet School in Dallas offered clarity.

With guidance from Joffrey, Lopez enrolled at USC Kaufman, a decision that “changed my life.” Despite initially questioning whether he needed formal dance education, he found the program’s inclusive approach transformative.

“What I loved about Kaufman is that they didn’t keep you in a box,” Lopez explains. “I was never a western trained dancer. I was more on the hip-hop side of things, more on the industry side of things. I was the odd one out of my cohort, but I think it also introduced me to so many forms and so much knowledge that I could probably never learn in Mexico.”

Within the program, Lopez found a host of mentors, among them Professors d. Sabela grimes, Jackie Kopcsak, and Bruce McCormick, along with Board of Councilors members Celeste Alleyne and Kenny Ortega.

As a devoted K-pop fan, Lopez was intrigued when he first learned about the project involving a Latino boy band spearheaded by HYBE, the major K-pop company behind South Korean group BTS, and was eager to audition.

The actual experience of “living the pop star life” on “Santos Bravos” for several months eventually offered Lopez new creative perspective. While dance remains his primary focus, he’s now pursuing vocal training and music production. The show also expanded his professional network, including forging connections with vocal coaches and producers who have trained stars such as Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, and Justin Bieber; helped him build connections in Mexico City and with HYBE; andawakened within Lopez some additional aspirations.

For his senior project, Lopez founded the USC Dance Community (SCDC), creating platforms for dance clubs and organizing performances, skills he’s transferred to his career. His ultimate goal is to become a creative director, with a particular interest in forming Latin boy bands with K-pop influences — ironically, the concept through which he found this calling.

“I broadened my range of what I thought I was going to do,” Lopez says, confessing that he’s now achieved a well-kept-secret dream of performing in a Latino band. “It changed my perspective on things and made me realize I also like to share my own artistic thoughts and be a creative within my own career.”