Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was killed 30 years agone connected the day of March 31, 1995 successful Corpus Christi, Texas, by Yolanda Saldívar.
While she has been gone for 3 decades, Selena’s representation and bequest unrecorded on. The vocalist has been portrayed and remembered galore times connected big, tiny and portable screens, and it tin beryllium hard to support way of each the media that’s retired there. We person compiled a sampling of movies and shows that research the Texas icon’s life, decease and legacy.
‘Selena’ (1997)
This Jennifer Lopez-led biopic, released conscionable 2 years aft the “Como la Flor” artist’s death, is possibly the astir enduring of each the galore Selena-centric pieces of media. The movie’s interaction has been truthful profound that successful 2021 it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation successful the United States National Film Registry owed to its taste significance.
Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Gregory Nava, the movie chronicles Selena’s emergence to fame from her aboriginal puerility into her young adulthood and culminates successful her untimely death. Led by a career-altering show by Lopez arsenic Selena and a scene-stealing Edward James Olmos arsenic Selena’s demanding father, Abraham Quintanilla, the movie was developed with the support of the Quintanilla family, who wanted to dispel rumors that were being dispersed astir the vocalist and archer what they believed was the existent communicative of Selena.
The Times’ movie professional Kenneth Turan gave the movie a mixed review astatine the clip of its release.
“In the contented of ‘Lady Sings the Blues,’ ‘The Rose,’ ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It’ and different sudsy tales of singers and their woes, ‘Selena’ is successful portion a wholly predictable Latino soap opera that should fulfill those who kick they aren’t making movies similar they similar utilized to,” helium wrote.
“Though Lopez lip-syncs to Selena’s voice, she makes usage of her inheritance arsenic a dancer (she was a Fly Girl connected ‘In Living Color’) to task an irresistible joyousness successful show that some does justness to Selena’s entreaty and helps pain distant the film’s saccharine haze,” Turan wrote successful praise of the film. “‘Selena’ makes afloat usage of Lopez’s charisma successful its opening scene, a re-creation of the singer’s triumphant quality earlier the biggest Astrodome assemblage ever conscionable a fewer weeks earlier her death. From the chaos backstage done Selena’s solo locomotion done a curtain to the rapture of her adoring fans, it’s conscionable the archetypal of the film’s drawstring of axenic Hollywood moments.”
“Selena” is disposable to rent connected Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
‘Selena: The Series’ (2020/2021)
Much similar the 1997 film, “Selena: The Series” was developed and authorized by the Quintanilla family. The amusement besides follows the astronomical emergence of the Tejano euphony prima and the abrupt extremity to her life.
“The Walking Dead” histrion Christian Serratos takes connected the daunting relation of Selena successful the bid — a relation she felt personally connected to and had large reverence for.
“We some grew up Mexican American and struggled with things similar connection and wanting to consciousness included,” Serratos told The Times successful 2020. “And she had been trying to interruption retired into her manufacture for truthful long, and oftentimes, it wasn’t casual for her due to the fact that she was a young girl, she was a Latina ... and each of the things that made her a fable and made her a prima started erstwhile she was a kid. I felt her truthful desperately trying to person radical that her ideas were innovative, and she trusted successful herself truthful much, and I truly respect that.”
“Selena: The Series” is disposable to watercourse connected Netflix.
‘Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them’ (2024)
This two-part docuseries claims to supply a caller position connected the decease of Selena straight from her killer, Yolanda Saldívar. The task is protoypical of astir true-crime documentaries that capable streaming services.
The bid — made without the engagement of the Quintanilla household — focuses much connected Saldívar’s broadside of the communicative and the allegations she has leveled against Selena.
“After truthful galore years, I deliberation it’s clip to acceptable the grounds straight,” says Saldívar successful a trailer for the show, speaking from wrong Mountain View Prison successful Gatesville, Texas, wherever she’s been since 1995.
The clip points to “secrets” Quintanilla held, and based connected the tone, it’s heavy implied that those secrets are acheronian successful nature. “This is not a elemental lawsuit of murder,” a household subordinate of Saldívar says.
The bid has been criticized for seemingly not revealing thing caller astir the dynamics betwixt Selena and Saldívar and for exploiting Selena’s memory.
“Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them” is disposable to watercourse connected Peacock.
‘Don Juan DeMarco’ (1995)
This ’90s film starring Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway tells the communicative of a young antheral (Depp) who believes helium is the mythical womanizer Don Juan and his intelligence wellness alongside his psychiatrist (Brando).
So however is this about Selena? Well, it’s not. But the movie does see Selena’s archetypal and lone diagnostic movie acting credit. She died a week earlier the film’s premiere connected April 7, 1995.
The movie was mostly good received successful its clip and got an Oscar information for archetypal opus for Bryan Adams’ “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?” from the film’s soundtrack. Selena performed a mentation of the opus alongside a mariachi set arsenic portion of her cameo successful the film.
“Don Juan DeMarco” is disposable to rent connected Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Youtube.
‘E! True Hollywood Story: Death of Innocence’(2021)
This occurrence of the documentary bid examines celebrities whose lives were chopped abbreviated owed to instrumentality unit specified arsenic Selena, vocalist Christina Grimmie and histrion Rebecca Schaeffer.
Included successful the programme are interviews with immoderate of Selena’s erstwhile euphony associates, her costume/fashion decorator and her hubby Chris Pérez.
The narration betwixt Selena and Yolanda Saldívar plays a defining relation successful the episode, which is filled with in-depth investigation astir the intelligence authorities of Saldívar.
“E! True Hollywood Story: Death of Innocence” is disposable to watercourse connected the E! website.
‘Corpus: A Home Movie About Selena’ (1999)
This documentary movie by Oscar-nominated manager Lourdes Portillo uses quality coverage, interviews, location videos and performance footage to sermon the bequest of Selena successful the years since her death.
Through instrumentality interviews, the movie captures the saintlike devotion that radical had to the “La Carcacha” singer, not lone due to the fact that of her philharmonic abilities but due to the fact that of what she seemed to basal for morally and successful her carnal quality arsenic a exemplary for the acceptance of nonwhite bodies.
The movie besides engages successful a scholarly statement astir whether the lasting bequest of Selena has had much of a affirmative oregon antagonistic impact.
One notable Selena professional successful the movie is writer Sandra Cisneros.
“There’s immoderate things she stands for that I deliberation is precise dangerous,” Cisneros said. “She’s telling young radical to spell up determination and beryllium a 12-year-old sexy kid with your small bustier. I’m sorry, that’s not a exemplary I would privation for a young pistillate oregon for anyone related to me, oregon a child, if I had one.
“And the information that the lone outlet you person is to beryllium this intersexual being singing songs that aren’t adjacent that wonderful, but that’s the lone outlet we person present and that you person to dice earlier you’re 25 years aged — that that makes you successful. That’s however you get connected the screen of Texas Monthly, you either get bludgeoned, raped oregon shot.”
The documentary’s merchandise was contested by the Quintanillas arsenic they felt respective comments — immoderate of which were proved mendacious — successful the movie made by immoderate of the interviewed academics were retired of line.
Portillo’s movie was dubbed “an disfigured film” by Abraham Quintanilla.
“Corpus: A Home Movie About Selena” is disposable to watercourse connected Kanopy (free with a room card).
‘Selena Remembered’ (1997)
Narrated by Edward James Olmos and produced by the grounds statement EMI Latin, this documentary follows the beingness trajectory of Selena, overmuch similar the 1997 biopic did. The hourlong diagnostic includes interviews with each the members of Selena’s contiguous household arsenic good her bandmates, collaborators and euphony executives who helped cultivate and elevate Selena’s sound.
Musical performances and uncommon behind-the-scenes footage that amusement a much whimsical broadside of the vocalist are besides featured successful the documentary.
The movie serves arsenic an perfect companion portion to the 1997 scripted film.
“Selena Remembered” is disposable to watercourse connected Youtube.
‘The Last Concert’ (2017)
The Houston Astrodome. The accomplishment by equine carriage. The purple jumpsuit. The bangs. The disco medley.
This movie is simply a straightforward taping of Selena’s past performance astatine the Astrodome connected Feb. 26, 1995, conscionable 1 period earlier her death. The footage displaying the singer’s undeniable endowment much intelligibly showcases wherefore her bequest lives connected than immoderate different movie connected this list.
Selena singing “I Will Survive” to 67,000 radical holds up arsenic not lone an anthem of pistillate empowerment but besides a foreshadowing the lasting representation of the vocalist successful the nationalist consciousness each these years later.
“The Last Concert” is disposable to watercourse connected Apple Music and to rent connected Amazon Prime Video.