When I turned the corner into Congress Avenue on that mid-March afternoon, I was greeted by what felt like hundreds of people, all there to honor the late great Selena. The Queen of Tejano Music was in every corner of the crowd. On backpacks, in T-shirts, in hand-rhinestoned jackets, and hand-held posters. The fans in the stands didn’t have tickets to the main event; they just wanted to catch a glimpse of the very people who created Selena, who stood near her magic. As the moment unfolded, one by one, Selena Quintanilla’s family members walked through the crowd, stopping to take photos and sign pictures before entering the Paramount Theatre, eager to show their latest project: Selena y Los Dinos. A documentary about Selena Quintanilla, her rise to fame, and the lasting impact she left on the hearts and minds of millions.
I was among the few lucky attendees at the SXSW premiere, and I was ecstatic. Right before the showing began, the moderator introduced the film, “For the programmers at Southby, we felt [the documentary] really honors her memory by celebrating her life. And it’s so beautiful, and it really reminds us all why she remains an inspiration to so many of us that grew up with her.” Her sentiments resonated around the room, and it became clear that everyone had their own connection to the beloved star. With that feeling, the show began.
Safe to say this documentary was marvelous. A beautiful homage to the life Selena lived, it offers fans never-before-seen archival footage of Selena from when she was a child all the way into her youthful adulthood. By using snippets of Selena from different interviews and home-footage, Selena becomes the narrator of her own story. Guiding the audience through her life. Something Selena’s sister and Executive Producer on the project (along with her brother, AB Quintanilla III) Suzette Quintanilla would later praise, “Right when the film starts, the fact that Selena’s telling the story along with us is so powerful, and it makes it so relevant and so beautiful.” In that way, the documentary feels wholly unique, as Selena plays just as much of a role in her tale as any of the other subjects. And no one from Selena’s life was absent: her siblings, her parents, her collaborators, even her husband, Chris Pérez.
In some ways, I’m surprised this documentary hadn’t happened earlier, something the film’s director, Isabel Castro, later addressed: “I grew up with Selena, and she truly has been a role model throughout my life. She’s just somebody that constantly inspires me to do bigger, to reach higher. And I was reached out to by the family because they were ready to tell her story, and they were ready to tell their story.” The timing of this film couldn’t have been more perfect. For years, fans have watched actresses try their hand at capturing Selena’s brilliance, and for years, writers tried to write a story better than the one we saw in real time–now it was time for the real Selena to take the mainstage once again.
Watching the film, the biggest thing that struck me was the love that had been injected into it. There was so much care in every clip shown, and every aspect of her life was spoken about with such respect. And the energy. I’d been to many premieres at the Paramount, and yet the energy in that room on that day was like nothing I’d ever experienced. If the people weren’t related to Selena, they were fans of hers. Shedding tears and laughing at her every joke, there was just an insurmountable amount of love in the room. It felt right.
After the showing, Selena’s family got on stage to speak about the film. Suzette began by touching on the instant connection she found with the film’s director, “You know when you meet someone you feel it. Kinda like Selena, how she just draws you in, and you just get it. That’s how I felt with Isabel.” She said, explaining that as soon as their first meeting ended, she knew “She’s the one that I want.” Later, Pérez opened up about what it’s like to watch it all back. “Some of it’s tough,” he admits. “You know it’s emotional, up and down, but I think the whole point is to see how great of a person Selena was. What she stood for, what she represented….in her own words.”
The film does not yet have a release date, but the family assured news will be coming soon! To keep up to date, follow along on social media.
