SELENA TELLS FAMILY STORY
Series outlines brief, electric life of singer and expands to include those closest to her
Selena: The Series Netflix
During the first episode of Netflix's Selena: The Series, about the titular Tejano music superstar, the patriarch of the family, Abraham Quintanilla Jr. (Ricardo Chavira), strums his guitar as his eight-year-old daughter Selena (Madison Taylor Baez) sings the popular 1970s song Feelings like any gifted little girl would.
“The notes are good, you're just not ...” her father says as he explains that to be a compelling singer, one must tap into their own life experiences. Her mother says Selena is too young to understand what lyrics like “trying to forget my feelings of love” really mean.
Those genuine emotions needed to express what's inside someone's heart may not have existed in Selena as a kid, but during her fleeting 23 years of life — much of it spent performing centre stage and beloved by countless fans — her music elicited a response that could only be described as deep adoration.
The same can be said for the work of the team behind Selena: The Series. The care and compassion that has been injected into the first half of this biographical, two-part TV series is evident from the very start and never lets up during the initial nine episodes.
Some Selena devotees may not appreciate why her story needed a new adaptation after the 1997 feature film that launched Jennifer Lopez's career, but the new iteration expands the Queen of Tejano's narrative beyond just her. In fact, if Netflix had called its new series The Quintanillas instead, it might convey what the program is about more effectively.
Selena: The Series is a comingof-age show about a tight-knit family determined to make a better life for themselves using only the resources available to them. Of course, its main draw is Selena (played as a teen and adult by Christian Serratos). As Selena, Serratos is equal parts charming, enthusiastic, ambitious and playful. But the series is a true ensemble effort.
From her birth in Lake Jackson, Texas, in 1971 to the release of her second studio album, Ven Conmigo, Selena: The Series covers a lot of ground and does it with empathy, authenticity, humour and just the right amount of pride. In the 25 years since her death, it's been easy for Selena fans to regard her as a sort of musical deity, but showrunner Moisés Zamora and Jaime Dávila's Campanario Entertainment avoid falling into those hero-worshipping traps, largely because the family dynamic is given the same significance as Selena stepping into the spotlight on her own.
Viewers should try not to make too many comparisons linking the series and director Gregory Nava's past film. Selena the movie was a celebration of her life and career. Selena: The Series goes beyond that. It's a celebration of family history and Tex Mex culture. It's a recognition of the struggle Latinx face to flourish in the entertainment industry — a struggle that is a bit more manageable because of Selena's efforts.
“Selena was here,” she writes on the foggy window of her tour bus as cheering fans await her arrival. Selena was here — and she still is.