Selena forever: Anniversary of shooting and killer's parole denial stir singer's enduring fandom
In the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, fans had gotten together to celebrate the singer's life for the 10th annual 214Selena festivities.
'We're just celebrating that legacy, taking the time to hold space for all of those who connect with that Tejano identity,' singer and Selena fan Esti Romero told NBC Dallas.
Selena's fandom has transformed throughout the years, starting with people like Alemán, who grew up seeing the late singer perform live in south Texas. For them, Selena is a cultural marker for Mexican Americans and Latinos who came of age in the early 1990s.
Through her music and fashion sense, many saw their own bicultural experiences reflected in Selena's life story. Selena Quintanilla-Pérez became a shining star in the male-dominated genre of Tejano music, winning a Grammy in 1994 and becoming a crossover Latina icon singing in both English and Spanish.
But then Selena gained a ton of new fans of all ages, including Susan, when the singer's eponymous biopic was released in 1997. Not only did the movie help catapult J.Lo's career, it also introduced many to the story of Selena's life and the tragic events around her death.
'That is the first memory that I have of Selena. It's actually seeing her movie in the theater when I was in seventh grade,' Susan said.
Perhaps that explains why Leila Cobo, chief content officer of Latin and Spanish music at Billboard, says Selena is one of the top five Latin female artists on the charts every year, remaining a pillar of Latin music history in the U.S. and globally.
Anticipation over Saldívar's eligibility for parole this week had been building over the past year following the release of a controversial docuseries in which Saldívar claimed she did not intentionally kill Selena. In a statement, the parole board said it believed, based on the evidence provided to it, that Saldívar still posed 'a continuing threat to public safety.'
Alemán explained that for Selena's fans, her death 'has risen into this level of collective injustice, a collective grief. In the eyes of those who love her so dearly, what happened was so unjust.'
When it comes to Saldívar, 'there's never going to be a point in which she is done paying for this sin that she committed,' Alemán said.
The Quintanilla family and Chris Pérez, Selena's husband, thanked Selena's fans 'for their unwavering support throughout the years' in a joint statement following Saldívar's parole denial. 'Your love has been a source of strength and healing.'
'Selena's legacy is one of love, music, and inspiration. She lived with joy, gave selflessly, and continues to uplift generations with her voice and her spirit,' the statement reads. 'We will continue to celebrate Selena's life — not the tragedy that took her from us — and we ask that all who cherish her do the same.'
In her college class, Alemán is helping foster a newer generation of Selena fans who are creating a body of academic work and archives full of stories and memories of the Queen of Tejano music.
'The knowledge that the community carries about who she is, why she matters to them, is worth studying,' Alemán said.
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Wales Online
3 hours ago
- Wales Online
I hid from the world when cancer changed my body until dancing transformed my life
I hid from the world when cancer changed my body until dancing transformed my life Despite radiotherapy, appointments, exhaustion and pain, Rachael Anderson never missed a training session Rachael Anderson could no longer recognise herself, after her devastating breast cancer diagnosis in 2021 (Image: Rachael Anderson ) After being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 37, Rachael Anderson withdrew from the world—overwhelmed by the changes to her body and mind. Looking in the mirror became difficult, and the idea of facing others felt impossible. She certainly never imagined herself as a dancer. Yet four years after her initial diagnosis, sandwiched between her dance instructor Louise Evans and fellow dancer Emma Llewellyn, Rachael has found the courage not only to dance, but to share her story. The mum-of-two's path with Creazione Dance Company in Caerphilly didn't begin with choreography or costumes. It started as a search for healing—physically and emotionally. After completing her treatment and ringing the bell to mark the end of her breast cancer treatment on World Cancer Day 2022—a year after her diagnosis—Rachael shared her experience on Facebook. That post would change everything. Among the responses was a message from Louise, whom Rachael knew from previous fitness classes. Louise had a proposal. "She invited me back to her classes," Rachael recalls. "At first, I wasn't sure I could do it. Article continues below "T o be honest, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I hid from the world, I was a bit embarrassed. And I know I shouldn't be, but it's one of those things. Your body changes, your mindset changes, everything does." Chemotherapy had taken Rachael's hair. Steroids had changed her body. "I didn't recognise myself in the mirror," she says. "I didn't see the old Rachael anymore." Rachael shared that she has seen "15 versions" of herself over the last few years (Image: Rachael Anderson ) Despite her hesitation, Louise persisted. She told Rachael about a charity event that Creazione Dance Company was organising in collaboration with Welsh Ice for breast cancer. Louise was bringing together a group of "non-dancers" to perform Latin dance in support of the cause. It was a leap into the unknown—especially as Rachael didn't know anyone else in the group. But she showed up. "I don't know how I walked through those doors, I didn't know anyone at the time, but I thought, 'I need to do this,'" she explains. Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here There she met Emma Llewellyn and seven other women - all of whom were there for their own personal reasons. "I joined Creazione after I had my own health problems," Emma shared candidly. "I had a mini-stroke, so decided to start at the gym and take care of myself a little bit more. When I lost my dad to lung cancer, not long after, I needed something more. Creazione was recommended to me, so I decided to have a look. That's when I met Louise." Meeting Louise, for Emma, was like meeting someone who truly saw her. "She just listened. I wasn't just another number to get through the door. When she mentioned putting together a group of non-dancers, I wanted in. My daughter dances formation and I'd always admired that. I never thought I could do it myself." Rachael said steroids and chemotherapy changed her hair and body (Image: Rachael Anderson ) And then, she met Rachael. "I probably talked her ear off the first day," Emma laughs. "She hasn't gotten rid of me! Honestly, when I learnt about her story, I just found it so incredibly inspiring. "When my dad was alive, he was a really positive person right to the very end. He went ziplining, he tried to tick off everything on his bucket list and Rachael reminded me of that. Of not letting this illness define them." As rehearsals went on, the group soon felt less like a class and more like a family. But just as the bond between them deepened, something changed. In July, just five months after getting the all-clear for breast cancer, Rachael began suffering from intense, frequent headaches. "There wasn't a lot of time between me ringing the bell and my secondary diagnosis," Rachael says. "At first I thought it could have been something to do with my job. I am a civil servant so work in an office in front of a computer most days. I just thought that it could've been something to do with that." However, as the migraines grew consistent and increasingly more painful, Rachael knew that something was wrong. "I do live with pain, but I have learnt mask it very well. I just take paracetamol because I can't handle very strong painkillers. But there were training sessions leading up to the fundraiser where I would be balling my eyes out because the headaches were that painful. "It was daily and it was to the point where I'd have a headache and have to stop whatever I was doing, go into a dark room and just lie there. "My licence was even taken off me and I wasn't allowed to drive. No amount of paracetamol would stop it. I even tried co-codamol, and like I said, I usually don't take strong painkillers. Nothing touched it. Nothing I did stopped the pain at all. "Not many people took me seriously. I remember asking my partner once, 'Would you just massage my head?' And he was like, 'For a headache?' I bring that up a lot now, he feels very guilty." Rachael and her fellow dancers at Creazione raised money for Breast Cancer - but this was just the beginning (Image: Emma Llewellyn ) Eventually, Rachael went to the opticians - the first port of call when one experience migraines - however, Rachael says that she knew it had nothing to do with her eyes. "As soon as I went to the opticians and they said, 'You going to have to go to the eye hospital' I was like, 'This is nothing to do with my eyes. I know it's not.' That's when I decided to go to A&E. "The doctor couldn't believe I came in 'just for a headache,'" she says. "But I stood my ground. I knew something was wrong. I asked for scans." The results were devastating. "He came back looking ashamed. He wouldn't meet my eyes. He just looked down and said: 'I'm really sorry. You have a tumour in your brain. It looks like the cancer has spread. It's now secondary.'" What followed was a whirlwind: an urgent mask fitting, and then radiotherapy to her head. All the while, Rachael kept dancing. "In spite of everything—appointments, exhaustion, pain—she never missed a single training session," Emma says. "Not one," Louise confirms. "Honestly, I wouldn't have made it through without Louise, Creazione and of course all the girls," Rachael says emotionally. "They became my family, and that's what kept me going. My two children are my priority, but this team, this community, helped me fight through the darkest days. At that point in her journey, Rachael reflected on how much she had changed. "I think I've been about 15 different versions of myself," she said. "I've gone from being a married mum, to going through divorce, battling breast cancer, finding a new partner, starting to dance, then facing secondary cancer… with each challenge, I've had to shift who I am and how I see the world. "I had met my partner just about a year before my diagnosis, and he stood by me through everything. I told him he could walk away—I even insisted, under duress—but he refused to leave. He stayed. "At the end of the day, I'm not the same person I was. I still struggle with things like my weight. I look in the mirror and I don't see the Rachael I saw 10 years ago. But we all change. And slowly, I'm learning to like the new Rachael." The charity event that Rachael joined marked the beginning of a new chapter in her life, one where dance and community would become the foundations of her strength. Rachael explained: "After we did that fundraiser, we had a bit of a gap but we all found ourselves missing each other. We'd built something special." Encouraged by Louise, the team decided to reunite, and transitioned from charity events to competitive dance, starting at the famous Blackpool Tower. "The step from charity to competition was massive," says Louise. "Competing at the prestigious Blackpool Tower Ballroom was a huge step up—it was a huge change and a whole new level for us. But I believed in the girls. I knew they could do it. So we got our heads together and made it happen. "We were training two, sometimes three times a week. I've worked with other dance teams before, I have been a dance instructor for 35 years, but none have trained as hard or as consistently as our senior team. They really wanted it. And I think that drive came from the fact that we all shared one vision, one goal. "A lot of that heart came from what Rachael has gone through—and continues to go through. But it wasn't just her. It was Emma's story, too. And others joined us for so many reasons: mental health struggles, loneliness, the need for connection, for escapism, for friendship. Everyone brought something personal, and that's what made this team so special." In 2024, it was time for the World Championships in Blackpool. " It's very expensive to go. We're talking thousands of pounds, dresses are thousands of pounds. We fundraised the travel costs, made the dresses ourselves on a short budget… nothing like this is ever cheap," Louise recalls. However, Rachael faced another devastating challenge in the lead-up to the competition. The possibility that her cancer had spread from her head to her spine became a very real and frightening prospect. "I was in a lot of pain," Rachael shared. "The chemo seemed to have ruined my bones, and I had constant pain in my hips. Then they found something on my spine." Just days before the team was set to travel to Blackpool, Rachael's doctors had to give her the medical approval to go—and to dance. Against all odds, she did both. Emma marvels, "I don't know how she gets on the floor sometimes, but she does." The team's hard work and determination paid off when they placed fourth at the World Championships—a huge achievement for everyone involved. Rachael (left) dancing with her partner Kerry in Blackpool Tower (Image: Emma Llewellyn ) Thankfully, in the spring of 2025, Rachael received some long-awaited good news. "We found out it wasn't cancer," she explained. "But my spine is wearing away from all the treatments. When I had my breast cancer treatments, I was also part of a trial drug programme. You never know how those drugs will affect you—and in my case, they think the trial drugs weakened my bones. So, while it wasn't cancer, it's still taken a toll." "Between placing fourth and Rachael's news, it was a massive confidence boost," Louise said. Spurred on by their progress, the team set their sights on the Welsh Alliance Championships in May 2025 — a competition they went on to win, marking a major milestone in their journey. Creizione Dance's Latin Senior team placed fourth at their first competitive event at Blackpool Tower (Image: Emma Llewellyn ) Since then, the team has only grown in strength, expanding into multiple formation teams. "We started with just one senior formation team of eight," Louise says. "Now, we have 25 members and three different teams... but it feels like we've only just begun." Rachael's journey hasn't been easy, and her battle with cancer is ongoing. "I have head scans every three months to monitor the tumour and make sure it's not growing," Rachael shared. "After my last scan, because it's remained stable, they've now moved me to scans every four months. It might not sound like a big difference, but to me, it's huge—it's one less scan a year. "They're still scanning my spine regularly, though, just to make sure whatever's there doesn't develop into something more serious. It could be anything—osteoporosis, arthritis—they're just keeping a close eye on it." Yet through it all, dance has been a constant source of healing, confidence, and community. For Louise, Creazione's mission has always been rooted in building a supportive environment where people of all ages and backgrounds can come together through the power of dance. "We've always been about the community," Louise explains. The Senior Latin Team have gone onto win the Welsh Alliance Competition - an incredible achievement (Image: Emma Llewellyn ) Creazione Dance Company, which has been thriving in Caerphilly for the past 20 years, began as a community-focused initiative to get young people active through dance. Over time, the company has expanded its offerings to cater to all ages—from toddlers to seniors—and all skill levels. Today, the studio is home to a wide range of styles, including street, ballet, and contemporary dance. The company has carved out a particular niche in Latin American dance—think Strictly Come Dancing, with Paso Doble, Salsa, and more. It's this energetic and expressive style that Rachael and Emma have come to embody with pride. For Rachael, dance has become an essential part of her healing journey. "It's funny, because I hate getting dressed up and doing all the costumes," she admits. "But now, I love having my make up done. The first time I had my hair and makeup done for a competition, I couldn't believe the compliments. So I do like that side of it because I never wear makeup normally." And although her journey is far from over, Rachael's story continues to inspire those around her. Emma, has seen first-hand how dancing has not only transformed her own life but also brought together a group of people with similar struggles. "We've all been through so much," Emma shares. "And with everything Rachael's been through, she's still the first one knocking on the door, encouraging us to keep going... It just shows that you can live with it and do things. "She's inspired all of us, and that's what makes this so powerful. We've found a family here, and that's something I'll always be grateful for." Looking ahead, the team is preparing for the next level of competition, with new members joining in, including men. The team is set to compete in the British Championships in Blackpool later this year, as well as the World Championships in February 2026. "It's ambitious, but we've come so far. And I believe in this team," Louise says. As the dance company continues to grow, Louise hopes more people will find the kind of healing and connection that Rachael, Emma and so many other's have discovered. " I think that it's important for our community to know that there are groups out there— partnerships and programs that you can get involved in — that can genuinely enhance your mental health and give you more of a positive outlook on whatever it is you're going through. "Whether it is cancer like Rachel or something else... strokes, heart attacks, divorces— there's lots of support out there," she says. "And for me, dance is a really good outlet for expressing yourself showing feeling emotion and being allowed to do that, with a group of people who are likeminded." Article continues below
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Corrie star gives birth to second baby with very unusual name and meaning
Coronation Street star Rebecca Ryan has given birth to her second child. The soap actress, who played Lydia Chambers on the cobbles, has welcomed her daughter with husband Dan Acraman two years after the birth of their first daughter Aurora. Revealing the news on Instagram, she revealed that they had named their newborn daughter Oriana, telling her followers: "Introducing the newest member of my little girl gang, the adorable Oriana." The name Oriana is of Latin origin and is of very similar meaning to its sister name Aurora. It is derived from the Latin word aurum, meaning gold, and oriens, meaning "dawn" and "sunrise". Her brother Jack, who also appeared on the ITV soap, was quick to comment as he wrote adoringly: "Proof that the first time wasn't a fluke, you make the most beautiful babies."
Metro
14 hours ago
- Metro
The 'inappropriate' Peppa Pig episode that was banned in Australia twice
Peppa Pig's seemingly innocent adventures have sparked unexpected controversies over the years, from angering politicians to bans over inappropriate content. The porcine cartoon has most recently been in the headlines for the arrival of her baby sister, called Evie, with Mummy Pig's pregnancy announcement on Good Morning Britain in February leaving viewers baffled. But it's not the first time Peppa and her entourage have stirred up a media frenzy. Previously, a Spanish politician blamed the cartoon for the lack of women in the construction industry, an Italian politician demanded an episode featuring LGBTQ+ polar bears be banned, and some parents have labelled the cartoon icon as 'rude' and 'impatient'. In 2004, an episode titled Mister Skinnylegs was pulled off air in Australia for messaging deemed to be 'inappropriate' for audiences Down Under. The episode in question sees Peppa befriend a spider, after Daddy Pig tells her the arachnids are 'very very small' and 'can't hurt you'. The cartoon's titular character then proceeds to pick up the spider, letting him play with her doll's house and offering him tea. However, unlike in the UK, some spiders in Australia are far from harmless. The redback spider and the funnel-web spider are both venomous, and their bites can be fatal without administering antivenom. Australian spiders certainly aren't small, either — the huntsman's leg span can reach up to 30cm. The offending episode was banned from future broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 2012 for sending the 'inappropriate' message that spiders are friendly and not to be feared. But that's not the end of the story. In August 2017, the episode aired on children's channel Nick Jr in Australia, causing controversy all over again. A Sydney mother complained to Foxtel, an Australian pay TV service, arguing that the episode encouraged children to pick up and play with potentially dangerous spiders. Initially, the channel refused to pull the episode, saying at the time: 'The context of the way the spider is portrayed in the episode lessens any impact of scariness or danger; the spider does not look real, it has a smiley face and is shown in context of a show with other talking animals.' However, Nick Jr eventually relented and removed Mister Skinnylegs from its programme rotation. More Trending In Australia, children are taught from a young age about the dangers of spiders. Metro TV reporter Pierra Willix grew up in the country, and says: 'I remember being taught by my parents which spiders were harmless and which were dangerous. I was always told if you see a spider with a red back, that's bad!' She adds: 'I remember seeing charts and posters about which ones were deadly too.' And Australia's uncompromising approach to spider-related education appears to work. View More » According to Australian Museum, there have been no deaths from a confirmed spider bite in Australia since 1979, thanks to antivenoms for redback spiders and funnel web spiders being introduced in 1956 and 1980 respectively. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: The Doctor Who finale will 'shock and terrify' — here's what parents need to know MORE: GMB viewers say they've 'had enough' after latest Peppa Pig interview MORE: Former CBBC child star reveals she's been diagnosed with perimenopause at 36
