Latest news with #SelenaQuintanilla
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Selena Y Los Dinos' Documentary Feature Acquired By Netflix
EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is going to bring 'Bidi Bidi Bom Bom' into the homes of Selena Quintanilla fans all over the world as the streamer acquires the rights to the documentary feature Selena y Los Dinos, directed by Isabel Castro. The film will be released globally on Netflix later this winter. The news arrives following a late February story from Deadline's Editor-in-Chief of Film, Mike Fleming, Jr., which revealed the streamer was working on a $6M to $7M deal to acquire the title. He said the deal 'puts a different face on the recently completed Sundance fest, because that is a high amount for a documentary.' 'Selena y Los Dinos became so popular that when Sundance put it on its portal for industry to watch, the film had to be taken down so quickly because fervent fans were getting hold of clips and posting them,' he added. More from Deadline Netflix Unveils Premiere Date, First-Look Photos For Romance 'My Oxford Year' Starring Sofia Carson & Corey Mylchreest Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far Lena Dunham's 'Too Much' Comedy Series Gets Netflix Premiere Date; First Look The project follows Quintanilla — the 'Queen of Tejano Music' — and her family band, Selena y Los Dinos, which rose from performing at quinceañeras to selling out stadium tours. The celebration of her life and legacy is chronicled through never-before-seen footage from the family's personal archive. The film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Archival Storytelling. The accolade was followed by Audience Awards at both SXSW and Miami Film Festivals. 'We are so excited to finally share that our documentary Selena y Los Dinos is coming to Netflix! Grateful to have a platform that helps bring Selena's story to fans around the world,' shared Quintanilla's sister, Suzette Quintanilla, who also executive produced the doc, in a statement to Deadline. Added director Castro, 'It is an absolute honor to partner with Netflix, who will bring Selena y Los Dinos to a worldwide audience. Selena's legacy is so meaningful and continues to inspire millions. As a filmmaker, I wanted to honor her extraordinary rise and enduring legacy, while also giving a window into her life behind the stage. Through personal archive and intimate interviews with her family, the film reveals new dimensions of her journey that have never been seen before. I am deeply grateful to her family for their trust and support throughout this journey, and I can't wait for a global audience to experience the magic, heart, and community that Selena gave to all of us.' At 23 years old, Selena Quintanilla's life was cut short in 1995, and her death deeply shook the Latino community. Her musical legacy remains extremely popular today. In addition to Suzette Quintanilla, their brother AB Quintanilla III, and Michele Anthony, executive produced Selena y Los Dinos. Polygram Entertainment, Amsi Entertainment, and Motto Pictures produced the title. Producers include Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, and Simran Singh. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About The 'Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping' Movie So Far TV Show Book Adaptations Arriving In 2025 So Far Book-To-Movie Adaptations Coming Out In 2025
Los Angeles Times
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
This ‘nostalgic' DoorDash ad targeting Latino consumers misses the mark
On Tuesday, during halftime of the second leg semifinal UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Inter Milan, I was served an ad that brought me down from my soccer-induced euphoria. In it, we see three Latino families driving or riding past a restaurant. The parents are either young Gen Xers or millennials, while their kids very clearly belong to Gen Alpha. 'Can we stop for food?' the younglings ask. 'No, hay comida en la casa,' the parents respond. There's food at home. When they finally make it to their respective houses, the ad reveals, la comida en la casa turns out to be the very food they craved from the restaurants they passed by. Much to the children's pleasant surprise, it was delivered by a DoorDash driver. The commercial is by no means new. The food delivery app company launched this campaign specifically targeting Latino consumers last November. Nor is it the first time I've watched the spot. It airs a lot during soccer matches. Go figure. But every time it comes on my screen, my buttons are pushed. It claims an even bigger, rent-free space in my head with each subsequent airing. This week was the final straw. I got so mad, I had to write about it. According to AdWeek, the commercial is intended to evoke wistfulness from millennial and Gen Z Latinos. It's a smart business move — just look at how willing we are to buy concert tickets for legacy acts like Los Bukis or RBD. Heck, Selena Quintanilla has been dead for 30 years but her family's ability to use her name to sell us everything from makeup to Funko Pop figurines to a creepy, AI-assisted record remains undefeated. There's plenty of money to be made from the nostalgia economy. (In our defense, Latinos aren't the only ones susceptible to this phenomenon. Here's looking at you, When We Were Young festival attendees, or anyone else drawing their fashion inspiration from Y2K — which, lol.) 'No, hay comida en la casa' certainly checks that box. For many children of immigrants, these words ring familiar because it was our working-class parents' go-to response whenever our bratty and spoiled selves asked if we could dine out, not knowing nor caring that doing so cost money. To them, this was an unnecessary and frivolous expense because there's perfectly fine food at home! The phrase reached peak ubiquity on the internet in the 2010s thanks to media companies and meme social media accounts focusing on English-speaking Latino audiences. I should know: I used to work for one of them and saw firsthand how well it played, so much so that we commissioned a comic strip on it for De Los. Over the last decade and a half, 'hay comida en la casa' has become such a totem for Latinidad expressed online that it should have its own entry on the meme encyclopedia site Know Your Meme (it doesn't). If you do a search of the phrase on Etsy, you'll get hundreds of products bearing the words — from aprons to T-shirts to tote bags to artwork for your kitchen. But DoorDash's usage of 'hay comida en la casa' isn't it. This campaign is completely antithetical to the phrase's original intent. The nostalgia of the saying lies in the home-cooked meals our cash-strapped parents would make for us, not on the restaurant food we didn't get to eat. It's what makes us yearn for a rosy version of the past that might not have actually existed. There's nothing sentimental about paying for the convenience of having food delivered by someone who's probably working this gig just to make ends meet (please tip your delivery drivers well!). This ad doesn't put me in touch with my ethnic and cultural identity. It doesn't make me feel seen. If anything, it makes me feel like a mark, like someone who can be separated from their dollars through tokenistic fan service. It's as if these corporations saw all those stories about the collective purchasing power of Latinos, and arrived at the conclusion that the best way to get a piece of our pie was by going after the lowest common denominator. But maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps I and the handful of YouTube commenters irked by this commercial are in the minority. It could very well be that this ad is hitting all of its target metrics and the company has improved its profit margins because of it. I might just be nothing more than an aging millennial slipping dangerously close to 'Old Man Yells at Cloud' territory. And if that's the case, perhaps the food delivery app company should co-opt another popular Latino internet meme for their next marketing push. I've even done them the favor and come up with their next tagline — 'DoorDash: delivery that's faster than a flyin' chancla!' I bet people would love that. On Thursday, the College of Cardinals selected Robert Prevost, 69, to be the next leader of the Catholic Church. The Chicago-born priest, who took on the name Pope Leo XIV because of his commitment to the poor and the working class, is the first pontiff from the United States and only the second from the Americas— his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died on April 21, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Pope Leo XIV, a member of the Order of St. Augustine, has deep ties to Peru. He spent two decades doing missionary work in the country and became a naturalized citizen in 2015 before his appointment as bishop of Chiclayo, one of Peru's largest cities. 'Greetings ... to all of you, and in particular, to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, shared their faith,' Pope Leo XIV said in Spanish during his inaugural address from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. And for those wondering whether Pope Leo XIV is a Cubs or White Sox fan, his brother, John Prevost, confirmed that the new pontiff is a proud South Sider. 'Whoever said Cubs on the radio got it wrong. It's Sox,' he told NBC Chicago. Congratulations to my colleague Gustavo Arellano, who was named a 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist in the commentary category. According to the judging panel, Gustavo was recognized 'for vivid columns reported from across the Southwest that shattered stereotypes and probed complex shifts in politics in an election year when Latinos were pivotal voters.' Regular readers of this newsletter are no doubt familiar with his work, which is featured in this space regularly. But what you might not know about Gustavo is that he's also generous with his time, someone who's willing to mentor the next generation of Latino journalists. He has volunteered to edit several De Los stories, offering his wealth of knowledge to interns and freelance writers alike. Felicidades, Gustavo! This is you now. And a special shout-out to friend of the newsletter Marcela García, who was part of the Boston Globe team that was named a finalist for Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing. Música Mexicana had quite the evening on Monday as two of the genre's biggest stars, Fuerza Regida and Ivan Cornejo, made musical appearances on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' and 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' respectively. That both acts were booked for Cinco de Mayo was a coincidence, I'm sure. The San Bernardino-based quintet performed 'Peliculeando,' a track off of '111Xpantia,' their 9th studio album released last week. You can watch it here. (Also, Jimmy Kimmel, if you're reading this, the band's name is not pronounced 'Fuerza Reh-gee-da.' All you have to do is listen to any of their tracks for a phonetic breakdown of how to properly say it.) For his part, Cornejo, a Riverside native, proved why he's the reigning sad boi prince of música Mexicana with his performance of 'Me Prometí,' a single that dropped last Friday. You can watch his 'Tonight Show' appearance here. Chicano Movement collection of Raul Ruiz acquired by the Library of Congress The Library of Congress was gifted a collection of Raul Ruiz's photos, periodicals and original prints that document the 1960s Chicano Movement of Los Angeles. Ruiz, who died in 2019, was a co-editor of La Raza, a pioneering Chicano newspaper that documented Mexican American life across the country from 1967 until it folded in 1977. Karol G sheds her armor in new Netflix doc 'Tomorrow Was Beautiful' 'Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful,' which premiered Thursday on Netflix, is a behind-the-scenes look into the making of her 'Mañana Será Bonito' tour: the highest-grossing and most attended tour by a Latina artist in history. Woven into the storyline are the many hurdles the Colombian superstar faced as a woman coming up in the male-dominated urban genre known as reggaeton. Bad Bunny announces world tour following sold-out residency in Puerto Rico Ahead of his appearance at this year's Met Gala, Bad Bunny announced the dates for his upcoming 'Debí Tirar Más Fotos' world tour. If you live in this country and want to see el conejo malo in concert, you better get your passport ready because there are no stops in the continental U.S. Latinx celebrities looked mighty dandy at the 2025 Met Gala 2025 Met Gala co-chair Colman Domingo led the way for Latinx celebrities to shine at the annual arts fundraiser in N.Y.C. Notable celebs include Jenna Ortega, Bad Bunny and designer Willy Chavarria. Mexican Armenian comedian Jack Jr. finds a path to success roasting both his cultures Glendale-born comedian Jack Jr. will bring 16 years of his funniest material to the Alex Theatre for a hometown special taping May 17. Trump administration offers unauthorized immigrants $1,000 to leave the country Any immigrant who uses the CBP Home App to inform the government that they plan to return home, Homeland Security says, will receive a $1,000 payment after their confirmed return. Are ICE agent checks on migrant children to protect them or deport them? Homeland Security officials have said welfare checks aim to ensure that unaccompanied children 'are safe and not being exploited, abused, and sex trafficked.' But immigrant advocates say some visits have led to children being forced to leave the country with their deported parents or being removed from their sponsors and placed in federal custody. Grandmother in U.S. without documentation faces deportation after wrong turn in San Diego Ana Camero, a 64-year-old grandmother in the U.S. without documentation, is facing deportation after she mistakenly took the wrong exit on her way home from work. Her family says she's currently being held at Otay Mesa Detention Center more than a month after she made the unexpected detour and ended up at the entrance to a U.S. Marines facility in San Diego. Marcello Hernández Is Comedy's Lovable Chaos Agent [ Rolling Stone] Deputy music editor Julyssa Lopez spent some time with Marcello Hernández, the breakout 'Saturday Night Live' star who has leaned heavily into his Latinidad in his sketches. Hernández will be releasing his first special on Netflix later this year. The most exciting two minutes in sports is a show of 'Latino excellence' [NPR] On Saturday, Venezuelan jockey Junior Alvarado rode Sovereignty into victory at the 151st edition of the Kentucky Derby. As NPR journalist Ximena Bustillo reports, Alvarado was not the only Latino jockey at the famous horse race. Michelada Fest canceled amid concerns over artist visas, 'political climate' [Chicago Sun-Times] Organizers of Chicago's Michelada Fest, a two-day event that highlights music, art, culture and food held at a lakeside beach, have canceled this year's festival because of 'rapidly changing political climate.' Trump administration invokes state secrets privilege in Kilmar Ábrego García case [Associated Press] Kilmar Abrego Garcia is among the foreign nationals transported to CECOT, the infamous prison in his native El Salvador. Immigration officials acknowledged that his removal was a mistake. A federal judge ruled that Abrego Garcia had to be returned to the U.S., but the Trump administration has doubled down in its refusal to do so.
New York Times
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Selena: A Visual Dictionary
It's difficult to fathom how a 23-year-old could wield so much influence on popular culture. And yet Selena Quintanilla, who was killed 30 years ago this week, did just that. Her fans love her just as fiercely and as loudly today as they did in the 1990s, and it's not difficult to understand why. She was beautiful, charming and immensely talented — her singing sounded just as good live, if not better than on her studio recordings — but she was also deeply relatable. She was Mexican American and proud of her Tejano heritage, but she did not learn Spanish until she was older and made no secret that it was imperfect. Still, Selena managed to make it look effortless. The singer died on the cusp of even bigger success, working on her fifth studio album, intended to be her English-language crossover. While it's hard not to think what she would have accomplished had she lived, Selena left behind a very stylish legacy. From her signature red lips and chunky hoops to her instantly recognizable purple jumpsuit, Selena is undoubtedly a superstar, for her time and for ours. Here's a look at the visual signifiers that made Selena into the cultural figure she is today. The Bigger, the Better I could never relate to the girls in my elementary school class who yearned to have their ears pierced. I'd had mine pierced since I was 7 months old, and by age 2, I already owned my first pair of gold hoops — they were mini, but now I marvel that my tiny toddler lobes once supported them. My household was only half Latino, but in the 1990s, the image of Selena loomed large, and it would have been impossible as I grew older not to have at least an oblique awareness of how crucial hoop earrings were to her signature look. It's hard to separate them out from the other essential elements of her style: How can you have hoops but not red lipstick? How can you have red lipstick without the counterbalance of dark brows and wispy bangs? The hoops could be gold or silver, thin or thick, but they were always oversize, and they were often her only accessory. She wore them with her hair in loose waves or pulled back in a bun, with bluejeans or with one of her bedazzled bustiers. They grounded her, as jewelry tends to do, but also reminded you of her glamour and sexuality. When she appeared on the cover of 'Amor Prohibido,' her fourth studio album, released in 1994, the hoops she paired with a ruffled white top and heavy black leather jacket created an indelible image. With its mix of femininity and toughness, it spoke to young girls like me, who aspired not just to have bigger and bigger hoops as they grew older, but also to be as self-possessed as Selena looked wearing them. — Marie Solis Glamorous Yet Approachable Selena showcased a range of distinct hairstyles throughout her career, but one element that remained largely consistent was her signature long black wavy hair, often paired with styled bangs. Onstage, she frequently leaned into a rocker-inspired aesthetic, wearing her hair down with voluminous bangs. This became one of her go-to concert looks, most memorably seen during her final performance, at the Houston Astrodome. She sometimes wore her hair in loose curls styled in a half ponytail, her bangs pulled back. Her naturally curly hair would become part of her performances, swaying and flowing as she danced and spun. For more elegant moments, Selena favored towering updos, often featuring a delicate strand of curled bangs on her forehead. This iconic look is immortalized in her 'No Me Queda Más' music video. At times, she opted for a sleeker, simpler style, pulling her hair back into a slicked bun. When she won her Grammy in 1994, Selena wore her hair in a messy, teased and curled updo: the picture of glamorous yet approachable charm. — Frank Rojas A Red for Every Occasion In a time when beauty of a more diminutive sort was in — meager little pencil-line arches for eyebrows, slender hips, minuscule waists — Selena's lips, supple and coated in red, were not just part of her fiercely proud Mexican American image, they became her signature look. On full display were lipsticks in cherry red, brown-hued brick and soft rose. Sometimes glossy, sometimes matte, they were always pouty and rimmed with a liner a few shades darker, closer to that of a glass of merlot (and still imitated today). But apparently, she did not tend toward transfer-proof varieties. Selena was known for leaving smears of lipstick on her microphone, from holding it so close to her mouth, and the last one she used became known as 'Selena's last kiss.' It's on display, still caked in burgundy, at the Selena Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas. Selena's image was so synonymous with a bold lip that in 2015, her fans started an online petition urging MAC Cosmetics to create a commemorative makeup line. More than 37,000 signatures and one social media campaign later (#SelenaQuintanillaForMAC), the company heeded the call. The collection, in violet packaging — a homage to the purple spandex set Selena wore for her Astrodome concert — sold out in hours. — Rachel Sherman Destined to Be a Showstopper It was the most famous purple outfit in pop culture since 'Purple Rain.' Selena may have made her name as a singer, but she had a sideline in fashion design — she had her own stores and often sketched her own clothes — and she loved a jumpsuit. So when she made one in her favorite color for her 1995 concert at the Houston Astrodome in front of a record-setting 61,000 fans, with bell-bottoms, a bellybutton-baring cross-body top and a bolero, the look was destined to be a showstopper. What the artist could not have known was that it would also become a symbol. She was fatally shot a month after she took the Astrodome stage, and as a result, her jumpsuit, which seemed to embody the joyful, barrier-breaking verve that characterized her music, has served as her epigraph. She was buried in a similar purple dress with an almost identical silhouette, and when a limited-edition Selena doll was created in 1996, it, too, was wearing the purple jumpsuit. (The dolls can be found on eBay going for hundreds of dollars.) The original jumpsuit is preserved for all to see in the Selena Museum, and a replica worn by Jennifer Lopez in the 1997 Selena biopic went on display in the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Hollywood, Calif., in 2022. At this point, the jumpsuit has become so synonymous with Selena's memory that whenever someone decides to pay homage to the artist, whether for an anniversary or a costume party, whether Kim Kardashian or Demi Lovato, it's almost always the purple jumpsuit they choose. — Vanessa Friedman 'A Bra, With Little Sprinkly Things on It' Whether tasseled, bejeweled or otherwise, bustiers figured into some of Selena's most celebrated looks. They were not just costumes — they embodied her captivating stage presence, sensuality and creativity. She tricked out most of them herself, inspiring fans to take a D.I.Y. approach when recreating her style. Selena could leave things to the last minute: According to her sister, Suzette, she once sewed pearls onto a white bustier right before a show. These form-fitting garments came in a range of sequins and colors, from a ruby-red-and-silver version with intersecting straps to a black top adorned with metallic, coin-like silver spurs. But perhaps her most famous variation was a black lingerie-inspired bustier with iridescent rhinestones that covered one cup entirely while the other had an intricate design that was missing some beading. The asymmetry, the story goes, was a result of Selena's running out of rhinestones — an accidental detail that only elevated the look's place in history. Today, the bustier is central to her legend, but as a garment, there admittedly was not much to it. As Edward James Olmos, playing her father, noted in the 1997 movie: 'It's a bra, with little sprinkly things on it.' — Frank Rojas Honoring Her Tejano Roots A large silver rhinestone buckle or a gold one with layered hanging chains — Selena's belt buckles were more about style than functional, but they perfectly complemented her signature bustiers. She typically wore them with tightfitting high-waisted pants and either stilettos or — what else? — cowboy boots. The belt buckle offered a glimpse into Selena's Tejano heritage. Growing up in Corpus Christi, many of her performances across the Lone Star State took place at state fairs and rodeos. Long associated with cowboy culture, the belt buckle was traditionally worn by men as a symbol of power, opulence and an essential element of masculine fashion. For Selena, the accessory signified confidence and cultural pride — turning heads while paying homage to her roots. She often personalized her oversize buckles with rhinestones, sometimes with the help of her mother. These sparkling details were not just for show; they were extensions of her identity, blending regional tradition with glamour. Her most recognizable belt was simple: a black leather strap with iridescent sequins adorning the buckle. — Frank Rojas A Selena for Everyone If you took high school Spanish at any point in the past quarter century, there's a good chance you had a 'Selena' day or two. Pop in the VHS, turn off the lights and let 127 minutes of PG-rated cultural enrichment wash over you (potentially over the course of several classes, as your harried teacher's lesson plan demands). The movie, which was written and directed by Gregory Nava, was notable for its quick turnaround time. Released less than two years after the singer's death, it deified Selena with that particular strain of immortality that only a Hollywood portrayal can offer. So for many students who — for shame! — might not have been completely up on the Tejano music scene, Jennifer Lopez was not just playing Selena: She was Selena. While Ms. Lopez's 1997 interpretation of the young star might be the most indelible, it certainly was not the final word. The Mexican American actress Christian Serratos starred in Netflix's 18-episode 'Selena: The Series' in 2020, and Selena tribute acts continue to do brisk business in the Southwest. ('I've studied her so much over the years,' the Selena impersonator Honey Andrews told KSAT-TV in San Antonio. 'From every performance, I know every little breath, every little hand gesture.') But some of Selena's most enthusiastic imitators do not earn a dime for their recreations. After all, with so many instantly recognizable visual touchstones, the singer's look can be replicated with a reasonable degree of fidelity without breaking the bank — the Halloween-costume definition of an icon. With respect to Ms. Lopez's turn, Selena portrayals have long since been democratized. — Louis Lucero II
CBS News
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Colorado art show honors Selena 30 years after her death
Monday marks 30 years since singer and songwriter Selena Quintanilla was shot and killed in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her killer was denied parole last week . Fans, including a couple in Colorado, continue to remember the "Queen of Tejano" through her music and special events hosted by the Chicano Humanities & Art Council . First Friday will be celebrated on April 4 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the CHAC Gallery at 40 West. That's at 7060 W. 16th Ave. in Lakewood. Attendees can expect an art show, a Selena-inspired tattoo flash, a lookalike contest, and a performance by Aztec dancers. On April 5, you can check out a closing celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the same location that will also include a car show, a food truck, and a karaoke contest. The Selena Quintanilla Art Show and Community Celebration: Still Dreaming of You was founded 10 years ago by Rob and Tammy Yancey. "Selena has broken down a lot of cultural divides, and she's also brought together different generations. She's just as popular today as she was 30 years ago, so she's been kind of a unifier," said Rob Yancey. Selena was only 23 years old when she was shot by the president of her fan club outside of a hotel on March 31, 1995. The Grammy award winner has sold millions of albums around the world and is considered one of the top Latino artists of all time. Her life was quickly made into a 1997 movie starring Jennifer Lopez as the singer.
Los Angeles Times
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Remember This Banger: Selena's ‘Dreaming of You'
Before Selena Quintanilla was murdered on March 31, 1995, she was on the precipice of something big — the culmination of all her grinding and hustling in the Tejano music scene was about to send her into another stratosphere. The 23-year-old Grammy winner had already accomplished so much in her short life, becoming a beloved figure among those who wore Stetson hats and frequented rodeos. But just when the promise of more was on the horizon, Selena's light was snuffed out. In the 30 years since her death, Latinos (and beyond) have elevated the late singer to sainthood. Hers is a tragic story of a life cut too soon to realize her fullest potential. And no song in her catalog encapsulates that more than 'Dreaming of You.' Released on Aug. 14, 1995, 'Dreaming of You' was the posthumous lead single from the Corpus Christi-bred singer's fifth and final studio album of the same name. It was the first Spanish-language album to debut at no. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 331,000 copies in its first week, and would go on to become the best-selling Latin music album for the next 20 years. Selena's memory has far outlasted the number of years she was alive — and her legacy has become her best-selling product. The Quintanilla family has continuously capitalized on Selena's memory, making millions upon millions on her image, story and music. It doesn't always sit well with fans. But back in 1995, the album was a welcome opportunity to honor Selena's talent, grieve her loss and mourn what a long life could have given her and her fans. Given that her death happened in the midst of recording, songwriters, producers and her family had to finish the album without her, filling the void of not just an artist, but a loved one. In E News' oral history of the making of 'Dreaming of You,' Selena's husband Chris Perez recalls how difficult it was to continue work on the album so soon after her death. 'To be around the voice at that particular time was really painful,' he explained. 'To the point to where I just would ask to not even have that vocal going on, you know, just pop it in here and there so I knew where I was in the song. It wasn't fun.' The album was to be Selena's big anglophone crossover attempt, with 'Dreaming of You' leading the charge. Originally written by Franne Golde and Tom Snow for Minneapolis pop R&B group The Jets, 'Dreaming of You' is a sweet, longing ballad of a girl sitting in her room dreaming of the boy she loves. It reads and sounds like a starry-eyed teenager's diary entry: Late at night when all the world is sleeping / I stay up and think of you / And I wish on a star / that somewhere you are / thinking of me too… 'Dreaming of You' was Selena's highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 22 on the chart. The song had captured the very essence of Selena and her life to that point: a young girl who had fallen in love with a boy her parents didn't approve of, but compelled by her passion, decided to run away and marry him despite their dismay. The song also reads like an allegory for a young Mexican American woman who is caught between two cultures, struggling with the confining nature of being enough for both sides of her identity. Selena was a predominantly Spanish-language artist who modeled herself after divas like Donna Summer, Jody Watley and Paula Abdul, within a primarily Mexican genre. She wanted to be an American R&B-pop singer, but had been cordoned off from that path — a business decision made by her father when she was too young to fully possess her own voice. And it became the primary goal of her artistry to create a space that fit her fullest self, as she was and as she wanted to be. This is most evident on 'Dreaming of You.' On the sentimental banger, she taps into the same heart-wrenching, ranchera balladeering she performs on 'Tú Solo Tú' and 'No Me Queda Más' and transfers it to English-language pop. And to fully emphasize the crossover, she does an interlude in Spanish. It serves as a connective bridge between two periods of her career that would allow her fans to cross over with her. Although it's the ultimate story of what could have been, the truth is that Selena did accomplish the career she dreamed of. As she crossed over into the afterlife, she also crossed over into the American pop mainstream, just as she had hoped for in her time on Earth. And in sharing her music from generation to generation, fans continue to fulfill that dream.
