- January 24, 2021
A Series Dedicated to Selena Quintanilla-Perez
Introduction
We never thought we'd get this far, but we're here.
I first heard Selena Quintanilla-Perez through the radio when I was just a girl.
Too young to appreciate what I was listening to – Disney sing-alongs were more my thing – I dismissed her music.
Years later, as a teen, feeling all the feelings, I came back to her music and her story.
She helped me through so much, as she did for so many.
Seeing her story come alive through Selena, the Netflix Original Series, has been such a joy to watch.
Admittedly, it took me a while to finish as getting to the end of a tragic story is never easy for me, especially when I feel so connected with the artist.
As I watched the series, I couldn’t help but feel inspired and elated to celebrate the story of such an amazing woman. One who transcends time and whose story continues to inspire generations.
Personally, I’ve been inspired to learn more about her story and take on a series of projects. These include:
- Creating heart drop earrings inspired by a set she wore to an awards ceremony
- Paper heart earrings, somewhat modeled after those same earrings
- Creating a backdrop with paper flowers inspired by one of her iconic photos
I hope you enjoy it.
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CONTENTS
References
This link opens to a new web page with a copy of a list of resources used for this blog:
Selena Quintanilla – Perez: Continuing To Inspire The World – RESOURCES
*Please note that all the books in this slide, and links included throughout the blog marked with an asterisks (*) , direct you to affiliate links where I make a small commission if you place an order.
Apparently, I have an unpopular opinion, and I am unashamed of holding strong to said opinion.
I LOVE SELENA, THE NETFLIX SERIES.
I love the cast. I love the costumes. I love the writing. I love the music – which is all original music from Selena y Los Dinos.
I finished watching the series last week and promptly went to Google to find out when we’d get the next season because I had no idea that this would be a two-part series.
May 14th, 2021 is when part two will be released!
I’m so stocked! I feel so spoiled because we generally wait what seems like a lifetime before getting a second season – at least that’s how I used to feel about House Of Cards.
Not this time, and I’m so ready for it.
Things I’ve loved about Selena, The Netflix Series
The Cast
This is where I get controversial.
In my opinion, Christian Serrattos did a brilliant job at portraying Selena.
To me, Selena’s aura was part of what made her such a successful artist.
Her personality. Her zest for life. Her love for people and animals. All of these qualities were, to me, a major reason for why she connected so strongly with her fans.
Watching Selena come alive through Christian Serrattos performance filled my heart with so much joy.
She nailed Selena’s personality, as I’ve come to understand it, and because of that, I love her in this role. I couldn’t imagine anyone else playing her here.
In this interview with Suzette Quintanilla, she notes that she and her family loved Christian’s performance as well and that they were quite impressed with how well everyone was cast.
I agree!
They look so much alike and were able to portray the family authentically. All thanks to the videos the actors were able to reference on the internet – assets that the actors from Selena, the movie, didn’t have the privilege of studying.
The internet is a great resource – I know that but I never realized how it would help actors.
The Writing
Moises Zamora, the screenplay writer, and his team of writers gave us so many gems throughout the series.
His team includes:
- Claudia Forestieri
- Pamela Garcia Rooney
- Eddie Serrano
- Aaron Serna
- Jorge Ramirez-Martinez
- Jessica Lopez
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I love a good quote.
But most of the quotes that I share are mostly from books.
It’s rare for me to really stop and notice quotes from a show or a movie.
Probably because I have to be really attentive to the words, and I generally multitask while watching TV. Not while watching this show.
A few of my favorite quotes, and scenes, include – and I’m paraphrasing here because IMBD was of no help this time:
- Chris and Selena are getting to know one another and have found that they both love “More than words” by the band Extreme. Selena comments on how different Side A of a cassette tape is compared to Side B.
“I guess everyone has a Side B.”
“Nobody is just one thing.”
This is such a warm and intimate moment between them. And I thought it was perfect.
- Suzette shares her insecurities to Selena about her talent as a drummer, and about the direction the band is headed as they gain popularity and success.
"You know how AB and Ricky often fight about whether Ringo was a good drummer? Maybe he wasn’t the best drummer. But he was the perfect drummer for The Beatles, and there’s no Beatles without Ringo. There’s no Selena without Suzette. You’re the heart.”
“You’re the hair.”
This was the moment Christian Serratos truly won me over as Selena.
BTW, Noemi Gonzalez! Where did this woman come from? She’s so sassy and classy and perfect!
- The next is by AB. In this scene he approaches a reputable songwriter at an awards ceremony and with great passion he says:
“Everyone in that room was in the same place as me. Getting no, after no, after no. Including you.”
AB Quintanilla’s determination is amazing. After finishing I’ve really been drawn to learning more about AB.
The Costumes
I rarely take the time to look up the costume designer of a series but from the start of the series, I was fixated on how beautifully the story flowed alongside the progression of the fashion.
Adela Cortazar is the costume designer of the series.
In the article “How Selena: The Series Charts Selena Quintanilla’s Fashion Evolution” By Savannah Salazar, Adela Cortázar explains:
“The most difficult part [of dressing for past decades] will always be choosing fabrics, because when fashion evolves, so do the fabrics,” Cortázar explains. “For example, ’80s sequins are completely different from the sequins you find nowadays.”
I can’t begin to imagine what it would be like to be asked to take on the monumental task of creating costumes spanning multiple years as a way of helping a story along.
Adela’s work seemed seamless. Effortlessly graceful. But of course, that is far from true
Of Selena y Los Dinos iconic cow-print ensembles she notes:
“The cow print, I looked for all sorts of cow-print fabrics — pretty, ugly, expensive, cheap, high end, low quality. I even considered buying real cow leather, but nothing looked like what we needed,” she says. “But looking at the costumes more in detail and going through pictures and videos, I came to realize that it was simple: That was not a cow fabric; they were black sequin appliqués over a plain white fabric.”
See the original cow-print costume by Selena in this video where she performs with it!
The Music
Regardless of whether Christian Serratos can sing or not, no one can sing Selena’s songs like the Selena.
I am so grateful that the decision was made to keep all of the original songs and showcase the original recordings.
It adds an authenticity to the series, which would otherwise be missing.
As someone who came to her music long after she passed away, I have really come to love her older music. Had it not been included in this series, I wouldn’t have taken the time to listen to anything other than her greatest hits.
My one gripe about Selena, The Netflix Series
The Chris Perez Effect
The introduction of Chris to the series was a bit…cinematic? Dreamy? Cheesy?
Was it intentional? Maybe.
As I recall, when he’s introduced, he walks up to Selena’s house, and the wind is blowing through his hair, and he gives Selena his boyish charming smile.
It was utterly breathtaking and overdone.
It took me out of the story because up until this moment; there weren’t cheesy moments.
Before this scene, the tone of the series is heartwarming and more on the serious side.
The Chris Effect – windblown hair, bad boy dreaminess vibe – occasionally continues, especially when Selena is in the scene.
It gave me the school-girl giggles, which, if I’m honest, I totally loved, but it felt off.
My criticism stems more from how out of place these scenes seem in contrast to the rest of the series.
Like most Selena fans, I love her colorful, bold style.
When I ran into this photo of Selena, I couldn’t help but stop and imagine a few original design ideas. Most of them involved creating paper hearts, but working with paper takes time, and given that I was determined to showcase an original piece for this video, I ended up pulling out some buttons I’d purchased years ago.
These earrings are really special to me, not only because they’re inspired by a piece worn by Selena, but because they turned out better than I’d ever expected.
Working with paper beads has been a challenge I’ve gladly accepted over the last few months on my YouTube Channel. This mostly stems from my love for a piece I have within my collection. I treasure it because it is a part of a story that has meant the world to me and because it was gifted to me by someone really special.
I love the delicacy of paper jewelry. I love that each piece is absolutely unique, given that no two beads are exactly and could never be the same.
However, working with paper beads has proven to be quite unpredictable; for the same reasons I adore the aesthetic of paper jewelry – each piece is unique.
While I made it work for a different video, I worked with heart buttons as a focal point for this project for this video.
I surrounded the buttons with black Swarovski Crystal bicones, 11 o silver-lined seed beads and topped them off with stainless steel hardware.
The result was a perfect amalgamation of inspiration and originality.
What do you think?
All I need to do is try and do the best that I can do.
The image of Selena with a flower backdrop has always inspired me.
It’s more product of Selena in the foreground than the flowers in the background that I love, but none-the-less I really wanted to give my hand at creating a flower backdrop of my own.
No. My flower backdrop isn’t remotely close to what I’d imagined or to the original, but I’m happy to have given this project a try.
For this project, I used a kit by Sterling Innovations – Beautiful Paper Flowers: Elegant – And Easy To Make – Blooms.
The kit includes everything needed to do the project:
- 24 sheets of crepe paper in different colors
- Floral wire
- Floral tape
- 24 stamens
- Beautiful Paper Flowers, a 64-page project book
I found the book’s step-by-step instructions very helpful and easy to follow, and completely worth the price.
I purchased this kit in 2016 for under $10.
Too busy to take the time to sit down to work through the kit before now, it’s just sat within my collection of crafting supplies until now.
Too enamored with the idea of creating paper flowers, I haven’t had the heart to throw it out before giving it a try.
Pros:
- EVERYTHING you need is included.
- The book is wonderfully illustrated and written.
Con:
- The floral tape was challenging to work with.
Once I finished with this project, I felt as if my fingers were going to get blisters.
- There’s a lot of wasted space in the box.
If you’re interested in purchasing your own kit, you may be able to find it in the following outlets:
This is only my first go at both making paper flowers and creating a flower backdrop.
The fact that my paper flowers don’t look like they’re something from an episode of Nailed It!, is a testament to how well-crafted the book is in this kit.
With that said, if you do take the time to browse around for a kit of your own, you’ll find that its price varies quite a lot.
If you spend more than $20 USD, I honestly think you’re paying too much because you can find other kits on the market that are readily accessible, comparable, and fairly priced.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this blog.
It was my intention to create something that would inspire others to learn more about Selena if they haven’t already.
And if you’re already a fan, I hope we can connect and gush collectively over our love for Selena.
You can reach me via email: lovealways@kaleidoscopesandpolkadots.com or via a direct message on Facebook or Instagram.
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About The Author
Jessica Gibson
Leading Lady of Kaleidoscopes & Polka Dots.
If you have any questions about this article, or anything at all, please reach out to me at lovealways@kaleidoscopesandpolkadots.com