Trailer
Plot summary
Abraham Quintanilla, a Mexican-American musician in Texas, plays doo-wop with his group the Dinos but never finds success. Years later in Lake Jackson, he hears his daughter Selena sing and puts together a family band, Selena y Los Dinos, with Selena on lead vocals, her brother A.B. on bass and her sister Suzette on drums. The family moves to Corpus Christi and tours the road circuit, where Selena adds dancing and personality to her act and the band's following grows. In 1990 guitarist Chris Perez auditions, and Abraham hires him only after he agrees to cut his hair; Selena and Chris fall in love.
Cast
- Pete Astudilloas Himself - Dinos 1990's
- Ricky Velaas Himself - Dinos 1990's
- Don Sheltonas Stage Dancer
- Richard Emanuelleas Concert Reporter (as Richard Emanuele)
Show all 20 cast
- Brian Fallteenas Club Owner
- Carmen Martínezas Irate Club Goer
- Elisabeth Gonzalezas Irate Club Goer
- Richard Iglesiasas Irate Club Goer
- Rueben Gonzálesas Joe Ojeda - Dinos 1990's (as Ruben Gonzalez)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Selena (1997)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Over 21,000 people auditioned for the title role, making it the second largest audition since the search for Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind.
- Mexican actress Salma Hayek was invited by Esparza to test for the role of Selena but turned it down, saying she felt it was "too early" to base a movie on Selena and that it would be too emotional.
- After the announcement that Lopez would portray Selena, news media and fans criticized Abraham for choosing a New York City native born to Puerto Rican parents to play a Texan of Mexican descent, and the Hispanic community began protesting for a recast.
- Lopez's salary for the film was reportedly $1M USD, making her the highest paid Hispanic actress up to that time, and the announcement was described as the "role of a lifetime".
- Seda could not replicate Perez's guitar riffs, so he tricked him into visiting the set for the audition scene and had the director shoot a close up of Perez's hands playing the riff for the film.
- On 1 January 2021 all 38 members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus signed a letter to the Library of Congress "formally nominating" Selena for the National Film Registry, a lobbying effort led by Representative Joaquin Castro, chairman of the caucus.
- Edward James Olmos, who took the role of Abraham in the film, was asked to gain 40 lbs for the part.
