Tejano music legend and TV host Johnny Canales passed away on June 12, 2024, he was 67. Canales will be remembered for a giving soul who was there to illuminate and give a hand up to new Tejano talent on his show, the Corpus Christi-based TV show The Johnny Canales Show, which ran from 1983 to the mid 1990’s.

He would introduce young and well known music talents with his signature phrase “You Got It, Take it Away”.  It was a show that captivated audiences near and far introducing talents like a teenage Selena who appeared on his show a couple of times before her career took off.  Canales was known at that time as the “Mexican American Dick Clark”.

Author, Filmmaker, & Activist David Damian Figueroa, was a friend of Canales throughout the years.  Figueroa, who was a publicist back in the day, would bring his clients to Canales show. In honor of Canales’ legacy Figueroa said:

“Johnny Canales was a true American hero who championed the uniquely American music genre of Tejano. His influence extended far beyond borders, as his show was broadcast in 23 countries, showcasing the vibrant sounds of Tejano music to a global audience. 

Canales’s ability to seamlessly blend Spanglish, with his tagline delivered in English to an audience that predominantly spoke Spanish, further solidifies his legendary status. His story serves as a testament to the power of music to transcend language barriers and unite people from diverse backgrounds. 

He was instrumental in inspiring other Corpus Christi hometown talents, like Selena, Freddy Fender, Pepe Serna, and Eva Longoria, who all went on to become icons in their own right.  As for me, Johnny was my good friend, compadre, and colleague.  He taught me a lot about the entertainment business and civil rights and how to merge both to help our community.  Johnny Canales’ legacy as a pioneer in promoting.”

David Damian Figueroa

There is a documentary currently in post production entitled Take It Away: The Rise and Fall of Tejano Hollywood that will recount Canales’ significant contribution to Tejano music.The documentary will shed light on Canales’ significant contributions to the Tejano music scene and his enduring legacy.

Canales’ legacy will live on in our hearts, in the talent he showcased, and now in this upcoming documentary

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By Roberto Leal

In his book, “The Magic Lantern: An Autobiography,” legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman described the experience of sitting in a dark theater and watching the images on a huge screen fly by at 24 frames per second as the closest thing we have created replicating the dream state. Cinema, in all its various forms, is the only art form that combines theater, literature, painting, dance, photography, sculpture and music all on one celluloid canvas. From the beginning, movies have been a source of inspiration, propaganda, social awareness, education and much, much entertainment.

The pandemic, the emergence of streaming platforms, giant screen TVs and in-home theaters have modified Bergman’s equations to include sitting in your recliner in the comfort of your living room in PJs in front of your 82” Samsung flat-screen TV. But the power of flickering images on a screen that tap into our collective unconscious where the stories of our shared myths and archetypes reside still holds true.

A FORT KNOX FOR FILMS

The National Film Registry was created in 1988 as a place to preserve, honor and celebrate the cultural, artistic, and social contributions of cinema. Each year 25 films are nominated for the registry. The films can be feature length, short films, documentaries, animated films and even home movies are eligible to be put on the list of nominees.

For years Latinos in all sectors of society, like Captain Renault in Casablanca , were shocked, shocked to find so few Latino films making the final cut for the Registry. Slowly but surely more Latino films are being recognized for their artistic and social significance and finding their just place on the National Film Registry. Here are the three Latino films added to that prestigious list in 2021. Drum roll, please…

CHICANA, (1979), Director: Sylvia Morales

This 30-minute documentary was created by Morales when she was a film student at UCLA. Chicana chronicles the story of Mexican women from pre-Columbian times to the present. It’s a story of the Chicana’s struggles, pain, strength, endurance, contributions and ultimate triumph. Linda Gross of Los Angeles Times called Chicana “a well-researched and spirited documentary made with much love.”

SELENA, (1997), Director: Gregory Nava

This loving music biopic tribute about the tragically short career of the Queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla, was also the breakthrough role for Latina superstar Jennifer Lopez. Mexican American director, Gregory Nava’s film El Norte is also on the registry; Selena is his second film to be added to the list. It won’t be his last. This film is credited with launching Lopez’s career but also the careers of half dozen other Latino actors including Jon Seda (La Brea, Chicago PD), Constance Marie (With Love, George Lopez) and Jacob Vargas (Mr. Iglesias)

REQUIEM 29, (1970), Director: David Garcia

In 1970 the Los Angeles Mexican-American/Chicano community, civic and academia leaders staged the Chicano Moratorium Movement, a massive protest against the Vietnam War. The police response to the protest was violent and deadly, resulting in the murder of noted Mexican writer for the Los Angeles Times, Ruben Salazar by the hands of agents from the Los Angeles County Sheriff. This newsreel-like documentary by David Garcia brings those historical events into stark, grainy, black and white reality.

NUMBERS DON’T LIE

Prior to the three new films being added to the National Film Registry, there were 18 Latino themed films or films starring a Latina/o in the lead listed on the Registry. They include:

1. Ben-Hur (Silent), 1925, Director: Fred Nobb

2. Drácula (Spanish), (1931). Director: Alfredo B. Cervana

3. The Revenge of Pancho Villa, 1932, Director: Edmundo Padilla

4. Gilda, 1946, Director: Charles Vidor

5. High Noon, 1952, Director: Fred Zinneman

6. Salt of the Earth, 1954, Director: Herbert J. Biberman

7. West Side Story, 1961, Director: Jerome Robbins

8. Night of the Living Dead, (1968), Director: George Romero

9 Please, Don’t Bury Me Alive, (1976, Director: Efrain Gutierrez

10. Chulas Fronteras, 1976, Director: Les Blank

11. Zoot Suit, 1981, Director: Luis Valdez

12. El Norte, 1983, Director: Gregory Nava

13. Stand and Deliver, 1988, Director: Ramón Menéndez

14.  El Mariachi, 1992, Director: Robert Rodriguez

15. The Devil Never Sleeps, 1994, Director: Lourdes Portillo

16. The Pearl, 2001, Director: Alfredo Zacarías

17. Real Women Have Curves, 2002, Director: Patricia Cardoso

18. Fuentes Family Home Movies, 2017, Collection/Caroline Frick

Mathematically speaking the current National Film Registry list of Latino films is desperately lacking Latino representation. There are 825 films on the National Film Registry. With the addition of this year’s three new films, Latino films now total 21. Latinos make up 17 percent of the US population; seventeen percent of 825 is 140.25. With only 21 films reflecting Latino stories, there is a long way to go to reach parity.

In January of last year, the US Congressional Hispanic Caucus has been urging the Registry to consider more Latino films on the annual list of 25 nominations and nominated Selena to one of the films inducted to the National Film Registry.

In December of 2022 there will be a new group of films added to the Registry list. Here are three worthy candidates for the Registry’s consideration in 2022:

Bless Me Ultima, 2012, Director: Carl Franklin

This beautiful film adaptation of Rodolfo Anaya’s classic novel about set in New Mexico during WWII and the relationship between a young man and an elderly medicine woman who helps him contend with the battle between good and evil that rages in his village. Bless Me Ultima which is required reading in any Chicano Literature class should be required viewing by  the selection committee of the National Film Registry

Under the Same Moon, 2007, Director: Patricia Riggen

A young Mexican immigrant mother working in LA keeps in touch with her son back in Mexico. The lonely boy embarks on a dangerous, often funny and eventful journey from Mexico to LA to be with his mother. The film was one of the first bilingual stories, a U.S./Mexico coproduction. It starred Kate Del Castillo and Eugenio Derbez. With a budget of $1.7 million, it received international distribution and to date has made $23,313,049 worldwide.

The Three Burials of Melquiades, 2006, Director: Tommy Lee Jones

A Mexican ranch hand working near the Tex-Mex frontera is killed by a reckless Border Patrol agent. The ranch hand’s sympathetic American boss and friend fights to get justice for the Mexican and for a proper resting place for his burial. It stars Julio Cesar Cedillo as Melquiades and Melissa Leo and Tommy Lee Jones, who also directed.

THE 17 PERCENT SOLUTION

In order for the National Film Registry’s film selections to proportionately reflect the U.S. Latino population’s numbers, 119 Latino films need to be added. It’s a long trek, but with the increasingly growing number of films being produced, now is the time to begin the search for this year’s selection.

Featured Photos: ‘Chicana,’ ‘Selena’ and ‘Requiem 29’ (Photo: Courtesy)

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Movie-making dreams took San Antonio-born Danny Ramos to Hollywood. After working in popular television series and films for many years, the Texan actor, producer and screenwriter returned to his hometown to make his feature film directorial debut. That movie, The Margarita Man, is a coming-of-age comedy starring Anthony Guajardo, Jesse Borrego and Danny Trejo, is now streaming on Amazon Prime and other streamers.

The story is inspired by Ramos’s brother, Miguel, who had a side hustle as the guy who rented margarita machines for parties and events in the late 1990s. “Many times, after he delivered the machine and mix, the guests would invite him to stay for the party! He always had funny stories and strange experiences,” recalls the filmmaker. Ramos added that he once jokingly promised his brother that one day he would make a movie about him. It took him quite a few years due to his busy Hollywood career but that jest ultimately and seriously turned into a film.

The script was written by Aaron Lee Lopez and David Reyes, with Ramos supplying the story. Set on a college campus, the story is about a young man who goes to college where his love for a good party gets him cut off financially from his family, forcing him to sell frozen margaritas at parties in order to pay for his schooling. 

BIG NAMES & UP-AND-COMERS
With a long career in the World’s Movie Mecca, Ramos secured top Latino talent for his film.  

Award-winning actor Trejo (Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn) plays the college president. Ramos’s fellow Texan stars Anthony Guajardo (The Walking Dead) and Jesse Borrego (Fame, Con-Air) play brothers Jimmy and Miguel Martinez. The cast also features the seasoned and prolific Pepe Serna, who has appeared in more than 100 films that include Scarface, Silverado and American Me, starring Al Pacino, Kevin Costner and Edward James Olmos, respectively. Also appearing in the film are Valeria Jauregui (Colossal Youth), Arlene Cavazos (It Came Upon a Midnight Clear) and Shira Lazar (Celeste & Jesse Forever).

Ramos had worked with Borrego on another project and Serna joined as both an actor and one of the film’s producers. Coming full circle, Ramos returned to his alma mater, San Antonio College, to film The Margarita Man. “Stepping back on campus, this time with a camera crew, that was a proud moment, one I won’t forget,” he said with pride in his voice.

The acting and production bug bit him in his teen years when he also discovered he could wear many creative hats. 

In high school, he joined the school’s Drama Club with the goal of becoming an actor. “All the students were actors on stage and at the same time had to work on the production crew,” he recalls. “I would jump from saying my lines on stage to backstage to operate the lighting board. It was crazy but a lot of fun and you learned a lot quickly.” He became fascinated with the behind-the-scenes production. 

Ramos was also a big fan of Entertainment Tonight, the entertainment news TV program. “Sometimes they would visit a movie set and show what was happening behind the camera,” recalls of the popular series. “I would see the lights and camera crew, and now and then, a guy with a clapboard shouting, ‘Quiet on the set! We’re rolling!’ And I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”

A FILMMAKER IS BORN
Serious about a career in Hollywood, Ramos enrolled at San Antonio College and majored in radio, television and film. When Dick Clark Productions came to Texas for ABC Celebrity All-Stars at SeaWorld, Danny joined the production as an intern and was soon hired on in the all-important Cue Card Department. That was his first professional job as a freelance production crew member. Soon after that, Lifetime Network set up shop in San Antonio for the show Attitudes, a soap opera talk show and Ramos then joined the Directors Guild of America as a 2nd assistant director/unit production manager.

When word got out that the Selena movie, starring Jennifer Lopez and Edward James Olmos, was going to be filmed in San Antonio, Ramos mailed his resume to the production office. Weeks later, he got a call from the film’s producer, Moctezuma Esparza. “I had just finished working on a film called The Big Green as a key set production assistant and as a second AD on (the) second unit, and Mr. Esparza was looking for local hires and Latinos with production experience,” says Ramos. “I had some great experience, but had not been a second-second assistant director, which is what they needed at the time.” 

FILM ADMINISTRATIVE WORK
The San Antonio native got the Selena job, handling all the paperwork associated with actors on the set–schedules, production reports, accounting and time cards, often feeling lost in a whirlwind of paperwork. But he preserved and survived. “I just got through it,” he says. “It’s the kind of job where the job description just happens to you.”

Ramos’s advice to newbies coming onto a production, “Take it all in. Ask questions. Learn as quickly as you can and hold on! Then take what you’ve learned from that experience and build on it for the next gig.”

That’s exactly what the filmmaker did, building a solid filmmaking foundation one job at a time and knowing almost every production position on a film set. All that proved helpful when directing The Margarita Man. 

Celebrating his movie’s release, Ramos is promoting the “Margarita Man Weekend” September 15 through 19, offering audiences the opportunity to send in their favorite margarita recipe to win a bottle of premium tequila–the prime ingredient in any margarita. Just send your favorite margarita recipe to MargaritaManMovie@yahoo.com

The Margarita Man is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, TubiTV and IMDB-TV. The DVD is available to purchase on Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy as well as Turner Classic Movies’ website, www.shop.TCM.com.

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Kahlo has inspired Grace since childhood. She first learned about her through the Frida Kahlo-adorned matchboxes and coasters her grandmother would bring over from Mexico City. As she grew older and started to learn more about Kahlo’s life, Grace became enthralled by the ways in which the Mexican painter redefined beauty standards and broke down the boundaries places on gender, race and sexuality.

“In contrast to classmates and casting directors who criticized me for not being ‘white enough,’ Frida made me feel beautiful for my bushy eyebrows and black hair,” Grace said. “When I listen to these songs, I hear my transformation from an angsty teen to a semi-independent young adult. It’s such a special project to me, and I knew that it had to be my artist introduction to the world.”

While the FRIDA EP is inspired by a feminist icon, it’s also an exploration of the ways in which Kahlo’s legacy has helped shape Grace into the woman and artist she is today.

Weaving Spanish and English lyrics throughout the EP as well as a blend of traditional Latin sounds and modern pop melodies, Grace has created an ode to her bicultural roots. Her narrative-driven lyricism with each song delivering dual stories that tie back to both Kahlo and Grace’s lives. Aventura is about adventure and affairs, something that Grace has always admired in Kahlo’s rich life. Girl Fight is a queer, feminist anthem that was inspired by Grace’s favorite Kahlo story: after her husband, Diego Rivera cheated on her, she had an affair with the same woman. Aztlan is about the mythical homeland of the Aztec people and pays homage to both Grace and Kahlo’s ancestors. Lastly, Relámpago is all about coping with pain — the physical pain Kahlo suffered due to her near-fatal bus accident and the emotional trauma Grace dealt with after being sexually assaulted.

Grace launched her music project last year with a string of singles. Her mixed musical influences are reflective of a globalized upbringing— she learned how to love from Selena, make witty comebacks from Shania Twain and turn pain into art from Lauryn Hill. In addition to her budding music career, Grace has also performed on Broadway and Lincoln Center stages, been featured at Tribeca Film Festival and acted in a multitude of films and TV shows.

The 21-year-old New York City born-and-raised songstress has also had an impressive career in social justice. As an activist, she attended her first protest at the age of 13, has volunteered with community-based organizations in Harlem, and has worked in both the Bronx and the U.S. Senate to defend immigrants facing deportation — a cause close to her heart as a second-generation Mexican-American.

FRIDA will be available Now.

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The continuation of Netflix’s Selena: The Series Part 2 is almost here! In Part 2 we find Selena Quintanilla on the brink of stardom. Viewers will journey through the Tejano music world as her label pushes her to leave Los Dinos behind as she prepares to make the big crossover.

Throughout the next nine episodes, fans will see a more independent Selena, played by Christian Serratos, and get a closer look into her wedding with Chris Perez, played by Jesse Posey. The trailer reveals that although Selena wants to be independent, she will always need her family.

“Learning how to handle her newfound success, Selena struggles to balance, family, love and a burgeoning career,” Netflix shared. “Part 2 of Selena: The Series chronicles the years of hard work and sacrifice the Quintanilla family navigate together as she becomes the most successful female Latin artist of all time.”

Though we know the tragic end to Selena’s life, the series will highlight the impact she made on her family, friends and fans.

“I just want to be remembered as somebody who gave it her all,” the trailer teases Selena’s own words.

Part 2 the two-part series premieres on May 4, 2021. The series stars Serratos in the titular role, Gabriel Chavarria, Ricardo Chavira, Noemiì Gonzalez, Seidy López, Posey, Julio Macias and Natasha Perez as Yolanda Saldivar.

Selena: The Series will be available on Netflix

— Featured Photo: Netflix

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Selena: The Series Part 1 left fans wanting more, and Netflix is ready to deliver. According to Netflix, the series, which first debuted in December 2020, was seen in over 25 million households in the first four weeks. It gave the audience more insight into the early life of Tejano music icon Selena Quintanilla-Perez. The streaming platform confirmed part two of the popular series will premiere on May 4.

Part 2 will deliver nine more episodes of the beloved music icon life and tragic death that 26 years later gathers new fans.  

Part one introduced Quintanilla’s family and her soon-to-be husband and Los Dinos’ guitar player, Chris Perez, played by Jesse Posey. It ended with the ‘Bidi Bidi Bom Bom’ singer in tears after her father, Abraham Quintanilla (Ricardo Chavira), in a rage, fires Chris after discovering they’ve been secretly dating. 

This upcoming season will focus more on the rise of Selena and her band Los Dinos. It will also introduce Yolanda Saldívar, played by Natasha Perez, the woman who killed Tejano music icon, Selena. Saldivar’s appearance in the series is brief, appearing in just one scene. Although Selena’s death is part of the story, the series will focus less on her death and more on celebrating her life. 

 The family and band members’ characters are the focus of the last nine episodes with the return of Christian Serratos (The Walking Dead) as Selena, Gabriel Chavarria as A.B. Quintanilla, Ricardo Chavira as Abraham Quintanilla, Noemí Gonzalez as Suzette, Seidy López as Marcella Quintanilla. Los Dino band members played by Julio Macias, Carlos Alfredo Jr., and Hunter Reese Pena will return.

Fans will see more of an independent and empowered side of Selena in the next part of the series. “…the intention is for more episodes to come, and to show that trajectory of Selena as she essentially is a married woman and starts her journey as a crossover artist,” Moisés Zamora, writer, and producer of the series told Entertainment Tonight.

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This week excited filmmakers began posting letters received from Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, on social media, informing them that their film has been submitted to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress as part of the ongoing effort to increase Latino representation in the film industry.

In all, 25 U.S. produced Latino films were nominated by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus as part of the ongoing effort to increase Latino representation in the film industry. Congressman Castro had previously nominated Selena for the National Film Registry during his term as CHC chair, and the additional 25 films constitute more than enough Latino films to make up the entirety of this year’s selection for the registry.

Since 1988, the National Film Registry has selected 25 films annually for preservation at the Library of Congress.

“As we are again seeing in this year’s awards season, Latinos remain dramatically under-represented in the American film industry – an exclusion perpetuates real and significant harms to Latino communities across the United States,” said Congressman Castro. “The Library of Congress’ National Film Registry can help rectify that exclusion by shining a light on Latino cinematic achievements as an important part of our nation’s cultural heritage. And while we celebrate these great Latino films, Hollywood must ensure that new generations of Latino filmmakers will have the opportunity to tell their stories on screen.”

This push comes during awards season when once again it’s looking to be a slim year for Latino on and off-camera talent, to receive award nominations. The Golden Globe awards, which just aired this past Sunday, had just two on-camera talent nominations, one for Lin-Manuel Miranda (for Best Actor in a Musical) and British/Argentinean actress Anya Taylor-Joy who was nominated for two Golden Globe for best actress, one for feature Emma and the other, which she did win, was for The Queens Gambit. The only other nominee was Jayro Bustamante‘s La Llorona, nominated for best foreign film. It did not win. The Oscar nominations have still to be announced, but it is not looking like it will be any different than the Golden Globes.

“Though Latinos comprise almost 20 percent of our country’s population, they remain severely underrepresented in Hollywood,” said Chairman Ruiz. “It is essential that the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry reflect the true diversity of American culture. Including more Latino films in the National Film Registry will help elevate Latino stories, promote an inclusive media landscape, and empower Latino filmmakers and storytellers.”

The additional 25 Latino focused films nominated for the National Film Registry are: 

• My Family (1995) 
• Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) 
• Under the Same Moon (2007) 
• Lo que le pasó a Santiago (1989) 
• Don’t Let Me Drown (2009) 
• The Milagro Beanfield War (1988) 
• Raising Victor Vargas (2002) 
• Frida (2002) 
• Walkout (2006)
• A Better Life (2011) 
• Gun Hill Road (2011) 
• Spy Kids (2001) 
• American Me (1992) 
• Romero (1989) 
• Hermanas (2005) 
• Blood In, Blood Out (1993) 
• Nothing Like the Holidays (2008) 
• Latino (1985) 
• The Lost City (2005) 
• Down for Life (2009) 
• Tortilla Soup (2001) 
• The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) 
• 12 Horas (2001) 
• Viva Cuba (2005) 
• Maria Full of Grace (2004) 

To read the full letter to the Library of Congress please see here. 

— Latin Heat News Service

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The 63rd edition of the Grammy Awards won’t be taking place later this month as originally announced. The music award ceremony has been rescheduled to March 14 because of the worsening COVID pandemic in Los Angeles. The announcement was made in a joint statement by the Recording Academy, CBS, and show producers. 

The awards were originally slated to take place on Jan. 31 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and to be broadcast on the CBS network, with comedian and The Daily Show host Trevor Noah hosting.

“After thoughtful conversations with health experts, our host, and artists scheduled to appear, we are rescheduling the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards to be broadcast Sunday, March 14, 2021,” the statement reads. “The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, with hospital services being overwhelmed, ICUs having reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have all led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of those in our music community and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly on producing the show.” 

The announcement was signed by Harvey Mason Jr., Recording Academy chair and interim president and CEO, Jack Sussman, CBS executive vice president of specials, music, live events and alternative programming, and Ben Winston, Grammy Awards executive producer of Fulwell 73 Productions.

“We want to thank all of the talented artists, the staff, our vendors, and especially this year’s nominees for their understanding, patience, and willingness to work with us as we navigate these unprecedented times,” the press statement adds.

Selena, the late “queen of Tejano music,” will be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award along with other music greats, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Lionel Hampton, Marilyn Horne, and Salt-N-Pepa.

Selena’s 1993 album, Live, won best Mexican-American album at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards, the first time a female Tejano artist won the category. The singer died tragically in 1995 as she was getting ready to crossover into the general mainstream market, which she did with the pop album Dreaming of You released four months after her death.  Don Juan Demarco, the film which marked the singer’s Hollywood acting debut as part of a cast that included Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando, and Faye Dunaway was also released after her death.

The coveted music prize recognizes the best of music every year, with 83 categories being honored this time around. It also includes special awards. Among the artists competing in the Latin music categories this year are: Bad Bunny, Camilo, Kany García, Ricky Martin, Debi Nova, Bajofondo, Cami, Cultura Profética, Fito Paez, Lido Pimienta, Alejandro Fernández, Lupita Infante, Natalia Lafourcade, Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez, Christian Nodal, José Alberto “El Ruiseñor,” Edwin Bonilla, Jorge Celedon & Sergio Luis, Grupo Niche, and Víctor Manuelle.

— Latin Heat News Service

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This year 2020 marks the 25^th anniversary of the enduring legendary of “The Queen of Tejano music”, Selena Quintanilla’s passing, and the 23^rd anniversary of the biopic Selena that catapulted the then-unknown actress Jennifer Lopez into superstardom.  Lopez’s amazing portrayal brought the fallen young singer to life on screen in a performance that was worthy of an Academy Award nomination. The Academy voters in the nomination process overlooked her that year.  However, she did receive a Golden Globe nomination from the Hollywood Foreign Press.  Lopez was recognized as a major talent discovery and her multifaceted career was on its way turning her into an icon in her own right.

Quintanilla, the 24-year-old Grammy award-winning singer, whose life was tragically cut short in 1995, just as her star was rising and her music was going mainstream. Not a day goes by without Quintanilla’s music still being played on radio stations and heard across the US and the world, a testament to her musical talent, enduring legacy, and the power of cinematic representations. 

To honor Quintanilla’s memory Warner Archive has released for the first time a new Blu-ray of Selena the motion picture directed and written by Gregory Nava, produced by Moctesuma Esparza, Bob Katz and Abraham Quintanilla (Quintanilla’s father). The film also stars Edward James Olmos, Jon Seda, Lupe Ontiveros, Constance Marie, and Jacob Vargas. The soundtrack features original recordings of Quintanilla’s signature songs.  It was filmed on location largely in San Antonio, TX and Quintanilla’s hometown of Corpus Christi, TX. Nava’s screenplay focuses on the triumph and tragedy of Quintanilla’s life. The young girl from South Texas with talent, magnetic charm, and beauty, weaved Latin music with several music styles that have changed the course of popular music to this day.

The stunning Warner Archive Blu-ray was struck with highly defined audio as well as enhanced visual quality.  Two versions of the film are contained on the disc, the original theatrical release and the extended cut.  The extended scenes are two musical numbers from the film’s Astrodome concert recreation “No me Queda Mas” and “Si Una Vez”.  Special features include a documentary Selena: Queen of Tejano Music, a Making of Selena the Movie-10 years later and outtakes and a theatrical trailer.

Selena is one of the few classic movies that give voice to the experience of Latinx in America and the sometimes-difficult dual nature of being a Mexican American, in a dominant white society, in which the American Dream can be achieved, but not without pain and struggle. Nava’s insightful script, sensitive direction, and an exquisite cast make Selena a memorable and joyous film experience. 

When first released in theatres in March of 1997 Selena was a box-office hit resulting in $60 million in ticket sales

Selena on Blu- ray is now available on Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and retail stores everywhere or through the Warner Archive Collection.

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The Largest Fan Celebration At The Alamodome In San Antonio

The tribute concert features a diverse range of Latin musical artists and highlights the influence that Selena continues to make on music of all genres and across generations. 

Selena XXV – Veinticinco Años showcases the following line-up: Pitbull, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, A.B. Quintanilla III Y Los Kumbia Allstarz, Becky G, Elida Y Avante, Ruben Ramos, Pete Astudillo, Gilbert Velasquez, Ricardo Castillón, Ally Brooke, Isabel Marie and The Lab. 

“We are excited to bring this ultimate fan experience to honor and celebrate my sister, Selena,” said Suzette Quintanilla, CEO/President of Q Productions. “Over the past 25 years, her influence and relevance has only grown throughout generations.

“Through our father, Abraham Quintanilla, we were taught to persevere in the face of adversity and to work hard to accomplish our dreams”, Suzette continued. “Those core values, along with her amazing talent and ability to connect with people has helped sustain Selena’s legacy and it is what makes her an impactful and important role model 25 years later.” 

In addition to the dynamic music line-up, other special Selena experiences will be included in the event. A laser light show tribute finale, presented by H-E-B, will feature a special experience that Selena fans will remember for years to come. 

“My family and I are excited to celebrate this special moment of her 25 year legacy in San Antonio, Texas with her fans around the world,” added Quintanilla. “San Antonio and the Alamodome have always held a special place in our hearts and we’re honored that the city of San Antonio has welcomed us.” 

“San Antonio is honored to pay tribute to the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainer of all time by hosting SELENA XXV at the Alamodome,” said San Antonio, Texas Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “Our city is committed to make this an event to remember.” 

“We’ve got so many beautiful experiences planned for Selena’s fans,” Quintanilla stated. “We’ll be rolling them out over the upcoming weeks, so make sure to follow us on all the Selena 25 social media handles for the latest updates.” 

SELENA XXV – VEINTICINCO AÑOS Tribute Concert is scheduled from 12:00 pm to 11:45pm, with doors opening at 11:00 am. For performance schedules and other concert information visit www.Selena25.com. Tickets range from $40-$200 and are on sale now through the Alamodome Box Office and www.ticketmaster.com. 

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