Tejano Hope __ 8/10
Note: Potential spoiler for those unfamiliar with events surrounding the star in 1995.
So why should we watch a movie about the “Madonna” of Mexican Americans? (Actually, I made up that comparison, but I’m pretty sure Selena has been compared to Madonna many times in the entertainment media.) Well, all the conventional reasons:
- The movie features Jennifer Lopez in the title role, a definite career launcher
- The movie speaks the universal language of music, a unique, buoyant style that doesn’t make it into mainstream pop very often.
- In these days of Cider House Rules Immigration Policy, the film reminds us that people of Hispanic ancestry, particularly Tejanos[1], (regardless of government paperwork) are people, too.
The movie starts with Selena’s famous concert in the Houston Astrodome on February 26, 1995, where a record crowd of 61,000 young fans show up to listen and cheer. She’s at the top of her form with Spanish-speaking fans all through Mexico and Latin America and around the world, as well as Anglos everywhere, too; she grew up predominantly in English-speaking society as she was born in Lake Jackson, Texas in 1971 to Mexican-American citizens. The issue of perceived identity—between Mexican culture and American culture—is a constant throughout the movie and something Selena comes to flow between naturally… less so her father and mother, who definitely consider themselves part of the Anglo world. Continue reading
