Selena(1997)

PG
Rated PG for some mild language and thematic elements
2h 7m

Release Date: Mar 21, 1997 | Wide

The true story of Selena, a Texas-born Tejana singer who rose from cult status to performing at the Astrodome, as well as having chart-topping albums on the Latin music charts.

Official Website

Releases

Original Release | Mar 21, 1997

2022 Re-release (Iconic Events Releasing) | Apr 7, 2022

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Box Office Results

All Releases (2)
Total US & Canada:
$35,764,351
Total International
$0
Total Worldwide:
$35,764,351

Total US & Canada:
$32,002,285
Total Worldwide:
$32,002,285

Current Showtimes

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(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

Gregory Nava
Director

Jennifer Lopez
Selena Quintanilla

Edward James Olmos
Abraham Quintanilla

Jon Seda
Chris Perez

Jackie Guerra
Suzette Quintanilla

Constance Marie
Marcela Quintanilla

Alex Meneses

Sara

Jacob Vargas

Abie Quintanilla

Pete Astudillo

Self - Dinos 1990s

Rueben Gonzáles

Joe Ojeda - Dinos 1990s

Ricky Vela

Self - Dinos 1990s

Don Shelton

Stage Dancer

Richard Emanuelle

Concert Reporter

Panchito Gómez

Young Abraham - Dinos 1961

Richard Coca

Bobby - Dinos 1961

George Perez

Seff - Dinos 1961

Brian Fallteen

Club Owner

Carmen Martínez

Irate Club Goer

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: DTS,Dolby Digital,SDDS

Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English,Spanish

Summaries

Plot Summary

In 1961, a young Abraham Quintanilla and his band "The Dinos" are rejected by a white restaurant owner for an audition due to their "Whites Only" policy. They then perform to a Mexican audience at a nightclub called "Lerma's", but a riot ensues when they sing "We Belong Together", rather than music associated with the Spanish culture, and the band is forced to flee.In 1981, Abraham is married to Marcela Samora and has three children: Abraham III (nicknamed A.B.), Suzette, and Selena (Rebecca Lee Meza). Abraham discovers Selena's singing talent and decides to create a band called Selena y Los Dinos, with Selena as the lead singer, A.B. on bass, and Suzette on drums, despite their reluctance. Abraham opens a restaurant called "Papa Gayo's" and tells Selena to learn Spanish so she does not have trouble singing in front of Mexicans like he did.Unfortunately, due to a turn in the economy and oil bust, the Quintanilla family goes bankrupt and loses the restaurant. They move to Corpus Christi, Texas to live with Abraham's brother. There, Selena performs at a carnival and is poorly received, but one day, while the family is on the beach Marcela hears a song on the radio and teaches Selena a dance called "The Washing Machine", which helps her and her band become more popular.In 1990, Selena meets a guitarist named Chris Perez, who after joining the band, develops a friendship with Selena. Abraham disapproves of Chris after his former rock band members trash a hotel suite even though he greatly helped in making music for the band. Chris and Selena's friendships grows into love and when Abraham catches them hugging before a concert, he fires Chris and threatens a heartbroken Selena that if she follows him, he will disband the Dinos.Selena and Chris continue seeing each other behind Abraham's back, but soon Selena becomes tired and tells Chris that she wants to marry him right away. In 1992, Selena and Chris elope secretly, but their marriage soon makes headlines on the radio. Selena goes to see Abraham, who tells her he is glad she did what she did, only wanting what was best for her. Chris is accepted into the Quintanilla family and returns to being the guitarist for Los Dinos.During one of Selena's live performances, Jose Behar (the head of EMI Latin) and his music associates tell Abraham that they want to make an English language album for Selena. By 1994, Selena opens her first boutique called: Selena Etc., which her fan-club president Yolanda Saldivar manages, and her album Selena Live! wins a Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American album. As 1995 begins, she starts recording her Crossover Album and Yolanda gives her a friendship ring, lying that it was only from her.Later, Selena finds out from Abraham that Yolanda has been stealing money from the fan club and a lot of business records have gone missing. At Q-Productions, Abraham, Selena, and Suzette confront Yolanda, but she denies the claim. Selena continues to achieve fame and her concert at the Houston Astrodome on February 26 attracts a record breaking crowd. However, just one month later, on March 31, after an argument over the missing financial documents, Selena is shot to death by Yolanda at a Corpus Christi motel. Yolanda is arrested after a standoff with the police. As Selena's family, friends, and fans mourn her death, a montage of the real Selena plays during a candlelight vigil.

Storyline

Selena , a Texas-born Tejana singer who rose from cult status to performing at the Astrodome, as well as having chart-topping albums on the Latin music charts. The film tells the story of the life of Mexican "Tejano" style singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez and the progress of her career resulting in her No. 1 US album. — Anonymous Written and directed by Gregory Nava, this biopic concentrates on Selena 's relationship with her family and her rise to fame, dealing only briefly with her tragic death. Abraham Quintanilla (Edward James Olmos) is a veteran musician who leads a family-based singing group, The Dinos. At a young age, he notices that his daughter Selena (played as a child by Becky Lee Meza) has a strong singing voice, and he works her into the act (her big number is a version of Over the Rainbow). However, as she grows older, Selena (played as an adult by Jennifer Lopez) wants to establish her own musical identity; while her heritage is Mexican-American, her primary language is English, and her favorite artists are American pop acts like Donna Summer. While Selena and Abraham sometimes argue about the musical direction of the group, he always respects and supports her talent, and her blend of Tejano roots music and dance-able pop rhythms soon sparks a revolution in Latin music. Selena later earns the wrath of her father when she becomes romantically involved with Chris Perez (Jon Seda), a rebellious long-haired guitarist hired to play with the group, but when they elope and Selena convinces Abraham that their love is sincere, Chris is welcomed into the family. After a long string of successes on the Latin charts and playing to a sellout crowd at the Houston Astrodome and a crowd of 100,000 at a stadium in Monterrey, Mexico, Selena to record her first album in English, which is expected to make her a mainstream star on the level of Whitney Houston or Gloria Estefan. However, the fates decreed that it was an album she would never complete. Mexican-American veteran recording artist Abraham Quintanilla (Edward James Olmos) attempts to sustain his family playing low-paying gigs with his band, Los Dinos, across South Texas. After years of struggling to expand beyond their regional fan base and failing to please racially divided white and brown audiences, Abraham refocuses his energy on his growing family. When his charismatic preteen daughter Selena catches him off-guard with her natural vocal skills, Abraham begins grooming his kids to pick up and succeed where he left off. Director Gregory Nava's ("El Norte") beloved biopic "Selena" stars Jennifer Lopez in her breakout role, in which she delivers a respected portrayal of the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum Tejana music legend Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. — Mae Moreno In this biographical drama, Selena (Lopez) is born into a musical Mexican-American family in Texas. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla (Olmos), realizes that his young daughter is talented and begins performing with her at small venues. She finds success and falls for her guitarist, Chris Perez (Seda), who draws the ire of her father. Seeking mainstream stardom, Selena begins recording an English-language album which, tragically, she would never complete. 1 more All