‘Selena Rocks’

“I remember watching Selena being interviewed on TV. The Texas-born singer spoke Spanish but sometimes forgot how to say a word and she would say it in English. I’d laugh because I do that sometimes too. She wouldn’t get embarrassed or stop the interview. She’d laugh and say “”I’m sorry,”” or just continue. Selena Quintanilla Perez was humble, not like some snobby celebrity. She was kind and sweet, very alive. I looked forward to the day when this talented Latina made it big.
It was shocking when she was shot and killed by someone she’d worked with and trusted very much. And since then, it has been painful to see all her dreams coming true—her music becoming more popular, a film made about her life—though she is not around to enjoy it.
I had mixed feelings about the movie. In Hollywood, Latinos and Latinas never really get on screen and if they do, they don’t get the leading part. They usually play the gangster, the hitman or the servant serving and sweeping the floor. So, as I stood in the movie theater lobby, I had an awful feeling inside. I thought, “”How will they portray her life? Will it be positive?””
The movie started off with Selena giving a concert in Corpus Christi, Texas. From then on, it was as if Selena was back. One scene that sticks in my head is when she and her sister are sitting on the roof of their house. Selena turns to her sister and tells her she is going to be a star. She looks up at the stars and imagines herself older and singing in front of many people. I thought of my younger sister and I and how I often tell her of my dreams and goals. I felt a sense of determination on her part.
Selena was portrayed by Jennifer Lopez, who I felt did a great job. Many people feel she shouldn’t have played that part because she’s Puerto Rican-American. But I feel those people need to get over what a Latina should look like or come from. They need to see the movie, then complain all they want.
I really felt that the movie “”Selena”” was very well done. I don’t really feel as if she’s dead. I feel more like any day now I’ll see her on TV getting interviewed or singing a new song on the radio. It was about time that people got to see for themselves that Selena was not a Mexican Madonna, as some said. She wasn’t a singer only for poor, uneducated people who live in cardboard boxes, as Howard Stern said.
After watching the movie, I felt like there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do or accomplish. She was a positive role model for young and older people who have the “”ganas”” or strength to become somebody in life. I was glad to see Selena once again and I thank her for the motivation she has given me and others. I now know que sí se puede —it can be done.”

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