There are a few artists who make a generational impact. A work that influences and emotions for multiple decades, even if they are not with us anymore. It is the outstanding beauty of artistry that breaks the geographical and time barriers. An accurate example of that concept is Selena Quintanilla, a Mexican American singer who popularized Tejano music, the roots of Mexican sound, in the United States. Despite the immense legacy of her work, she was in the public eye for a relatively brief period of time. Hence, her impact has been monumental, influencing the recent generations of Latin artists who have broken down barriers and achieved commercial success in the mainstream American music industry. For example, Billboard, the U.S.’s leading music magazine, named Selena the most prominent Latin artist in history in 2020. Isabel Castro (Mija) tells the history of the beloved singer in Selena y Los Dinos.
Castro decides to escape the controversies surrounding her assassination and the complicated relationship with her murderer, Yolanda Saldívar, the president of the singer’s fan club. Instead, she focuses on her development as an artist, particularly through her work with her band, Los Dinos, which she formed with her father, Abraham Quintanilla. In this sense, the documentary uses her family as central subjects, interviewing them in a talking-heads approach to understand the artistic blossoming of the Texan artist. The director initially establishes the potency of Tejano music, a traditional style that focuses on the sound of guitars. It has a fascinating ring to it, a throwback element that rings into the past, while Selena sings about the present’s sorrows. Similar to bachata, salsa, and cumbia, Tejano is music for working-class individuals to dance to in their free time. The catchy melodies and passionate performance by the lead singer create an engaging, emotional connection between the listener and the performer.
Furthermore, Castro attempts to narrate her life story through a different perspective, the collective she was in, and not her individuality. However, it feels like an estate’s attempt to rewrite the canon, an addition of her band in a position of the same importance as herself. Yet, there is an importance to introducing Los Dinos as a central figure in her career and life; they made her career’s success possible. Therefore, the film narrates the crucial relationship between the band and its lead singer. Her father states in the beginning that he wanted to create his version of the Jackson 5. In a sense, he managed to do it, even the tragic elements of fame and how it influenced Selena, the central figure of the group. Consequently, it is impossible to rewrite history and diminish her legacy, particularly in the Latin community in the United States, even more prominent in the Mexican communities in Texas. Hence, despite the tentative nature, Selena y Los Dinos is an expansion of the singer’s canon but fails to create a more profound meaning for the band. Selena’s history is so meaningful that her band’s anecdotes fail to capture the same interest from the audience.
The film is a noticeable improvement in the director’s filmography. Her debut feature, Mija, is a lackluster documentary that fell into a legal limbo. Despite the acquisition by Disney+, the film did not get a release, even three years after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The central flaw of her debut is the narrative’s inconsistency and abrupt changes in perspective, which diminish the impact and meaning of her discussion. Yet, Castro continues to narrate the success of Mexican American singers, in her first film, Cuco, and the follow-up, the most impactful of them all, Selena. Hence, the young director has a notable thematic thread in her career. Stylistically, it pivots from Mija’s utterly personal documentary to a more conventional one in Selena y Los Dinos. Noticeably, the risks are not as high as in her first feature, but it works much better.
Ultimately, Selena y Los Dinos is an almost risk-free documentary about the iconic Selena Quintanilla and her band, Los Dinos. Hence, it is a competent portrait of a stratospheric career from a Latin artist in the United States. Despite its competence, it is a film that does not add anything new to her canon, though it attempts to rewrite the band’s importance within it. Finally, it is a competent documentary that is infinitely more effective than the director’s previous work.
Selena y Los Dinos is now streaming on Netflix.
Learn more about the film, including how to watch, at Netflix.
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