SAINT SELENA
www.nlcamerican.org
Selena Quintanilla, the eternal queen of our collective hearts, OUR BELOVED SELENA QUINTANILLA WAS BOLDLY BICULTURAL BEFORE SOCIETY COULD ACCEPT THAT LATINAS COULD BE 100 PERCENT AMERICAN AND 100 PERCENT LATINO.
“We have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time. It’s exhausting!” goes an oft-quoted line from the movie Selena. But Selena rose above the identity struggle by not struggling at all. Instead she leaned into her Latina-ness and embraced whom she so gloriously was: an American-born, non-native-Spanish-speaking Latina who was curvy and brown, and loved both pizza and tacos.
In her all-too-short life, the charismatic Tejana proved to be the reigning queen of a male-dominated music genre few believed she could ever conquer. And along with her award-winning music, she owned a clothing store and was creating a beauty line, proving herself to be #theboss before the hashtag existed. Selena stands out as one of the most beloved Latinas of our generation —Selena Gomez is named after her, and Jennifer Lopez is famous because of her. So why the near sainthood status?
Why the adoration of a young Tejana who sang regional Mexican music? Because Selena was unshakably real, unabashedly herself. Unlike other Latino stars who made it big in music or Hollywood by modifying their names and “passing” as white, Selena went the other route. She turned to her culture first, rediscovering her roots to find her voz. And through her powerful voice, we American Latinas found ours.—Robyn Moreno, Editorial Director
www.nlcamerican.org
Selena Quintanilla, the eternal queen of our collective hearts, OUR BELOVED SELENA QUINTANILLA WAS BOLDLY BICULTURAL BEFORE SOCIETY COULD ACCEPT THAT LATINAS COULD BE 100 PERCENT AMERICAN AND 100 PERCENT LATINO.
“We have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time. It’s exhausting!” goes an oft-quoted line from the movie Selena. But Selena rose above the identity struggle by not struggling at all. Instead she leaned into her Latina-ness and embraced whom she so gloriously was: an American-born, non-native-Spanish-speaking Latina who was curvy and brown, and loved both pizza and tacos.
In her all-too-short life, the charismatic Tejana proved to be the reigning queen of a male-dominated music genre few believed she could ever conquer. And along with her award-winning music, she owned a clothing store and was creating a beauty line, proving herself to be #theboss before the hashtag existed. Selena stands out as one of the most beloved Latinas of our generation —Selena Gomez is named after her, and Jennifer Lopez is famous because of her. So why the near sainthood status?
Why the adoration of a young Tejana who sang regional Mexican music? Because Selena was unshakably real, unabashedly herself. Unlike other Latino stars who made it big in music or Hollywood by modifying their names and “passing” as white, Selena went the other route. She turned to her culture first, rediscovering her roots to find her voz. And through her powerful voice, we American Latinas found ours.—Robyn Moreno, Editorial Director
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