{"id":214538,"date":"2021-03-30T14:16:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T11:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-experiences-that-helped-jennifer-lopez-become-selena\/"},"modified":"2021-03-30T14:16:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T11:16:00","slug":"the-experiences-that-helped-jennifer-lopez-become-selena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-experiences-that-helped-jennifer-lopez-become-selena\/","title":{"rendered":"#The Experiences that Helped Jennifer Lopez Become &#8216;Selena&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#The Experiences that Helped Jennifer Lopez Become &#8216;Selena&#8217;<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.9--><em>Acting is an art form, and behind every iconic character is an artist expressing themselves. Welcome to <strong>The Great Performances<\/strong>, a bi-weekly column exploring the art behind some of cinema\u2019s best roles. In this entry, we look at Jennifer Lopez\u2019s Golden Globe-nominated performance in Selena.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>If you grew up in southern Texas during the early 1990s, you probably have a strong memory of where you were when the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> broke that <strong>Selena Quintanilla<\/strong>, the \u201cQueen of Tejano music,\u201d had been murdered. I remember sitting in front of the television before school, seeing throngs of fans already in mourning as it was revealed that the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar, was responsible for her death. With her actions, Saldivar tethered herself to Selena\u2019s life in a way that threatened to hijack our memory of the late singer.<\/p>\n<p>But Selena, whose music helped bring the Tejano subgenre to a huge audience, was so much more than how her life ended. She was on the precipice of global stardom, and her father, Abraham Quintanilla, wanted to make sure that her memory would live on. As he saw numerous unauthorized biographies go into production following Selena\u2019s death, he became proactive in retaining control over his daughter\u2019s legacy and quickly began producing an official biopic of her life. He wanted to show the world who the real Selena was, behind her performances: an effervescent young woman, with a passion for music, life, and family, who was tragically taken from the world far too soon.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest challenge for the film, simply titled <strong><em>Selena<\/em><\/strong> and written and directed by Gregory Nava, would be casting an actress able to fill the multi-talented shoes Selena left behind. Luckily, they found <strong>Jennifer Lopez<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Found might be a strong word, though. <em>Selena<\/em> was Lopez\u2019s star-making turn, but she was far from a fresh face in 1997. Her first career was as a dancer, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>earing in regional theatre and world tours before landing a gig as a backup dancer for New Kids on the Block. She got her first major exposure on <em>In Living Color<\/em> as a Fly Girl, the comedy <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a>\u2019 in-house dance ensemble who\u2019d bust a move between sketches. She was scheduled to go on tour with Janet Jackson when Lopez decided it was time to refocus her career and branch out into acting.<\/p>\n<p>After a few forgettable television shows and movies, Lopez\u2019s first substantial film role was in Nava\u2019s <em>My Family<\/em>. The role landed her an Independent Spirit Award nomination, but more importantly, it introduced her talents to the director. From there she booked roles in the Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson vehicle <em>Money Train<\/em> as well as Francis Ford Coppola\u2019s <em>Jack<\/em>. These gigs helped bring Lopez more national recognition, but they relied mostly on her affability and charm, a far cry from the emotional and physical range she\u2019d show in <em>Selena<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Lopez\u2019s history with Nava, she was still put through a rigorous audition process that required multiple screen tests and had her mastering some of Selena\u2019s trademark songs and dance moves before being offered the role.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s difficult to imagine another actress in 1997 being more qualified for this tremendous role, but Lopez\u2019s casting caused major controversy at the time. Understandably, many advocacy groups took offense that Selena, a Mexican-American from South Texas, was being played by an actress of Puerto Rican descent from New York. They felt that the only way to truly honor Selena\u2019s legacy would be by casting an actress who had the same cultural heritage as the late singer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter we announced that Jennifer Lopez had been selected to portray Selena, I started getting calls. \u2018How dare you pick a Puerto Rican to play our beloved Selena.\u2019 It kind of freaked me out,\u201d Abraham Quintanilla recounts during a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/aOQQTY1iMM0\">retrospective making-of documentary<\/a> for the film\u2019s DVD release.<\/p>\n<p>This is strikingly similar to an experience the real Selena had when she was first establishing her career in Mexico. Selena wasn\u2019t a native Spanish speaker and had to record her Spanish-language songs phonetically which gave executives at her record label pause as she embarked on her first press tour of Mexico. They were worried that because of her lack of fluency, Selena would be seen as an outsider and rejected by her international audience.<\/p>\n<p>What happened in real life is exactly what you see in the film. Any fears that she wouldn\u2019t be welcomed instantly melted away as the foreign press were utterly charmed by the singer\u2019s down-to-earth magnetism. As Abraham Quintanilla recalls in the liner notes for Selena\u2019s final studio album, <em>Dreaming of You<\/em>, \u201cWe were terrified because Selena didn\u2019t know Spanish that well, and when we came in, there were thirty to thirty-five reporters. Selena came in there and hugged each one of them. By the time she got through, she had them in the palm of her hand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lopez also had to convince audiences that she was the right fit for <em>Selena<\/em>. As she remembers in the making-of documentary, \u201cThe minute I got the part, I had to do this big press conference, which I never had to do for any part that I had ever gotten. There was tons of controversy over the fact that I wasn\u2019t Mexican. I just knew that it was going to be about proving that I was the right person to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Like Selena before her, Lopez was able to effortlessly charm the press with her winning charisma. \u201cThe Mexican press was going to be difficult, we knew this,\u201d says casting director Roger Mussenden in the making-of documentary. \u201cWhen Jennifer went to the press conference in Mexico\u2026she won them over exactly like Selena did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lopez did extensive preparation to become Selena, but it\u2019s arguably this experience that helped her truly transcend into the character. Unlike many other actors portraying public figures, Lopez had the unique opportunity to experience something Selena had, first-hand. She funneled Selena\u2019s resilient spirit directly into her captivating performance.<\/p>\n<p>She was also supported by having access to Selena\u2019s family, who helped her better understand the relationship the singer had with her siblings. As Lopez remembers, \u201cThe dynamic of who she was was so shaped by her family and the fact that they were very close. They shared so many intimate things with me, like albums, and video tapes, her make-up box, how she smells. There was something about my spirit and her spirit that were similar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This experience of getting to truly know the Quintanilla family is a major reason Lopez\u2019s Selena feels so lived-in and realistic. She was able to uniquely understand what Selena meant to the people who shaped her life, which she could then use to inform a performance that honored those relationships.<\/p>\n<p>Even though Lopez put in the work to accurately depict Selena, to her family, it was as if she had always been destined to play the singer. As Selena\u2019s sister Suzette remembers in the making-of documentary, \u201cI felt like she was a lot like my sister. I had a sectional, and Selena would always come in and prop her feet up a certain way, and I had to throw her a little blanket and she had to cover herself. I freaked out because Jennifer did the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lopez\u2019s experience with Selena\u2019s family allowed her to inhabit a deeper level of authenticity that we rarely see in a posthumous biopic. That she was able to make such a profound impact on Selena\u2019s family is proof to the power of her performance.<\/p>\n<p>While Lopez\u2019s experience spending time with Selena\u2019s family allowed her to deeply understand her character, she\u2019s truly at her most alive during the film\u2019s concert scenes. Lopez is able to fall back on her innate strengths as a performer to fully embody Selena\u2019s on-stage presence. From the biggest stadiums to the smallest rodeo stages, Lopez has a vibrant energy that fills whatever space she\u2019s in. As the film\u2019s ending credits intercut real footage of Selena\u2019s concerts, we see how flawlessly Lopez has captured the raw vitality that Selena brought to the stage. These musical moments give Lopez the opportunity to immortalize, on-screen, the full spectrum of Selena\u2019s talents.<\/p>\n<p>And ultimately, that\u2019s all that Abraham Quintanilla wanted to do with <em>Selena<\/em>. The film was a way for him to immortalize his daughter so that her true legacy could live on. But through Lopez\u2019s performance, he got something even more special: the chance to see his daughter perform one more time. Jennifer Lopez was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance as Selena, but even if she hadn\u2019t been lauded for the role, it wouldn\u2019t have mattered. Selena\u2019s family was proud of the work she did. And that\u2019s the best award any actor could ask for.\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/jennifer-lopez-selena\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=jennifer-lopez-selena\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#The Experiences that Helped Jennifer Lopez Become &#8216;Selena&#8217;&#8221; Acting is an art form, and behind every iconic character is an artist expressing themselves. Welcome to The Great Performances, a bi-weekly column exploring the art behind some of cinema\u2019s best roles. In this entry, we look at Jennifer Lopez\u2019s Golden Globe-nominated performance in Selena. If you&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":214539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Jennifer-Lopez-Selena.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[19935,74647,15257],"class_list":["post-214538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-jennifer-lopez","tag-selena","tag-the-great-performances"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}