Selena: La serie

I happened upon this series as I was driving down the freeway by seeing it advertised on a billboard. I thought, The movie wasn't enough?! But I decided to give it a shot anyway. First of all, I can't get passed how Lifetime-ish the acting is! Second of all, I was born and raised in Corpus and I still currently live here. I don't recall my town being THAT clean and with what looked like a mountain in the background? Um...??? Third of all, I don't want to see a constant presence with Abraham! I want to see Selena! I thought that was the name of the show? Anyway, disappointment all around. I guess the movie and Fiesta De La Flor wasn't enough cash grabs. Oh well...

Show full of empty smiles and unnecessary laughter. It is as if the actress is pretending to be Selena instead of acting like her. That is what happens when you get a 30 year old to play a 15 year old teenager. The youthful energy that Selena had is missing in this show. The only believable acting was when Selena was trying to learn Spanish. Selena seems to be a character made for comical relief rather than a main character, which is disappointing given that this show is named after her.

One of the reasons everybody loved Selena was because she represented many of the first generation Americans of Mexican descent. She had more Native features than Spanish features, which is a reason why her story is incredible, many lower class Mexicans could relate to her. It is disappointing for Netflix to choose an actress that poorly represents who Selena was.m. Netflix decided to whitewash a Mexican Legend.

It's not all bad though. The supporting actors are great. There acting is believable and the chemistry between the family and supporting actors is well formed.

It's way better than the movie from 1997. More depth and it made me not see the dad alittle different. Music was decent loved the dynamics. Well worth the watch.

As a fan of Selena as well as a fan of the original movie, I like the series overall. While I agree with some of the other reviews that the actress portraying Selena is not the greatest, I love the fact that they dove deeper into the background of the family and the band. I find it disrespectful that anyone can say the family is capitalizing off Selena's name when they had the greatest loss but also were the band from the beginning. I personally enjoyed seeing every step that the group and Selena had to take before making it.

The movie was phenomenal but they only showed few events (as they usually have time for in a 2 hour movie). This was a tight knit, loving family that struggled for years until they made it and I think the series, like the movie, captured that. Also, people complaining about how they don't focus on Selena as much, I get it. But as a fan, I personally liked watching how AB wrote and produced the music as well as the relationship between Suzette and Selena. I have to say that the standout performance for me was Ricardo Antonio Chavira who portrayed Selena's father Abraham.

While Selena should always be front and center, I enjoyed watching the family as well. I think it's important to remember that while Selena was an amazing artist and performer that died a horrible tragedy, that's not her whole story and certainly not the families. I am hoping for more depth and complexity to the characters in the second season as we draw closer to the inevitable tragic ending.

While it may be called Selena, the series is really about the Quintanilla family's journey together. Beginning with the Queen of Tejano music's birth and following their various struggles and successes, this show will leave a smile on your face. Along with embracing the family's Mexican American roots, the musical moments will reignite your love for Selena y Los Dinos' songs and have you wishing against reality that a happier ending was on the horizon 25 years after the superstar's tragic end. Part 1 is feel-good family fare just in time for the holiday binge season, but you may shed a nostalgic tear or two.