Supplemental Post #7 - Megan Henckel

     This week, a slew of memories from my childhood came flooding back after I completed this week’s readings. One in particular, “Jennifer’s Butt” by Negron-Muntaner, was the driver of my trip down memory lane as I was reading about the one and only Selena Quintanilla. I grew up in Dallas, Texas during the 90’s where Selena was a prominent figure in music culture. Due to her Texas roots, Selena was a common artist either played or referenced in talks of celebrity. Her stardom, at least for an elementary aged kid, became synonymous with death and tragedy after she was murdered by a close friend in 1995. After that “Selena” was playground folklore until the 1997 release of the biopic Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez. I vividly remember the film’s release because there was an intense amount of marketing behind the film and everywhere you would see poster, billboards, and trailers for the film on TV. I didn’t see the film until years later but I remember how Selena’s star image re-emerged due to the release of the film. Years later I would still here about Selena’s popularity from friends who grew up with and loved her music. The most striking thing about their accounts of the star was the fact that what they found in Selena was an icon that represented Latino culture in ways that were more prominent than many before her. They finally felt like they were being represented in mainstream culture, just as the readings suggest of Selena’s crossover success. Selena continues to be a  part of mainstream music culture as she is referenced and played and talked about even 23 years after her tragic death. In my opinion it's truly amazing to see the impact she has had on a generation of music listeners, Latino and not, even 23 years after her death. This week I went back and listened to Selena’s music, watched her music videos, and really just luxuriated in her incredible talent and her life story as a Mexican-American Latina who came from my home state of Texas. If you ever need some fantastic music to make you smile, turn on a little Selena.