La Vida De Selena

La Vida De Selena

In the film Selena,viewers are shown an in depth version of the life Selena Quintanilla Perez lived. The film helped me learn and take multiple life values into consideration. The film covers personal identity, family, and society issues.
To begin with, in the beginning of the movie Selena’s father, Abraham, is in a band named Los Diños and is looking for gigs at various club locations. When Los Diños came across a club the owner was a white male. He made a phone call and stated that he ran a whites only club and would not allow the group to perform even though Los Diños were going to perform an english song called “Blue Moon/We Belong Together” performed by many musical artist. When this incident happened it taught me the racial prejudice in the 1950’s was a large issue. In addition the scene where Selena decides to go into a store to buy a dress. When the store worker notices Selena looking at an expensive and comments stating she should look at another dress assuming she can not afford it. I learned how in that time period Hispanics were looked down upon.Selena and her father

both had experiences with prejudice people because of their race.
Furthermore, Selena and her family were very close. Coming from a Hispanic family I can also agree that family is an important element to have. In addition the film shows a scene where Selena decides to go into a store and buy a dress. When the store worker notices Selena looking at an expensive dress she comments stating she should look at another dress assuming she could not afford it. I learned how in that time period the Hispanics were looked down upon. Selena and her father both had experiences with prejudice people because of their race.
Furthermore, Selena and her family were very close. Coming from a Hispanic family I can also agree that family is an important element to have.For example, Selena and her family stuck together for everything. Even when Selena ran away with her lover, Chris, she eventually came back to apologize and restore the relationship Selena and her father had. Also throughout Selena's musical career everyone had their doubt's that's she would be successful. As proof, Selena's mother was worried she would have trouble becoming successful singing Tejano music; her father also was uncertain about Selena going to Mexico because his Spanish was not well.
Another thing I learned was that the culture of Hispanics plays a part in everything.

To elaborate, Abraham's restaurant was based on Mexican food and even though Selena could not speak fluent Spanish her father pushed her to sing in Spanish because that was part of her culture and who she was.To add on, a lot of Selena's fashion was inspired by a lot of Hispanic themed cultures. Her performing clothes reflected her Mexican heritage by the colors and designs.
The film Selena,also taught me the value of love in the Hispanic culture and in all cultures.For example,Selena was so in love with Chris she got married in secret. However,she still valued family and went back to he father's house to say sorry. Selena also risks her singing career for love. When Abraham finds out Chris and Selena are together he threatens to disband the group of Selma and Los

Dinos.
The film also taught me how hard it was for the Hispanics to find their place in society and different countries. Abraham states "you have to be more American then the Americans and more Mexican than the Mexicans." What he is implying is that a person will constantly have to prove themselves worthy enough for a name. I also learned how safety and protection was important. Even though Abraham was rough on Selena sometimes its because he loved her so much. Her was very protective of his daughter and when Chris and Selena were dating he didn't want her to grow up and constantly told her she was to young. However, I believe most father's are very protective of their daughters especially their youngest daughter. Selena also, shows how culture could have an effect in how she found her identity. Selena was from Texas and her first language was English. However, since she came from a Hispanic background she learned Spanish and eventually traveled to Mexico. I think when she learned and sang in Spanish it gave her a deeper connection with herself,family, and fans.
In conclusion, the film Selena helped me understand more of the Hispanic culture. To add, I learned how hard it was for Hispanics to be considered equal. The film not only taught me the life Selena lived but the various complications and inspiration the Hispanic culture has.