Entertainment
Selena's legacy lives on in these young Latina musicians
Monday marks 30 years since the tragic death of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez changed the world of Latin music forever. And yet, in that time, it feels as though her legacy as the “Queen of Tejano” never faded away. One can try to measure her impact in the tangible: in the number of posthumous albums sold, in multiple documentaries, a Netflix TV series about her life and the 1997 biopic that catapulted Jennifer Lopez to fame.
But to understand the gravity of a star as massive as Selena, is also to look at something that’s harder to enumerate: the traces of her voice, her style and her ambition in today’s Latin artists.
What I call “The Selena Generation” is comprised of artists who came of age in the years after the singer’s death. Most of them never had the chance to buy her records when they debuted or see her perform live, yet still, her influence on them is unmistakable. This cohort includes established stars like Karol G and Becky G, as well as rising talents like Estevie, Gale, Angelina Victoria and Vanita Leo, among others. For many of them, there was no time before Selena. She’s just always been a part of their lives.
Becky G on the set of her music video “Otro Capítulo,” filmed in Elysian Park in Los Angeles.
(Jill Connelly/For De Los)
“I’ve been listening to and watching videos of Selena performing before I could even form memories,” Becky G tells De Los. Born and raised in Inglewood, Calif., she says her mother was always playing Selena’s music in their house. Over the years, the Mexican American singer has performed multiple Selena medleys, and included a Selena-inspired song, “Otro Capítulo,” on her most recent album, “Encuentros.”
For Becky, the late singer’s career trajectory is “the blueprint.” Selena’s path from performing at restaurants, clubs and weddings across South Texas to drawing record-breaking crowds at the Houston Astrodome, as a woman in Tejano music, wasn’t just aspirational — it was revolutionary. “She broke barriers,” Becky G says. “She took our music to places we never thought in our wildest dreams it would reach. She showed younger generations, including myself, that we could be on stage one day, too.”
It’s difficult to imagine what Latin music might look like today without Selena’s success. Though artists like Gloria Estefan and Lisa Lisa had enjoyed mainstream popularity in the U.S. during the Latin “boom” of the ’80s, Selena’s ascent as a Mexican American from Texas was something more novel. The very genre she was occupying told the story of a region that, like Selena herself, had been shaped by multiple cultures.
Selena was a mosaic of the Tex-Mex identity. She sang primarily in Spanish — a language she wasn’t fluent in — while adding in dashes of country-western style to her wardrobe, while modeling her performances after American pop stars like Janet Jackson and Madonna. With a foothold in the cultures on both sides of the border, she bridged the gap between them by being 100% herself, charting a path that hadn’t previously existed for others like her.
“Today, Latin artists are dominating charts, collaborating with global superstars, and selling out arenas, and I think we owe a lot of that to Selena,” says Estevie. The Gen Z cumbia star has drawn comparisons to the “Tejano Madonna” since bursting onto the scene in 2021.
And while Selena may have been achingly close to achieving the crossover success of her dreams when she was killed in 1995, the scope of her influence grew in her death. To this day, her final album, “Dreaming of You,” remains the best-selling Latin album of all time in the U.S., and the first predominantly Spanish-language album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. “She proved that Latin music could cross over without losing its essence,” Estevie tells De Los. “She showed that women could lead, and be unapologetically themselves in a male-dominated industry.”
Cumbia pop star Estevie on Selena’s influence in music: “She showed that women could lead, and be unapologetically themselves in a male-dominated industry.”
(Cat Cardenas)
Her power was apparent to Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, Gale, from the first time she watched the “Selena” film. Now 31, she remembers spending hours as a kid performing Selena’s songs in her living room, practicing and perfecting her routines.
“I was instantly hooked,” she says. “She was my first love in music; her voice, her energy, her power. Selena showed the world that Latin women belong on big stages. She made me feel like I could do this too.”
Like Gale, Chicago-born música Mexicana singer Angelina Victoria was mesmerized by the 1997 biopic, catching glimpses of her future self in the story of a little girl who grew up to become a star. When she was older, she saw footage of the singer’s historic performance at the Houston Rodeo in 1995. “Watching that for the first time gave me chills,” she remembers. “Her confidence, her smile, her vocals, dance moves — the way she commanded the stage was so electrifying. She made it look effortless, but you could tell that every note, every move, came from the heart.”
At 22 years old, Victoria is in the midst of trying to establish herself as an artist. Still, she’s proud to proclaim Selena as her biggest inspiration because of how she navigated the complexities of her Mexican American heritage. “Before her, there was a perception that Latin artists had to stay in their lane,” Victoria tells De Los. “She paved the way for artists like me to embrace our culture while still evolving our sound. She made it clear that being in between two worlds is a strength, not a limitation.”
Earlier this month, while performing at South By Southwest in Austin, Victoria told the audience she couldn’t leave Texas without “singing a little Selena,” and launched into a crowd-pleasing medley of “Como la Flor,” “Amor Prohibido” and “Baila Esta Cumbia.” She wasn’t alone; the same day, San Antonio-based cumbia singer Vanita Leo, 22, wowed the crowd at Austin’s Volstead Lounge with an impassioned performance of “Si Una Vez.”
It could be seen as a risk for emerging artists to cover such a legendary singer, especially for a crowd in Selena’s home state; but beyond expressing their genuine admiration for her, it’s also a way to prove their mettle. Selena’s vocals, and her stage presence, are impossible to be phoned in.
“Performing a Selena cover in Texas is electric,” Leo tells De Los. “There’s always a massive reaction. Her music is woven into the fabric of our culture, and you can feel how much she still means to people the moment you start singing. It’s a reminder that her legacy isn’t just about the songs — it’s about the joy, pride and representation she gave our community.”
Entertainment
Lucas Museum to give free annual passes to South L.A. neighbors, host community preview day
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is moving at light speed toward its Sept. 22 opening, announced Thursday that it will give free annual passes to its South L.A. neighbors living in the 90037 ZIP Code. The 300,000-square-foot, $1-billion museum located in Exposition Park will also host a special community preview day on Sept. 13, more than a week before the general public gets to step inside.
The 90037 ZIP Code has a population of more than 65,000 and is bordered roughly by the 110 Freeway to the west, Slauson Avenue to the south, Central Avenue to the east and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north. Residents can register for passes at lucasmuseum.org/lm37 and will be alerted in August when the program launches. Pass holders can reserve tickets for themselves and one guest.
Tickets for non-pass holders go on sale July 21. They cost $25 for adults and $21 for seniors. Kids 17 and under are free.
“Storytelling has the power to bring people together and create a sense of community,” said Lucas Museum Chief Executive Tracey Bates in a news release about the program. “Through LM37, we are inviting our South Los Angeles neighbors to make the museum part of their lives and take their own path of discovery through the art, programs and experiences that will help shape this new cultural hub for Los Angeles.”
The community preview day is designed to give local business owners, community partners, civic leaders and registered LM37 pass holders a sneak peak of the 10,000 square feet of exhibition space, as well as the expansive gardens with 11 acres of park space.
The opening programming, curated by co-founder George Lucas, features 20 inaugural exhibitions across more than 30 galleries, including one titled “Star Wars in Motion,” containing vehicle designs, high-speed racers, flying vessels, props, costumes and illustrations from the first six films in the beloved franchise.
More than 1,200 objects will be on display from Lucas’ personal collection of narrative art. Highlights include work by Norman Rockwell and Dorothea Lange, as well as a variety of manga, children’s book illustrations and comics.
Movie Reviews
Movie review: Supergirl is a blast
Last year’s “Superman” ended with Iggy Pop singing “Because I’m a punk rocker, yes I am” — an ironic coda for a superlatively square hero. But it rings straightforwardly true for Superman’s cousin.
Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El, or Supergirl, sports not a spandex suit but a Blondie T-shirt. When we meet her in Craig Gillespie’s “Supergirl,” she’s been on an interstellar bender for days. She’s more Courtney Love than Clark Kent.
Nonchalant and sarcastic, Kara is also a little Han Solo-ish, you might say, given that she moves capriciously through the galaxy in her junky spaceship while getting in fights in extraterrestrial bars. She’s a welcome, jagged riff on more buttoned-up superheroes, and Alcock is terrific in the role. If only “Supergirl” was as good as she is.
While the latest DC release, and second under James Gunn’s stewardship, has its moments, “Supergirl” struggles to match Kara’s punk-rock energy with an equally spirited supporting cast and story.
Skepticism seems to have gathered for “Supergirl” ahead of its release. Many fans have argued it wasn’t the right next step for DC Universe. But I’m not so sure. Alcock’s breezy cameo in “Superman” was one of that movie’s highlights. Handing the follow-up to her, and her faithful floating dog Krypto, strikes me as an extremely natural next step. When in doubt, follow the dog.
And much of “Supergirl” is winning. It resides almost entirely in space, touching down only momentarily on Earth. In its consistently creative production design, clever needle drops and underdog story arc, “Supergirl” resides a little closer to Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies than other DC entries. Its outer space is filled with cosmic detritus, mean characters and cute critters. Seth Rogen as the voice of a tiny alien co-piloting a space bus is an inspired concoction, as is a shabbier sci-fi realm with rest stops along the intergalactic highway.
Entertainment
Justin Baldoni and wife break silence after ‘It Ends With Us’ legal battle with Blake Lively
Justin Baldoni has broken his silence after reaching a settlement in a lengthy and highly publicized legal dispute with Blake Lively.
Baldoni and his wife, Emily Baldoni, presented a united front in an Instagram video the couple shared Wednesday that began, “So we have not spoken publicly for the better part of the last two years, and it’s not because we haven’t had anything to say, because Lord knows we have.”
The “It Ends With Us” actor and director said that although they’d wanted to address the debacle that involved dueling lawsuits with Lively, nearly two years of tit-for-tat fodder and culminated in a confidential settlement, “something was telling us not to.”
The couple said they prayed about when to make a public statement. “This feels like the moment,” Emily said.
“What does feel important,” she continued, “is that we can genuinely say that we are sitting here today feeling immense gratitude for so many things and so many people and so many things that have happened to us.”
“Gratitude has saved us,” Justin added.
“I also feel that it’s important as we say that — in that gratitude — it doesn’t negate the injustice and the pain that we have also felt in the last few years, and we’ve had to wrestle with so many things and try to understand so many things,” Emily said. “How could something like this even happen? Let alone disguised as a fight for women. So much to unpack. And the truth is, reality is, is that there’s been a lot of trauma for us to move through as a family, which also makes it hard to speak.”
“We don’t even know this is the right thing to say, but we just know we need to share something,” Justin said. “What I will say is that there have been so many painful things that have been spoken into existence — “
“Untruthful,” Emily broke in.
“We didn’t want to add to the noise, so we just wanted to let the justice system run its course,” he said.
“And the truth and the facts have spoken for themselves,” Emily said.
The couple’s statement comes a year and a half after Lively filed a bombshell lawsuit against Baldoni alleging sexual harassment, retaliation and several other charges on the heels of a messy “It Ends With Us” summer release and press tour that fueled rumors of on-set turmoil.
Less than a month after the allegations against Baldoni rallied Hollywood against him, he countersued Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for $400 million in damages, claiming they’d smeared his name in the press and wrestled away his control of the film. His suit was later dismissed.
In May, two weeks ahead of the trial, Lively and Baldoni reached an agreement to resolve their legal dispute, bringing an abrupt end to the contentious battle.
“The parties in the Blake Lively and Wayfarer Studios litigation have reached an agreement to resolve the matters,” lawyers for both sides said in a joint statement.
“The end product — the movie ‘It Ends With Us’ — is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life. Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors — and all survivors — is a goal that we stand behind. We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard. We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments. It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online.”
In June, a federal judge ordered Baldoni and his production company to pay Lively’s attorney fees related to his unsuccessful defamation lawsuit against her, but rejected her bid for additional damages.
“So, how are we doing?” the filmmaker said in the Instagram video. “We are healing, and if you’ve ever been through something traumatic, you know that healing isn’t linear. It lives different every day, and we have had to rethink for ourselves what is real. What matters, and it’s this. It’s our family. It’s our friends. It’s our community. It’s our faith.”
Times staff writer Josh Rottenberg contributed to this report.
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