What is Netflix’s upcoming Selena: The Series about?

Selena: The Series is just days away from its long-awaited Netflix release

Selena Quintanilla, the focus of the upcoming series, only lived until the age of 23. During her brief time alive, however, she accomplished more than most people would ever dream. The upcoming Netflix series, Selena: The Series, plans to draw attention away from the tragic circumstances of her death to focus on her rise to the top.

Starring The Walking Dead‘s Christian Serratos, Selena: The Series was made in conjunction with the singer’s family. For those of you unfamiliar with Selena’s body of work, here are the basics that you should know before bingeing the series. In the 25 years following her murder, Selena’s legacy has only grown stronger.

Who was Selena Quintanilla?

Selena Quintanilla, the focus of Selena: The Series, was born on April 16, 1971 to her parents Abraham and Marcella and had two siblings, brother A.B. and sister Suzette. Her father noticed Selena’s musical talent from a young age and, a former musician himself, taught her and her siblings. When Selena was 10, she began the lead singer in the family band, Selena Y Los Dinos.

Best known as the “Queen of Tejano” music, Selena Quintanilla brought the genre to a more global scale. Tejano music, or Tex-Mex music, is a popular musical style that fuses together Mexican, European, and U.S. influences together. Tejano is largely a male-dominated musical genre, so Selena was something of a trendsetter. When performing Tejano, she incorporated R&B, Latin pop, techno, disco, and country into her performances.

During the course of her career, she released four albums. Three were released before her death and one was released posthumously. Her sister, Suzette, also broke barriers during this time by being the first female Tejano drummer.  Selena had crazy crossover appeal as well, introducing Tejano across the world for many people.

Also known as the Mexican Madonna, Selena was considered a style icon. She also designed all her stage outfits.

As her star rose, however, Selena was famous for staying down to earth and humble. She did a lot of charity work from a fundraising concert to help AIDs patients, to volunteering at homeless shelters. She also became a spokesperson for women in abusive relationships and worked to help children in need.

In 1992, Selena married Chris Pérez, who was the lead guitarist for Selena Y Los Dinos, who continues work in the music industry to this day. In 2012, he wrote a book about his relationship with Selena called To Selena, With Love. 

Unfortunately, Selena’s rising star was shot down on March 31, 1995, when she was murdered by the former president of her fanclub and manager of one of her boutiques, Yolanda Saldívar.

Saldívar had embezzled money, more than $600,000 USD, from Selena’s fanclub and boutique. She was fired from both jobs, but still had paperwork, which Selena was picking up when Saldívar shot her in the back.

Selena escaped and got to the front desk, but died later from her injuries at the hospital. Saldívar was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years, meaning she’s eligible for parole in 2025.

Selena: The Series, however, will not be focusing on the circumstances surrounding Selena’s tragic and senseless death. Rather, it will focus on her rise to stardom and her familial relationships. It’ll also focus on her romance with Pérez as well.

Selena: The Series will be released on Netflix on Dec. 4.