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Selena: Jennifer Lopez
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Two years after Selena's death, writer/director Gregory Nava brought Selena to the screen with Jennifer Lopez bravely taking on the challenge of appearing in almost every scene, doing all that dancing, and lip-synching all those songs. It was a triumph for the actress that 10 years later she has yet to surpass.
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After her death, Warner Brothers made a movie about Selena's life and death. Puerto Rican actress Jennifer Lopez was cast for the role of Selena. There was an outcry in both the Mexican, and Puerto Rican communities when Lopez was given this role. Although controversial, this movie brought Selena's death to the public eye, and catapulted her name onto the mainstream. At last everyone knew who Selena was. She was no longer Tejano's hidden treasure, but now she was the Queen of Tejano Music. According to EMI Latin president Jose Behar,"Gloria Estefan left the door ajar for Hispanic artists, but it was Selena who blew it wide open." (7)
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Jennifer Lopez will be lipsynching to Selena's songs in the movie, but Jennifer Peña will be singing Selena's earlier songs since there were no clean recordings of Selena when she was young. But none of Jennifer's singing from the movie will be on the soundtrack. Live tracks from the Alamodome concert will be used in the film. The soundtrack is expected to hit the stores on March 11, ten days before the national debut of the movie.
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During pre-production, Mexican-American activists were highly critical that Jennifer Lopez, a New York City native born to Puerto Rican parents, was selected to play Selena. They preferred an actor with Mexican roots.[4][5]
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In a brilliant article on changing Latina identities, "Jennifer's Butt," Frances Negrón-Muntaner considers Selena in relation to the body of Jennifer Lopez, the film's star, a Niuyorican. Among other points, the essay argues that Lopez, like Selena, presents a distinctively "curvy" body :
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In 1997, Jennifer Lopez played Selena in a film about her life. Directed by Gregory Nava, the biopic opened with mostly positive reviews.[24] Over 12,000 people auditioned for a role in the film.[25] The film stirred some controversy in the Mexican-American community, since Lopez is Puerto Rican and played the role of a singer of Mexican descent. But Selena's fans supported the movie, and Lopez's role in the film helped elevate her career.[26] Although Lopez would succeed as a pop star herself a few years later, Selena's voice was dubbed in for all the songs in the movie.[27] For her role in the film, Lopez was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Musical.[28]
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