Corpus Christi hasn’t changed much since Selena Quintanilla sang like the flower at rodeos and fairs in South Texas. The gulf wind continues to carry with it the smell of petrol and cotton, and in the statue on the seafront you can see her smile intact, as if the tragedy had not reached her.
Now, three decades after his murder, which occurred when he was just 23 years old, a new documentary reopens the Quintanilla family archives. But he doesn’t do it with nostalgia, but with an unprecedented intimacy. The project manager is Isabel Castro (Mexico City, 35 years old), a Mexican director who grew up in Connecticut, known for her documentary Treasure (2022), about young Latinas who dream of succeeding in the music industry.
“When Selena’s family decided they were finally ready to make a documentary, they already knew my work. Treasure It touched on many of the themes they wanted to explore: identity, music, Mexican heritage. And that’s how we met,” recalls Castro, describing how the creation of this new documentary was born. Selena and Los Dinos: a family’s legacywhich arrives on Netflix on November 17th. It was Suzette Quintanilla, Selena’s older sister and drummer of that band, Los Dinos, who sought her out first. “We had a great understanding from the beginning. Shortly after, everyone on the team went to Corpus and, upon arrival, he opened the family archive. It was a closet full of VHS, DVDs, home recordings… That’s when I knew there was an opportunity to do something different, something authentic.”
That closet became the basis of the documentary. For more than two years, Castro and his team cataloged and digitized all the material. “It was a very long process, but also a very intimate one,” Castro acknowledges. “During that time, a trust was built with the family. They understood that I didn’t want to make another film about tragedy, but about Selena’s life, joy and creative strength.”
Throughout the conversation, Castro alternates between English and Spanish without realizing it, as if both languages are intertwined just like their identities. “I’m Mexican, but I also grew up in the United States. I never felt completely from here or there,” she says. “And that’s exactly what connected me deeply to Selena. She was one of the first figures I saw be completely herself, unapologetically for not quite fitting in. She was criticized for not speaking perfect Spanish and she didn’t care. She taught us to be unapologetic for being who we are. That confidence was vital to me as a Mexican-American.”
Castro speaks calmly, but with the passion of someone who knows he is touching a shared cultural wound. In Selena y Los Dinos, the director moves away from the Hollywood portrait and focuses on the woman behind the portrait queen of Tex-Mex. “What surprised me most when examining the archives was the level of family involvement,” explains the director. “I knew they worked together, but I didn’t know to what extent. AB III (Abraham Isaac Quintanilla, Selena’s brother) was a brilliant producer; Suzette, a key piece of the band; Marcella (her mother), the heart that contained everything. Together they built the sound that is still heard everywhere. Selena was only 23 years old, but in that short time they created more hits than many artists in their entire career.”
Before ending the interview, Castro takes a light question: his favorite Selena song and outfit. Series. “My song is like the flowerdecidedly. and mine I wait the favorite is not a dressis the cow print“In fact, during the conversation with EL PAÍS, she herself wears a cow print belt.
The film, which arrives on Netflix after passing through several festivals, including Sundance, where it won the award for best documentary, does not only save the memory of an artist. It also gives Selena her voice in a universal language: that of authenticity. In an age where identities continue to be tested, Castro achieves what seemed impossible: making Selena sing, 30 years later, for her entire audience in 109 countries and more than 32 languages.
Three decades after that loss that marked an entire generation, Selena’s name, without the need for a surname, continues to resonate across the continent. As the documentary revives her voice on screen, the temporary exhibition Selena: From Texas to the World will open its doors at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles between January 15 and March 16, 2026, showcasing for the first time outside Texas the red Porsche, dozens of portraits, costumes, gold records and original awards of the small, young legend that was Selena Quintanilla-Pérez.
