Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II.

Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 2

Nombre: __________________________________
Clase: ________
Fecha: el 5 de marzo 2009
HACER AHORA:
Selena (1971-1995)
Singer. Born Selena Quintanilla on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas. Selena was
considered the "Queen of Tejano," a type of Mexican music that incorporated other
styles, such as country. She was also sometimes referred to as the "Mexican Madonna"
for her sexy outfits and dance moves. Selena began performing as a child. Around the
age of ten, she was the lead singer in her family's band, Selena Y Los Dinos. The musical
group started out playing weddings and clubs in their native Texas. The band featured
her brother Abraham on bass guitar and her sister Suzette on the drums. Her father
Abraham, a former musician, managed and produced the group. Selena sang in Spanish,
learning the lyrics phonetically since she understood the language, but did not speak it
at first. She went on to speak Spanish and later was a fluent speaker.
Selena became very popular with Tejano music fans and won Best Female Vocalist of the
Year and Performer of the Year at the 1987 Tejano Music Awards. Her album Ven
Conmigo (1990) was the first Tejano record to achieve gold record status, meaning it
sold more than 500,000 copies. In 1992, Selena took enough of a break from her hectic
schedule to marry Chris Perez, the band's lead guitarist in April.
Her recordings continued to have strong sales, and she won the Grammy Award for Best
Mexican-American Album in 1993 for her album Live. In 1994, she and the band played
numerous tour dates in New York, California, Puerto Rico, and Argentina. Amor Prohibido
was released that same year and went gold.

READ THE BIO ABOVE AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. When and where was Selena born?

2. What other names did people call Selena?

3. Did Selena know Spanish when she first began to sing in Spanish?

4. What award did she when in 1987?

5. When did Selena win the Grammy? And for what album did Selena win the award?
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 2

Hacer Ahora: Participation: Behavior:

_______________ _______________ _______________

2 3 3

Analyize and explain the significance of the following quotes from Selena.

QUOTE 1: Selena speaks to the Mexican press.

Selena: ¿Tienen preguntas?
Press; ¿Era tu primer visita a México, como te sientes?
Selena: Pues, me siento muy orgullosa de estar aquí con todos ustedes y me siento
muy….me siento muy excited.

[Laughter.]

Why is the quote important to the moive? What happens in this moment that is
significant to Selena’s career?

QUOTE 2: Abraham talks with the record label producers about an English
language album.
Producers: She’s taking off Abraham and now with this Grammy nomination, she like a
rocket.
Abraham: She’s very happy. Probably the happiest she’s ever been.
Producers: Well, we’re happy too. Record sales have been phenomenal. She’s fantastic
Abraham. I think she’s the next Gloria Esteban.
Abraham, we want to make a major English language album.
Abraham: English language album.
Producers: A crossover album. The best producers. The best songwriters. Everything
first class.
Is she ready? There’d be major promotion. We’ll get her on all the shows. Leno,
Letterman, everything.
Abraham: She’s ready We’ve been ready for a long time.
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 2

Why is the quote important to the moive? What happens in this moment that is
significant to Selena’s career?

QUOTE 3: Selena and her friend go shopping at an expensive store for the
Grammys and interact with the saleswomen.
“Excuse me miss, can we try this on?”
“Well, I don’t think you’d be interested in that one.”
“Why?”
“Well, because that dress is $800.”
“You know what, could you just take it off the mannequin we’d like to try it on.”
…
“What do you think?”
“Me either”
“Excuse me miss. We don’t need the dress. Thanks.”

Why is the quote important to the moive? What happens in this moment that is
significant to Selena’s career? What happens in this moment that is significant to
Mexican-American prejudice and stereotypes?

QUOTE 4: Selena talks with her dad.

I’m so proud of you. You broke the Tejano music scene wide open. No woman has ever
been able to make it, and now you are number one. You walk into Mexico, and they
don’t even accept Mexican-Americans and they love you.
And now, gringos. Disney World.
You remember. All those barriers that people have been trying to get past, you went
right through them as if they didn’t exist. Maybe for you they don’t exist. I love you. And
I’m very proud of you.

Why is the quote important to the moive? What happens in this moment that is
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 2

significant to Selena’s career? What happens in this moment that is significant to

Mexican-American prejudice and stereotypes?

ADIOS:
1. In the movie, when Selena is bungee jumping, the man says the “hardest part is
letting go.” Shortly after this, Selena goes to Chris and they get married. What do
you think Selena was “letting go of” when she decided to marry Chris?

Do you agree that “the hardest part is letting go” ? Why or why not? What do you think
we try to hold onto the most?

2. Selena’s dad says that she went right through the barriers that people have been
trying to get through for years, as if they didn’t exist. What barriers is he talking
about?

Barriers exist for all of us. What barriers do you feel exist for you in achieving what you
dream? How can you get through those barriers?

3. What did you think of the movie? Is there a specific scene or character you could
relate with? Why or why not?
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 2

¡Feliz jueves! Tengas buen día y hasta mañana.

Classwork: Adios:

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