Earlier this month, the Oxygen network announced “Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them,” a two-part docuseries airing Saturday that promises to shed new light on the murder of Tejano icon Selena Quintanilla directly from her killer. , Yolanda Saldívar.
“After so many years, I think it is time to make things clear,” says Saldívar in a trailerspeaking from inside Mountain View Prison in Gatesville, Texas, where he has been since 1995. He will apply for parole in 2025, almost 30 years to the day of Selena's murder.
The clip points to the “secrets” that Quintanilla was keeping, and based on the tone, it is heavily implied that those secrets are dark in nature. “This is not a simple murder case,” says a relative of Saldívar. Another talking head comments, “She's just a person you can't believe,” leaving plenty of room for the viewer to believe she's referring to Selena.
This all feels like yet another exercise in the salacious, sensationalist rage that has long plagued victimized women. The series, created without the consent of the Quintanilla familyso far it's turned out to be a cash grab from a network that's gone from being a space for female-led stories to focusing on true crime shows that regularly veer into the morally questionable.
“In documentary film, the director, producer and writers have the power to frame: what are they highlighting? What are they giving weight to? What do they focus on? said María Elena García, creator and host of the “Anything for Selena” podcast and executive editor of Futuro Studios.
“Based on the promos that have aired, it is very clear to me that they are giving a lot of weight to Yolanda's accusations. Empty accusations she's been making for literally decades. To me, that is incredibly irresponsible, unethical and, frankly, just disgusting.”
Taking advantage of Selena, exploiting her in her death, and attempting to renegotiate her victim status by placing her killer on a platform and positioning the existence of “secrets” as a means to rationalize her murder is a new low, even in the real world obsessed with crime we live now.
“What bothers me the most is that the incrimination implies that whatever Selena's secret was, it somehow contributed to her death,” Garcia said. “That somehow whatever she was supposedly hiding influenced Yolanda's decision to kill her and when you do that, you're putting Selena on trial.”
Any accusation, Garcia added, is “a really unfortunate attempt to divert his story into some kind of true crime cliché,” which is a shame when “there's so much richness in his legacy that people could dig deeper instead of resorting to cheap tricks.” of the true crime.”
It doesn't matter what those accusations are. No kept secret, nothing Quintanilla could have done or said, excuses Saldívar for murdering her, and positioning a documentary series in a way that furthers that narrative is unpleasant business.
And it is a business. Selena has a lot of money; a brand she routinely turns a profit on and is a rare safe bet due to her devoted fan base. The Quintanilla family has collaborated with partners for a number of successful Selena-centered projects including, but not limited to: the 1997 film “Selena” (starring Jennifer Lopez); 2020’s “Selena: The Series,” streaming on Netflix; collections with Funko Pop!, forever 21, MAC, and others; and a 2015 crowdfunding attempt to create a hologram of Selena for concert use, which generated some criticism.
Quintanilla is a revered figure whose violent murder has fueled their exploitation. She was taken in her prime, leaving room for others to continue to exalt her cultural impact and commemorate her through art and merchandise, usually with reverence and loving intentions. But sometimes not.
Ultimately, it is her family's decision to allow Selena products to be created and the consumer's choice to purchase them. What keeps consumers interested in all things Selena is when it is evident that what is being offered comes from a place of love and celebration. And much of it is. From podcasts to t-shirts and piñatas.
This docuseries, however, has its roots in something much darker. The Quintanillas, for the better or worse, have state litigiously protective of her image, and this documentary series may explain why to some extent.
“I understand why this show is being made, but it's not a good reason,” said Jorge Rivera, a television screenwriter and co-chair of the Writers Guild of America's Latinx Writers Committee, who has worked on several true crime documentaries over the years. of the years. the years. “No one is going to get the answers from this that they think they will. No one is going to get the closure from this that they think they're going to get… I don't think anyone is going to benefit except the people who make the show. So what's the point of this except stealing money?
That it exists is not a surprise, since the Selena Industrial Complex will always continue operating as long as there is money to be made, which points to Hollywood's lack of imagination and investment when it comes to Latin stories.
“The industry seems to really gravitate toward our trauma,” Rivera said. “It's really frustrating because we are so much more than that. “We are fully realized human beings with an enormous variety of experiences and stories to tell.”
After last year's SAG and WGA strike ended in November, many writers are still out of work, shows are being canceled (Hulu's “This Fool” is being canceled). the latest on the cutting board) and Hollywood is struggling to make it happen, leaving creatives frustrated and financially strapped.
“It's really a struggle to get our shows greenlit and even when they are greenlit they don't receive proper marketing support and are often canceled first before finding an audience,” Rivera added. “But these are the kinds of things we are seeing green-lit in this market. “It’s a big bummer.”
