The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has nominated Selena, the 1997 biopic based on the life of late Tejano music superstar Selena Quintanilla-Pérez starring Jennifer Lopez and Edward James Olmos, for inclusion in the National Film Registry.
Legislators led by Rep. Joaquin Castro from Selena’s home state of Texas said the film “has become a beloved icon of Latino culture and has found widespread mainstream success, proving once and for all that Latino stories are American stories. Given its importance as a work of Latino cinema, we believe it is deserving of preservation at the Library of Congress.”
Should the Gregory Nava-directed and written movie be selected by the Library of Congress, it would become one of only a handful of Latino films in the National Film Registry, including 1981’s Zoot Suit; 1988’s Stand and Deliver, for which Olmos received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor; and 1983’s El Norte, which was also directed by Nava and depicts the tragic migration story of two indigenous Mayans to the U.S. El Norte garnered Nava and his cowriter Anna Thomas an Oscar nomination for original screenplay.
Legislators said in the letter that “[m]any of these films made important contributions to the national awareness and understanding of issues like labor rights, immigration, and educational disparities that the CHC seeks to address legislatively today. Other films tragically never received the wide-distribution or recognition that has been afforded to other classics of American cinema, despite their ongoing relevance to Latinos today.
“As such, we respectfully ask that the National Film Registry explore ways to highlight the Latino-focused films in the registry, to ensure that these important examples of American Hispanic heritage not just be preserved but seen,” they continue. “As a next step, we also wish to formally nominate the 1997 film Selena for inclusion in the National Film Registry in 2021.”
Selena depicts the performer’s life story, from singing as a young girl with her siblings A.B. and Suzette at the family’s restaurant and carnivals to Grammy-winning stardom, and her tragic killing by an associate at the age of only 23 in 1995. Selena’s posthumous album was released shortly after her death and contained songs that had been intended for a full-length English language album. “Dreaming of You” cemented Selena’s status as a music icon, breaking several music records and helping make her the best-selling Latina artist of the 1990s.
More than 20 years after its release—and nearing the 25th anniversary of Selena’s death—the movie still draws excitement from fans, with theaters around the country still holding occasional screenings. "Selena is an American icon and she's so celebrated within the Latino community," Castro tells NBC News. "I think part of the affirmation of that was, not only the success of the film, but also the recent success of the television series."
The inclusion of Selena in the National Film Registry would also represent a triumph for Nava, who with Thomas also cowrote Frida and My Family (Nava directed the latter) and would now have multiple films included in the registry. "For too long U. S. Latinx filmmakers’ contribution to the film industry has been overlooked and underrepresented,” he said in the statement. “Our community is important and growing and our stories need to be told. I applaud the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ efforts to bring attention to this and to honor the accomplishments of Latinx filmmakers."