Nearly three decades after the death of Selena Quintanilla, a new mixtape was recently released by her family to honor the late singer’s legacy. Using digital technology, the Quintanillas were able to alter her voice to make a much more mature and deeper voice. 

Selena Quintanilla was an international superstar who rose to fame as an American Tejano musician. Jennifer Lopez played her in a 1997 movie on Selena’s legacy called “Selena.” The movie followed her music, past, and her murder in March of 1995. Her music impacted the Latin community as a whole and engraved itself into the hearts of many young and older people alike. 

Michelle Anzueto ’24, a Mexican-American herself said, “To this day she remains what we like to call ‘Reina del Tejano,’ meaning ‘Queen of Tejano.’ As I know, there were no  Mexican-American artists before Selena that people could look up to. She has shown me and others to embrace our culture and be proud of where our roots come from.”

While many are excited to relive Selena’s music releases once more, others believe that the Quintanilla family is pushing it too far with this remix. These people question if this album was truly for the fans or the family. 

“How much of this is about honoring her memory and how much of this is because her money-grabbing family wants to keep cashing in on her?” asked Armando Castillo, a Spanish instructor at Riordan. 

In the end, the community is split on whether this album is to really remember Selena or to continue to fund the family years after her death.