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ALE;^ MARTINE=ʔCONTOURʔGETTYon march 31, 1995, the 23-year-old tejano music sensation selena
was tragically murdered in Corpus Christi, Texas. “She has always kind
of been present. Of course it has a lot to do with her being robbed from us,”
says Christian Serratos, who portrays the singer in Netflix’s Selena: The Series,
premiering December 4, and made with the blessing of Selena’s family. Serratos,
known for her work in Twilight and The Walking Dead, is the second actress
to portray the singer in a major project, the first being Jennifer Lopez in the
1996 hit biopic Selena. “I know there’s going to be comparisons, and we’re just
going to have to come to terms with that.” But the new series digs deeper. “We’re
going to get to spend so much more time with Selena. They’re just going to be
overwhelmed with things to look at.” In the end, Serratos hopes the spirit of
Selena comes through, particularly because of the impact she has had on so
many people’s lives. “She paved the way for me, she paved the way for Jennifer,
and so many Latin women and the Latinx community.”Christian Serratos
How did you cope with the
pressure of portraying Selena?
Was there anything you were most
nervous about?
I was super nervous. When I found
out I could have the opportunity, I
really was not going to drop it until
I got the job. I cared so much, and I
knew what I was prepared to put into
the role. I just felt this responsibility.What do you think it is about
Selena that makes her such a
timeless musical ɿgure?
Selena was always so authentically
herself. She was going to be an
icon, regardless. I think what is most
powerful about her was her spirit, her
soul, her charm. I tried hard to bring
that to the screen.How did you balance shooting the
ɿnal season of The Walking Dead
while also shooting Selena?
I was working with a trainer ɿve days
a week when I was shooting Walking
Dead to kind of get the stamina and
the body for Selena and working with
a voice coach during lunch breaks or
a dialect coach when I got off work
after 15 hour days and mom-ing at
the same time. It was a lot, but I am
so happy that I did it.How have you been holding up
during the pandemic?
I kind of like the masks. There are so
many things that we did that I think
are so gross now. Like, why did we
shake hands? Shaking hands to me
is so weird now. —H. Alan Scott“Selena was
always so
authentically
herself. She
was going to
be an icon
regardless.”PARTING SHOT