by Jennifer Anima
When it comes to Selena Quintanilla, in one way or another, you have heard about her.
She was a Tejano Music pop sensation in the 80’s and 90’s until her tragic death in 1995. Her lead singing role in her family’s band “Los Dinos” won many awards, including a Grammy for “Best Mexican American Album of The Year” in 1994. Years after her death, the movie “Selena” came out, starring “Jennifer Lopez” as “Selena.” The movie was a hit, making $35.5 million in the Box Office in the United States alone. “Selena,” the movie, shed light on her love life with the guitar player, Chris Perez, and although it was dramatized, the events were true. In 2020, a series on Netflix called “Selena: The Series” was released and had a large controversy when it came to who was playing Selena in the series. When the new series was released, I ordered the book Chris Perez dedicated to his wife “To Selena, With Love” on Amazon. The book was retailed for $16.45 in 2020 and is now selling for $12.79, and it is well worth it!
The book is a commemorative edition with a handful of photos of the superstar not only in color, but in black and white, before each chapter begins. A photo of her is also enlarged to take up the whole front cover of the book. As a fan of her and her music, I found this book to be a great memorabilia piece because of the photos and a nice book to have on one’s shelves. These photos are sure to make fans feel they have a piece of her to hold onto forever.
Whether readers know anything about Selena or not, this memoir takes you into what seems like a movie, but is the reality of what it was like to be her husband and be in her everyday life. Perez writes as though he is telling a story face to face; there are no fancy words that might confuse readers. It is written in a timeline form starting from the time when Perez met Quintanilla to years after her death where he goes on to win a Grammy with his new rock band “The Chris Perez Band.” Compared to the movie or the series, there is a sense of assuredness because in the movie or series, creators make sure to tell you that scenes have been dramatized. This book seems to be a type of diary of the fondest memories with his late wife.
image credit: NBC News
The range of each chapter is what is most appealing about this book; there is not one multiple chapter that sticks to one story. Perez talks about famous events like their secret run-away to elope, to fun moments like racing his motorcycle against her BMW, to the last time he saw her the morning of her murder. He also answers questions many people have had over the years. One of the most popular questions that was asked after her passing was if Quintanilla was pregnant at the time of her death. The answer was simply “no.” His mother had found medication usually taken by people who are pregnant, but it turned out that Selena would take them for hair growth not because she was pregnant at the time of her death.
Perez also touches on how different pieces of music were made throughout her life. One of her most iconic songs is “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” which was written out randomly before a show “Selena y Los Dinos” were going to play at. Perez shares an emotional memory of not being able to listen to “Dreaming of You” because it brings back emotional memories of the day she recorded it. He explains that he is certain the song was written for him, and it is too painful to listen to it.
This book is sure to send readers crying into their pillow because you remember that these are real events with real emotions that someone is going through. Out of “five stars,” this book wholeheartedly deserves all of them. Whether it be before or after watching the movie, readers must put this book and a box of tissues in their cart.
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