Anything For Selena

4.8 (1.4K)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
SERIES

Maria García combines rigorous reporting with impassioned storytelling to honor Selena Quintanilla's life and legacy. She also explores the indelible mark she left on Latino identity and belonging, whether it’s fatherhood, big-butt politics, and the fraught relationship with whiteness and language. Anything for Selena has been named an Apple Podcasts Series Essential.

EPISODE 1

Selena and Me

Growing up along the US-Mexico border, Maria Garcia felt torn between her two identities as Mexican and American. But then, something changed her life. She discovered Selena Quintanilla—the Mexican-American pop icon who proved she didn’t have to choose. In the premiere episode of Anything for Selena, host Maria Garcia explores how Selena helped Maria find her own place in the world.

29 min
EPISODE 2

Selena and Abraham

Maria knows that to truly understand Selena as a person and not just an icon, she needs to go to Corpus Christi. Maria’s quest takes her to Abraham Quintanilla, Selena Quintanilla’s notoriously guarded father. Maria confronts his complicated legacy and reflects on fatherhood in Latinx cultures.

43 min
EPISODE 3

Birth of a Symbol

In her life, Selena was a symbol of hope. She became a role model for how Latinos could achieve the American dream and find acceptance. But a forgotten culture war following her death painted a different picture. In the 25 years since her murder, Selena’s image has taken on new meaning. In this episode, Maria traces how Selena became a symbol of solidarity and resistance.

42 min
EPISODE 4

Big Butt Politics

Nearly 30 years ago, Sir-Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back (I Like Big Butts)” hit the airwaves to the delight and shock of listeners. Today, the obsession with big butts is still strong with idols like Cardi B and Beyonce. It has also permeated white culture, with Kim Kardashian “breaking the internet” and butt selfie queen Jen Selter. Maria has a theory about how big butts went from taboo to obsession--and it involves Selena and Jennifer Lopez. She uncovers that booty politics is ultimately about race and brings us to a long overdue conversation about anti-blackness within the Latinx community.

45 min
EPISODE 5

Tejano Tension

Selena is often called the "Queen of Tejano music." In the 1990s, she brought this underdog genre to international heights. Tejano award shows were glitzy affairs and Tejano radio DJs were like rock stars in Texas and the Southwest. Even the New York Times called it the fastest-growing Latino genre in the country. But when Selena died, Tejano went from boom to bust. The story of Tejano's decline isn't so simple, though. Maria discovers that it's a story of immigration, money and how two often-ignored groups were pitted against each other.

39 min
EPISODE 6

Spanglish

Selena Quintanilla may have built her career singing Spanish songs, but she didn’t grow up speaking Spanish at home. She learned Spanish in the public eye, and her mistakes became some of her most famous and endearing moments. In this episode, Maria explores why Selena’s Spanglish seemed so revolutionary for its time, and yet so familiar to many fans who also struggled with the language of their heritage. The exploration takes us to an unexpected place.

43 min
EPISODE 7

Selena and the Internet

A quarter century after her death, Selena is breaking the internet. Online, Selena’s image and music have taken on new life on social media and platforms that weren’t even imaginable when she was still alive. Selena devotees of all ages have turned to Instagram, TikTok and Youtube to restore and remix Selena’s memory. In this episode, Maria explores how the internet has become a place where fans celebrate and remember Selena, as well as grapple with the void she left behind.

42 min
EPISODE 8

Selena and Race

After the premiere of Selena: The Series on Netflix, some fans claimed Selena had been "whitewashed" in the show. In this episode, Maria analyzes why Selena's brownness is an essential part of her legacy and reflects on how the exploration of Selena's race led Maria to revelations about her own identity.

45 min
EPISODE 9

Selena and Us

In the series finale of Anything for Selena, Maria reflects on what her year-long examination into Selena’s legacy reveals about La Reina’s humanity.

35 min
EPISODE 10 BONUS

BONUS: Anything for Selena Live!

In this intimate Q&A, host Maria Garcia and producers Antonia Cereijido and Kristin Torres take listeners behind the scenes for a look at the making of Anything for Selena. This episode was recorded live during a virtual event with WBUR Cityspace.

45 min
EPISODE 11 BONUS

BONUS: Selena and Chris

Maria heads to Joshua Tree, California for an intimate interview with Selena's widower, Chris Perez. Chris shares a side of Selena we rarely get to see, and Maria learns about how romantic love was one of the ways Selena charted her own path.

45 min
10/09/2020

Anything for Selena: A Podcast About Belonging

Maria Garcia was nine years old and living on the U.S.-Mexico border when Selena was murdered. 25 years later, Maria is on a quest to understand what it means to love, mourn and celebrate Selena. In this intimate, sometimes wrenching, cathartic journey, Maria explores what Selena’s legacy shows us about belonging in America — and Maria’s own place in the world.

4 min

TRAILER

Anything for Selena: A Podcast About Belonging

Maria Garcia was nine years old and living on the U.S.-Mexico border when Selena was murdered. 25 years later, Maria is on a quest to understand what it means to love, mourn and celebrate Selena. In this intimate, sometimes wrenching, cathartic journey, Maria explores what Selena’s legacy shows us about belonging in America — and Maria’s own place in the world.

10/09/2020

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4 min

4.8

out of 5

1,355 Ratings

Beautiful, informative, and interesting

Feb 22

Needham1533

Absolutely loved this podcast from start to finish. The way this story examined the impact and legacy of Selena was so well done. Highly recommend.
💗💖♥️🤍❤️😘❣️💕

Feb 7

Greeking out dudes

Whoa
Still revisiting several years after

Jan 22

pastelpink11

I was born in Atlanta to Salvadoran immigrant parents. My mom was a huge Selena fan. Even though I was born after her passing, she was everywhere - on my TV, us watching the biopic, her music on cleaning days, etc. I found a lot of relation to Selena - even being born after her passing - a Latina born and raised in the South. My Spanish ended up not being so great, but just like her, I knew it was never too late to reconnect with your roots. And despite that, her music is fresh and timeless. Like many fans, I have always been fascinated by the life and times of this star taken away too soon. And as a podcast junkie, I scoured the internet for episodes over her life, hoping someone would even dedicate a whole podcast to her. Thank you Maria. Your story and the way you intertwine in with Selena is so beautiful and raw. I just finished the second episode, and I cried at your story of your father. Even before you bravely shared that with us, hearing Abraham the dad reflected my own father. It made me understand the dynamics of Latinx father-daughter relations in my own personal life. I still revisit this podcast to this day. It’s timeless and anyone can see this was made by someone who truly wanted to make a love letter to Selena. The way you intertwined your personal life and upbringing as a Latina in America, I can relate to so much of it. Anyone who is a fan of Selena can dive in and enjoy how intelligent and passionate you are in every episode. Thank you!
wow!

10/01/2023

Brooke Ranson

This is incredibly well-made. I needed to do research on Selena for an upcoming film project and this was the perfect podcast to learn from. Well done!!! Such a beautiful tribute to Selena. 🌹

Maria García combines rigorous reporting with impassioned storytelling to honor Selena Quintanilla's life and legacy. She also explores the indelible mark she left on Latino identity and belonging, whether it’s fatherhood, big-butt politics, and the fraught relationship with whiteness and language. Anything for Selena has been named an Apple Podcasts Series Essential.