'Selena: The Series' Episode 1 'Daydream': How did she get her name and did Abraham Quintanilla want a boy?
Spoilers for 'Selena: The Series'
The first episode titled 'Daydream' begins with Selena Quintanilla (Christian Serratos) scared to leave her siblings and moving forward into the singing scene without them. They speak about how they used to dream of an English album and she has to do it without her siblings Suzette Quintanilla (Noemi Gonzalez) and AB Quintanilla (Gabriel Chavarria) on stage. We see Selena in the future, with fans screaming her name and as she writes on fogged glass, "Selena was here" before she sings one of her top hits 'Como La Flor.' Starting off the series with how big Selena actually was before her tragic death, it gave her story the appreciation she deserves before we're taken back to how Selena Quintanilla ended up an icon never to be forgotten.
In 1971 Lake Jackson, Texas, where we see Selena's father Abraham Quintanilla (Ricardo Chavira) say his daughters' name before revealing she was supposed to be a tumor. The doctors had told Selena's mother that she couldn't get pregnant and then thought she had a tumor. They wanted to operate before another doctor told them she was pregnant and they were sure they were having a boy - who supposed to be named Marco Anotonio Quintanilla (Please note that some publications have published saying it was Mark Anthony). The couple hadn't picked out the name for a girl. So while a boy was expected, Selena was welcomed. That's how (as per the series) the future Tejano Queen got her Greek name Selena, which means Goddess of the moon.
In 2018, a PopSugar article wrote that while the inspiration behind Selena's name wasn't revealed by her parents, the name has gained a huge fan base. The article said that the year the singer passed away, the name Selena was 91 on the list of popular baby names. In fact, according to reports, the now-famous singer Selena Gomez was named after Selena Quintanilla.
Back to the series - 1978 takes us to a home where Abraham was teaching his son how to play the guitar when he hears Selena singing and playing outside. He then practiced with her as he played the guitar. Eventually, Abraham was able to make a band out of his three children, Selena singing, Suzette played the drums and AB played the guitar. By 1980, the band was performing for small audiences in Papagayos. "Thank you, we're Southern Pearl," said young Selena (Madison Taylor Baez) as her father tried to find another guitarist to take his spot on stage with his kids.
At this point, the series sees the family in a financial dilemma with Abraham embarrassed that the family is on food stamps. The family lost their restaurant due to the economy. Abraham himself used to be in a band named Los Dinos and so his determination to make something of his kids and their talent only grew. The family went to go stay with Hector, Abraham's brother in Corpus Christi. There Abraham tells her brother that Selena is going places in "whatever it takes." The family even used (in the series) peach cans to make lights for the band. In real life, we also know that the band Selena Y Los Dino was born in 1981 - renamed. It was a family business and also the source of income for the household.
'Daydreams' ends in 1986, where Selena, now older, is singing her heart out in Spanish.
'Selena: The series' is now available to stream on Netflix.
