Notes

A journalist by the name of Cat Cardenas wrote an article titled We Need To Talk About Selena. If it isn’t obvious enough, the article is about the famous singer Selena Quintanilla. “In the 25 years since her death, the singer’s memory has been flattened and commodified. Selena—and her fans—deserve more.” Cat Cardenas’ thesis statement. In this essay I will be answering the question, “How convincing is an argument presented by a Texas journalist about the public depiction of legendary Texas entertainer Selena?”
Let’s begin by asking ourselves, “What is the point that Cat Cardenas is trying to make? What is she seeking to accomplish in her article?” Throughout the entire article Cardenas is making an attempt to clear all that has been flattened and commodified about Selena’s life. Shortly after the singer’s death many used this tragic event to make money. Others began to shape Selena’s life differently, telling the people what they wanted to hear about the singer instead of what was factual.
At the beginning of the article Cardenas talks about her great admiration for Selena. Cardenas even says, “I don’t remember a time in my life before Selena.” She then talks about how she would purchase everything and anything she could get her hands on. Eventually Cardenas realized how people are turning Selena’s legacy into something more corrupt than cherished. I believe that Cardenas’ adoration for Selena has led her to write the article, defending the singer’s public depiction.
One of the many ways that Cat Cardenas tries to clear what’s been flattened and commodified about Selena’s life is by mentioning an interview Selena participated in. In this interview she clumsily made a mistake with her spanish, forgetting how to say fourteen. Instead of dying of embarrassment, Selena brushes it off by laughing at herself with the entire crowd. Later in that same interview Selena goes on to say, “On stage, I can be free, I can do what I want ... When I’m at


home, I’m normal just like anyone else here.” Cardenas is highlighting true events that bring out Selena’s personality. Oftentimes when we think of entertainers, singers, or artists we get the impression that they’re not the sweetest people, or they only care about wealth and fame. We’ve all heard of these common stereotypes, but Selena doesn’t fit into those categories.
Selena’s normal just like anyone else. Halfway through the article Cardenas continues to talk about the singer’s real personality. She does this by bringing up the Netflix series based on Selena, which is not entirely accurate. “But unlike the Selena in the Netflix series, the real Selena wasn’t passive.” Cardenas describes Selena’s actual self as wild and stubborn. An example of this would be when Selena eloped after her father intervened in her relationship. Selena still had many more disagreements with her family. Although this is true, she always prioritized them and always seeked to patch things up. The article further describes Selena as a risk taker, someone who would take on dares, and speak up if she was told she couldn’t do something.
To wrap things up, I believe that Cat Cardenas’ argument about the public depiction of legendary Texas entertainer Selena is convincing and valid. Cardenas stated her beliefs, stated the facts, and successfully supported her claim. She also compared the real Selena to the Selena that has been commodified and flattened. Back to back, you are given more and more information about the real Selena that most have forgotten. Cardenas also brings up how some people have used, and still use, events from the singer’s life to make money. This happens quite often with many in the entertainment industry. In the end, Selena’s life has been edited here and there, but Cat Cardenas has raised her voice to make an attempt to bring back Selena’s true self.