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Selena celebrated with Southtown birthday party, movie screenings

Flowers are seen on the star of late singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez after it was unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
MARIO ANZUONI/REUTERS
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Flowers are seen on the star of late singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez after it was unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California.

The Good Kind Southtown, a night spot at 1127 South St. Mary's St., is remembering Selena with a birthday celebration on Friday night.

A DJ will play all of Selena's hits, there's a look-alike contest at 7 p.m. and then there will be a showing of the Selena movie, starring Jennifer Lopez, at 8 p.m.

The Alamo Drafthouse Park North in Stone Oak will also show the movie at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, her birthday.

The Alamo Drafthouse on its website said audience members are welcome to interact with the movie during its screening.

"We could just sit quietly and watch the magnificent 1997 film 'Selena,' starring Jennifer Lopez in a star-making performance. But we think the best way to honor Selena is to share in the joy of her music," it read.

"Whether you want to sing along or use any of the fun props we’ll have available when you arrive, you are strongly encouraged to lose yourself in all of Selena's classic songs while you enjoy the film," it added.

Selena would have turned 51 on Saturday if she were still alive.

Selena reached cult status across South Texas after she was fatally shot by her former fan club manager at a Corpus Christi motel on March 31, 1995.

Sonya Alemán, University of Texas-San Antonio associate professor in Mexican American Studies who teaches a course on Selena, explained the impact of Selena in her heyday and her ongoing popularity today.

“Selena charted a course for cultivating a transnational fan base by taking the regional sound of Tejano music beyond the nation’s southwestern borders into Mexico and Latin America. She demonstrated that success was not limited to a crossover into the U.S. mainstream music industry, but could also be achieved by reaching fans across the Americas," Alemán said.

"Additionally, Selena’s influence can be seen in the phenomenal careers of artists like Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé — two women of color who echo Selena’s stage presence and entrepreneurial vison. Because Selena’s music has become an integral part of Latino family spaces, her musical impact extends to new generations who have only heard her music after her passing. Through this cultural work, Selena’s spirit continues to inspire how members of Latino communities imagine, accept, and become the best versions of themselves," she said.

Texas Public Radio is supported by contributors to the Arts & Culture News Desk including The Guillermo Nicolas & Jim Foster Art Fund, Patricia Pratchett, and the V.H. McNutt Memorial Foundation.