“What I need to do with this character is give it my heart because that’s how Mrs. Quintanilla worked in her family. She was that foundation. She was that safety net.” – Seidy Lopez
Selena: The Series debuted December 4 on Netflix and our own Dave Morales sat down to speak with Noemi Gonzales and Seidy Lopez about the highly anticipated series. Noemi and Seidy portray Suzette and Marcella Quintanilla, respectively, the sister and mother to the late “Queen of Tejano music” Selena.
Prior to starring in Selena: The Series, Noemi Gonzales was best known for her role as ‘Soli Gomez’ in the popular Hulu series East Los High. Noemi shared on how significant this role was for her saying, “It was beyond special. If there’s a word more than special I would use it. It was a blessing. It was an honor. It was everything because Selena really inspired me as a young girl.”
In addition to being a source of artistic inspiration, Noemi explained how Selena inspired her in other ways. “She inspired me as a bicultural woman, as a Mexican-American, as someone that now choses to be in the arts and be her own professional, artist, and actress.”
With Selena continuing to be an iconic figure in Texas and the Hispanic community Noemi discussed her approach to the role of ‘Suzette’. “Being her best friend, her drummer, her sister and if I can give her anything, then I gave myself as much as I could, my all.”
Seidy Lopez knew there would be a sense of responsibility that the cast would feel portraying the Quintanilla family. “I said what I need to do with this character is give it my heart because that’s how Mrs. Quintanilla worked in her family, that’s who she was. She was that foundation. She was that safety net. She was that loving mother.”
“The beautiful thing about the Quintanillas is that no matter what journey they were taking they were always together. Whether it was on the road or whether it was at home,” Seidy added about the closeness of the Quintanilla family. “It was wonderful and special to see how they maintain that closeness. How they maintain those family foundations even on the road. It made it feel like at least they had a little bit of that warmth.”
As for what song was the casts’ favorite, it was a difficult choice. “It’s hard now because I get to play the drums,” said Noemi. “It’s like do I drum it or do I listen to it. My favorite one of all time has to be ‘No Me Queda Mas’ because it has beautiful poetry.”
Selena: The Series is now streaming on Netflix and look for Part 2 to release in 2021.
