How the Cast of "Selena: The Series" Compares to Their Real-Life Counterparts
1) Christian Serratos as Selena Quintanilla
It was announced last year that the Mexican and Italian-American actress would take on the titular role of Selena. In a chills-inducing trailer that was released last fall, you can see the actress wearing the singer's signature red lip and the purple jumpsuit that Selena wore for her last concert in the Houston Astrodome. If you've never seen Twilight, where Serratos played Bella Swan's friend Angela Weber, you may recognize her from The Walking Dead, where she played Rosita Espinosa.
Madison Taylor Baez will play a young Selena.
2) Ricardo Chavira as Abraham Quintanilla Jr.
The Desperate Housewives and Jane the Virgin star will portray Abraham Quintanilla Jr., Selena's father and manager of Selena y Los Dinos. (Chavira is also a fellow Texan.) Abraham was a singer-songwriter and record producer for his own band, Los Dinos, in the 1950s before he started managing his daughter's career.
3) Seidy Lopez as Marcella Quintanilla
Seidy Lopez was in the beloved 1997 biopic Selena as the singer's friend Deborah, who Selena invites to the 1994 Grammys, where she won for Best Mexican-American Album. But in the Netflix series, Lopez will play Selena's mother Marcella Quintanilla. Along with her husband, Marcella founded The Selena Foundation in 1995. The couple also approved the MAC Selena La Reina Collection, which was released earlier this year to celebrate the Selena's legacy 25 years after her death.
4) Gabriel Chavarria as A.B. Quintanilla III
Chavarria (The Purge, Freedom Writers) plays Selena's older brother A.B. Quintanilla III, who played bass guitar, produced, and wrote songs for Selena y Los Dinos. Following his sister's death, he found success in the popular cumbia/pop bands The Kumbia Kings and Kumbia All Starz.
5) Noemi Gonzalez as Suzette Quintanilla
Noemi Gonzalez appeared in The Young and the Restless and Hulu's East Los High before her run as Suzette Quintanilla, Selena's older sister and best friend. She was the drummer for Selena y Los DInos and currently manages the Selena Museum and the family's company Q-Productions.
6) Jesse Posey as Chris Perez
Jesse Posey, the younger brother of Teen Wolf's Tyler Posey, will play Selena's husband, Chris Perez. The couple first met when Perez joined Selena y Los Dinos as a guitarist in 1990, and they were married for three years before Selena's death in 1995. Eventually, Perez formed new music groups: The Chris Perez Band and The Chris Perez Project.
The Grammy-winning musician reportedly has a strained relationship with Quintanilla's family. Most recently he responded to claims that images of him and his late-wife were taken down from the Selena Museum. (Her family disputed the reports). Abraham also sued Perez in 2016 when the widower attempted to develop a TV series based on his memoir To Selena, With Love. Perez claims he had no idea the Netflix series was being made.
“Here is a pic I just saw of the actor playing me in the Netflix series,” he wrote on Instagram in May. “For the record, never met him, haven't seen the script, and I have NO idea what is going on... but, I'd love to find out."
7) Julio Macias as Pete Astudillo
Julio Macias, who plays the beloved Spooky on Netflix's On My Block, will play Pete Astudillo, a prominent Tejano artist and former backup vocalist for Selena y Los Dinos. He has two duets with the star—"Aname, Quirereme" and "Siempre Estoy Pensando en Ti." He also co-wrote her hits like "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom," "Amor Prohibido," and "Como la Flor."
8) Hunter Reese Pe?a as Ricky Vela
Newcomer Pe?a will play Ricky Vela, a keyboardist and songwriter for Los Dinos.
9) Carlos Alfredo Jr. as Joe Ojeda
Also a Hollywood newcomer, Carlos Alfredo Jr. will play Joe Ojeda, a keyboard player for Los Dinos. He won a Grammy in 1999 as a member of The Chris Perez Band.
10) Madison Taylor Baez as Young Selena
Nine-year-old Madison Taylor Baez embodies the singer before she became a world-renowned star. "Selena is actually me. We both started learning Spanish at the same age. We both started singing. Our dads introduced us to music," Baez told LATV's Get It Girl show. Looking ahead, Baez said she sees herself becoming a "big superstar."
The series drops on December 4.