One of the most popular and acclaimed movies out of Sundance 2025 was Isabel Castro’s “Selena y Los Dinos,” a musical portrait of “The Queen of Tejano Music” and the band that helped create her signature sound fusing cumbia with Latin pop to create something truly unique.
In fact the film was such a hot property that Sundance and the filmmakers had to pull “Selena y Los Dinos” from the Sundance online screening platform after fans started showing clips from the movie they’d recorded off their screens.
Castro previously directed “Mija” and she brings a particularly sensitive and appreciative perspective for what Selena Quintanilla achieved, before her unthinkable murder at age 23. She leans into how much of a family affair Los Dinos actually was, with Selena’s manager being her father, her brother being her producer, and her sister her drummer.
This is a doc not at all focused on the circumstances of her death and concerned more for celebrating and recognizing the impact of Selena’s life. As such it spends considerable time going into the cultural complexities of her career: Like many Tejano families, the Quintanillas did not speak Spanish. But a market for her among white America was elusive, so she learned Spanish as her career took off after incidents such as being unable to converse with the crowd at a concert in Mexico.
As IndieWire freelancer Esther Zuckerman wrote in her review out of Sundance, “You watch as Selena herself recognizes how she has to mold herself for the sake of success. She learns Spanish so she can hold her own in any tongue. Interested in fashion design, she shapes her own iconic look — the sparkly bras and high-waisted pants.”
“As the movie moves closer to the end of Selena’s life, you realize time is running out for Castro to get into the full drama around her death. But then it’s almost a relief when you understand that Castro is not going to spend the time rehashing that. The name “Yolanda” — a reference to Yolanda Saldívar, the fan-turned-murder — is only uttered once, in passing. It’s a choice that rips the killer of any power, leaving Selena in charge of her narrative.”
“What lingers is the complete sadness that this woman, who broke so much ground and was set to break so much more, is no longer present. In her family members’ and her bandmates’ faces, you can see how raw their sorrow still is. But “Selena y Los Dinos” is no mere tribute, it is a vibrant argument for Selena’s humanity, as well as her status as a legend.”
Netflix will start streaming “Selena y Los Dinos” on Monday, November 17. Check out the film’s first trailer below.