Selena Quintanilla’s Sister Opens Up About Growing Up With the Beloved Singer Amid New Documentary

Late Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla’s sister Suzette opened up about the memories of their lives that came flooding back during the making of the new Netflix documentary, Selena y Los Dinos: A Family’s Legacy.

“It gave me that good feeling of how life was,” Suzette told Today in an interview published Monday, November 17. “It was a reminder of what we did come from, which was nothing, and that we created something memorable that still resonates with people. I’m very grateful that our music is still relevant to this day.”

According to Suzette, the documentary – which will feature never-before-seen footage from their family’s archives – “never tried romanticizing anything about our life.”

Director “Isabel [Castro] had so many things to go through to be able to create and integrate Selena into this film because that’s the heart of this whole documentary,” she added of the director. “It’s real. It’s stripped down. There’s no romanticizing going on. It’s just who she was.”

Selena rose to fame in the late 1980s, touring with her family band, Selena y Los Dinos. In 1991, she reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Songs with her duet “Buenos Amigos,” which she recorded with Álvaro Torres. Her star continued to rise until March 31, 1995, when her fan club manager, Yolanda Saldivar, fatally shot and killed the beloved singer after being accused of embezzling money.

“Selena was a beacon and I see her as that as well. People still look up to her and they admire her,” Suzette told Today. “I hope that after seeing this documentary, they walk away with that same mindset that their dream is attainable.”

Selena y Los Dinos: A Family’s Legacy premiered on Netflix November 17.