Fans Dance, Cry and Smile as Selena Becomes a Google Doodle

By Cora Cervantes Oct 17, 2017

Share

Share

“Wow! The Google Doodle today celebrates Selena! I was so moved by this, I cried,” said Favianna Rodriguez, an activist and artist with the art collective >Culture/Strike. Rodriguez was one of many who woke up to an animated Google Doodle honoring Selena Quintanilla, “The Queen of Tejano.”

The release of the doodle on October 17, celebrates the 28th anniversary of the release of Selena’s debut studio album, “Selena.”

The animation includes her 1994 No. 1 single,“Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” and the images celebrate Selena’s love of music. The cartoon shows a montage of her as a young girl practicing with her dad and growing up to become Selena the artist. The animation elevates the dedication placed on becoming the Selena fans grew to know.

Still of young Selena and her father from the Selena Google Doodle animation.

“It’s so rare that Latinxs artists get such widespread recognition. Although we make up about 17% of the national population, there are few stories of Latinx artists in the mainstream.” Rodriguez told Latino USA.

Perla Campos, Google Doodle’s Global Marketing Lead, spearheaded Google’s Selena homage, which was two years in the making. As a Latina from Texas, she has a special connection to the doodle’s release. Campos is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant single mother, when recalling Selena’s influence she wrote in a letter on the Google Doodle page, “Selena taught me that being Latina was a powerful thing, and that with hard work and focus, I could do whatever I set my mind to.”

The doodle is accompanied by a virtual exhibit that offers an in-depth look at Selena’s iconic outfits, awards, and fan art. The Selena exhibit can be found on Google’s Arts and Culture site. The exhibit was curated by The Selena Museum. The museum is operated and curated by the Quintanilla family.

In a statement to the media regarding the Google Doodle, Suzette Quintanilla, Selena’s sister said of the project, “This [is] a testament to the power of Selena’s legacy, which is still going strong 22 years later. Selena has always transcended cultural boundaries and having this Doodle featuring a strong, Latina woman on the homepage of Google around the world is a perfect example of that.”

Here are some of the social media reactions about the Selena doodle:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.