SAN ANTONIO – Selena is the latest music icon to have a course dedicated to them at a university.
UTSA is now offering a class about the queen of Tejano music as part of its Mexican-American Studies courses.
The class will be taught at the University of Texas at San Antonio by Professor Sonya Alemán, who’s part of the Department of Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Selena XXV anniversary concert at Alamodome officially canceled due to coronavirus
“A range of both personal investment and scholarly interests influence my desire to design and teach a course grounded in the remarkable career, legacy, and lived experience of Selena Quintanilla," Alemán said.
A native of South Texas, she goes on to say that she began to analyze the power of Selena’s accomplishments but also noticed the lack of other Mexican-American and Chicano media representations.
Also, it was important that Latino youth learned about Mexican-American culture and history, she said.
“These Brown youth — who make up more than half of Texas’ school-aged population — have been denied access to a curriculum that centers their Mexican-American and Chicana/o/x history and knowledge for decades,” Alemán said. “For years, I have been envisioning a course that would address that gap and also honor and celebrate the life of Selena Quintanilla.”
This past March was the 25th Anniversary of Selena’s death, but her legacy has continued to be deeply rooted in pop culture.
See KSAT’s hourlong documentary special about Selena’s legacy below.
WATCH: ‘Siempre Selena’ - A KSAT 12 Special