Como La Flor

Celina Quintanilla, also known as Selena, was a Tejano legend. She sang beautiful songs in both Spanish and English, although she didn't understand the Spanish lyrics. One of her popular songs, "Como La Flor," was a Tecno Cumbia with a polka feel. She blended Latin instrumentation with modern pop vibes, creating a unique sound. The lyrics of the song describe a painful lost love. Selena's voice expressed the emotion and pain, even though she didn't understand the words. She was taught the songs phonetically and added her own ad-libs. Despite not speaking fluent English, she became a sensation and was compared to Latina Marilyn Monroe. There have been various portrayals of her life, including a famous movie starring Jennifer Lopez. Selena's music touched the hearts of thousands of people. Hola classmates, today we are going to talk about the Tejano legend Celina Quintanilla, more commonly known as Celina. She sang and performed many beautiful songs, first in Spanish and then in English. Shockingly though, she didn't even know any words that she was singing when she was speaking in Spanish. Today we'll be discussing one of her top hits called Como La Flor, which was a form of Tecno Cumbia music that was largely only popular in Mexico at the time. Her story has been shown in many different ways and I hope to chat about it in this podcast. First, we're going to listen to her song. This song was one of her very popular, that was one of her top hits, that song was one of her top hits called Como La Flor. It is Tecno Cumbia and it has a polka feel with a bouncy tempo. As you could hear in the song, there was instruments that sound like a pick keeping the 4-4 time signature and a cowbell helping with the time signature as well. There was a keyboard in it that played sounds that sounded like a steel drum. They also in later scenes have, or later parts, have a chorus and they have something that sounds similar to an organ playing. There are guitars and a bass while Selena sings front and center. This song is a sad ballad talking about how love is lost. The song title itself means like a flower in English. She did a great job mixing Latin instrumentation with modern pop vibes, blending the two in a way that was rarely done before. The lyrics are describing a previous relationship and how the relationship was painful, like seeing a flower wilt. She is saying how much she hurts, even though she wishes her new partner the best, and how even though they are done, she was glad to experience love. The greatest pain is to feel the loss of a lover when you thought you guys were doing so well. I also feel like it's very painful when you convince yourself that you can handle the struggles you may be going through as a couple, only for your partner not to be willing to stay. This song has a beautiful call and response that lets people sing out their feelings if they are experiencing the same kind of pain. This kind of call and response is reminiscent of the American ballads that were popularized in the 70s and 80s by Queen. Selena's voice holds a tangible pain in it as she holds a note about her love for longer than necessary and makes a sharp contrast to the speediness of the bridge. Even though Selena didn't understand the words she was singing, she was still able to pull the emotion into it, all at the right places, to make you feel the possible pain and the possible relief of a relationship being done and over with. During her lifetime, Selena never actually spoke fluent English, but she was taught the song phonetically and was told where to put the feeling into it, and she was taught the emphasis. She was taught where to emphasize the song, and she was taught her song phonetically and was told where to put the feelings in it, and even added her own ad-libs and her raw emotions into the song when she knew what was happening. Her fame was largely seen as akin to a Latina Marilyn Monroe, and now there's many forms of content that have been made about her life and her music, the most famous one starring Jennifer Lopez as her likeness shortly after her death. Recently there has been a new docuseries about her life that came out in 2020, right before the pandemic, and then it ended in 2021. Selena was a powerful force to be reckoned with, full of power and strength in every song she released, even if she didn't understand the words. She moved thousands of people every time she sang. That's all I'm going to say today, I hope you guys have a great one, bye now.