Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II.

Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 1

Nombre: __________________________________
Clase: ________
Fecha: el 4 de marzo 2009
HACER AHORA:
Answer the following questions in ENLGISH:
1. What does it mean to if someone is Mexican? What comes to mind when you hear
the word Mexican? (Write whatever you think or feel.)

2. What does it mean to if someone is Mexican-American? What comes to mind when

you hear the word Mexican-American? What is your mental image of that group of
people?

3. Have you ever heard of Selena? If you have, what do you know about her?

4. Do you personally know anyone from Mexico or with Mexican heritage? If so, do
they fit your mental image of the group or are they an exception?
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 1

Hacer Ahora: Participation: Behavior:

_______________ _______________ _______________

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 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 1

During the movie, take notes on the following themes in the movie. You may write down
scenes or words or descriptions. You do not have to write in complete sentences, but
make your notes legible.

Race Relations, Prejudice and Stereotypes:

Mexican-American Identity, Spanish, Tejanos

 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 1
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 1

QUESTIONS FOR AFTER THE MOVIE:

Select 3 of the following 4 quotes to analyze. For each quote/scene tell WHO
was involved, WHAT the context of the scene/quote is in the movie and WHY
the scene/quote is IMPORTANT to a larger theme in the movie.

***YOU MUST ANSWER QUOTE 4****

QUOTE 1:
Owner: “Who are you? What are you doing at my place?”
Dinos: “Good morning sir. We’re the Dinos.”
Owner: “The Dinos?”
Dinos: “Yes.”
Owner: “You want to wait right there, just a minute.”

THE OWNER INSIDE ON PHONE WITH CHARLIE…

“I don’t care if the kids like ‘em. They’re a bunch of Mexicans. You didn’t tell me they
were Mexican. I thought they were Italian. I can’t have that in my club. This club is
whites only. You know that, Charlie.”

BACK OUTSIDE WITH THE DINOS…

Owner: “This is for you, for all your trouble comin’ out here today. (Hands a check for
$10) I appreciate it. But there’s been a mistake, and we can’t do the audition today.
We’ll call you. OK.”
Dinos: Dinos rip up check.” Let’s get out of here.“

LATER AT ANOTHER CLUB

Dinos: “Nobody’s kickin’ us out of this joint, guys. After all, they’re tejanos and
mexicanos like us.”
INSIDE CLUB. PEOPLE BOOING.
“That’s gringo music”
“Play some Mexican music.”
Owner 2: “You guys better play some Mexican music or this crowd’s going to tear the
place down. “
Dinos: “We don’t know any Mexican music.”

TALKING TO POLICEMAN IN CAR…

Police: “They’re madder than a bunch of hornets. What did y’all do anyhow?”
Dinos: “We sang we belong together.”

Who is involved in the scene?

Where does this scene fall in context with the rest of the movie? What is going on in this
scene that relates to rest of the movie?
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 1

Why is this scene significant to a larger THEME in the movie? What is the theme it relates
to?

QUOTE 2:
Selena: “Whats this?”
Abraham: “A song in Spanish.”
Selena: “But I don’t know Spanish.”
…
Selena: “Clock don’t mark the hours cuz I’m going nuts?“
Abraham: I know it sounds a little weird in English.
Selena: “Dad, what’s this all about.”
Abraham: “This is about learning how to sing in Spanish.”
Selena: “Dad I don’t want to sing in Spanish. I don’t even like music in Spanish. I like
Dona Somers.”
Abraham: “Do you like to sing in front of people? “
Selena: “Yeah dad, I love it. Its, its like you can feel them when you sing.”
…
Abraham: “Let me tell you something, something I learned the hard way. When I was
young and singing with Los Dinos, one time I was singing and they starting throwing beer
bottles at me….it sounds funny, it does, but it scared me. But I did learn something. You
gotta be who you are. You can’t change it. You’re and American. I’m an American.….But
you’re also Mexican, deep inside…”
Selena: “So what you’re saying, is I have to learn how to sing this stuff.“

Who is involved in the scene?

Where does this scene fall in context with the rest of the movie? What is going on in this
scene that relates to rest of the movie?
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 1

Why is this scene significant to a larger THEME in the movie? What is the theme it relates
to?

QUOTE 3:
Abraham: $620 this is not what we are talking about…
Owner: What can I say Abraham? She’s just a woman. Tu sabes. (You know.)

Who is involved in the scene?

Where does this scene fall in context with the rest of the movie? What is going on in this
scene that relates to rest of the movie?

Why is this scene significant to a larger THEME in the movie? What is the theme it relates
to?
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 1

QUOTE 4:
Selena and her brother:
-They want us to play Mexico?
-Dad, a gig in Monterrey Mexico…that would be so cool.
Abraham: I’m not sure of that right now.
Selena’s brother: Hey dad, you always said everything’s a risk, right?
Abraham: They don’t accept us over there. They never have.
Selena: Hello we are Mexican.
Abraham: No, we are Mexican-American. And they don’t like Mexican-American. And
they can be mean and they can tear us apart over there. And your Spanish is…
Selena: What about my Spanish? I’ve been singing in Spanish for ten years, its perfect.
Abraham: Singing, yes. But when you speak it, you speak it a little funny. And down
there you have to speak perfectly or the press will eat you up and spit you out alive. Ive
seen ‘em do it.
Selena’s Brother: Dad, the music will speak for itself.
Abraham: Listen, being Mexican-American is tough. Anglos jump all over you if you
don’t speak English perfectly. Mexican’s jump all over you if you don’t speak Spanish
perfectly. We’ve got to be twice as perfect as anybody else. Why are you laughing?
What’s so funny? I’m serious. Our family has been here for centuries. They treat us as if
we just swam across the Rio Grande. I mean we gotta know about John Wayne and Pedro
Infante. We gotta know about Frank Sinatra and Agustin Lada. We gotta know about
Oprah and Christina. Anglo food is too bland, and yet when we go to Mexico we get the
runs. That to me is embarrassing. Japanese-Americans, Italian-Americans, German-
Americans, their homeland is on the otherside of the ocean. Ours, is right next door,
right over there. We’ve got to prove to the Mexicans how Mexican we are, and we’ve got
to prove to the Americans, how American we are. We gotta be more Mexican than the
Mexicans and more American than the Americans, at the same time. It’s exhausting.
Man, nobody knows how tough it is to be a Mexican-American.

Who is involved in the scene?

Where does this scene fall in context with the rest of the movie? What is going on in this
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 1

scene that relates to rest of the movie?

Why is this scene significant to a larger THEME in the movie? What is the theme it relates
to?

Do you agree or disagree that being Mexican-American is hard? Do you think it is true
that many people would feel a pressure to be “more Mexican than the Mexicans and
more American than the Americans, at the same time”?
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 1
 Profesora Harcrow. Spanish II. Ballou
SHS 2009. Selena Day 1

ADIOS:
Answer the following questions in ENGLISH:
1. Have any of your perceptions of Mexican-Americans changed after watching the
first half of Selena? If so, why? If not, why not?

2. In your opinion, what is Selena and her family’s greatest struggle up to this point?

3. What character or scene in the movie do you most identify with or relate to?
Explain.

Classwork: Adios:

_______________ _______________
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