Puerto Rican Writer Defends New TV Show on Selena's Death

Puerto Rican journalist and television host Maria Celeste Arraras says the latest film adaptation of her book on the murder of singer Selena Quintanilla is faithful to the truth and doesn't take sides.

RELATED:
Tejano Icon Selena to Receive New Bio-Series on Netflix

Arraras, executive producer of the 13-episode series, said her intention was "to tell a story in the most objective, serious and believable way possible," taking into account all the elements surrounding the singer's tragic death.

The 'Queen of Tex-Mex Music' died in a motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 31, 1995, after being shot by Yolanda Saldivar, her friend and the former president of her fan club.

Saldivar claimed that the gun "accidentally went off." She is serving a life sentence in a prison in Gatesville, Texas.

Arraras believes this series will turn into "an X-ray of the murderer's manipulative mind." Saldivar "tried to manipulate me on several occasions, and after I studied all the evidence I realized that's how she manipulated Selena," the journalist added.

Though it only took her two and a half months to write the book, the host of the Telemundo show "Al Rojo Vivo" (Red Hot) had to wait 23 years before she was able to sell the television rights and produce this series about the Tex-Mex Queen who died at age 23.

Arraras started thinking about the book she would write just a few weeks after Selena Quintanilla was gunned down and, as a reporter, she traveled to Texas to cover the murder trial.

The family and the woman who killed her have each criticized both the book "Selena's Secret" and the like-named TV series.

"I have absolutely no worries" about what either Yolanda Saldivar or Selena's family might say about the series. "When everyone criticizes it, that's when you see you're not on anyone's side in particular," Arraras said.

She especially questions the main version that claims that Saldivar stole money from Selena, and disagrees with allegations on Saldivar's homosexuality.

With all that, she believes this television project will capture the same audience Tex-Mex Queen did. Selena "represents triumph among Hispanics since she started with nothing and achieved success."

"She was shot at the very moment she was on the point of really taking off, and that adds a degree of mystery and tragedy that is bound to captivate every generation," Arraras said.

The TV show will be launched by Telemundo in the United States this Aug. 24 after its airing in Latin America.