The Time Selena Quintanilla Played Herself on a Mexican Telenovela

Did you know Selena Quintanilla once appeared in a telenovela? The Queen of Tejano music made her TV debut in Season 1 of the Mexican telenovela Dos mujeres, un camino. In episodes 179–182, Selena played herself.

In the show, Selena comes to Monterrey for a rodeo and falls for Ramiro Delgado (of Bronco), who also appears as a fictionalized version of himself. At the rodeo, she bets with Paola (played by Gaby Platas) that Ramiro can ride a bull longer than Paola’s boyfriend, Lupe (played by Lupe Esparza). After Ramiro succeeds, they share a kiss and celebrate.

To close out her appearance, Selena takes the stage to perform “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” and “Como La Flor.” Later, she breaks it off with Ramiro because of the distance between them, then kisses him goodbye one last time. In an interview with TVyNovelas magazine in the ’90s, Selena said producer Emilio Larrosa initially invited her to perform on the show.

“The idea was to come out singing with the band, but everything changed when I got there, and I ended up playing Ramiro Delgado’s girlfriend, repeating words that someone was telling me through a teleprompter and even filming a kissing scene,” she said. “I was very nervous because it was my first acting role, but it was a lot of fun.”

It wouldn’t be Selena’s only acting role: she was later invited to appear in Don Juan de Marco, alongside Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando, in 1994. Selena reportedly hoped to make more film and TV appearances—especially in romantic comedies—but her plans were interrupted by her tragic death in 1995. Now we’re left wondering what else the Chicana icon might have starred in in another life.