Selena rides in a carriage during a performance at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo at the Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas, February 26, 1995. (Arlene Richie/Getty Images)
During the Great Depression, 24-hour dance marathons became a craze; in today’s political climate, we go to celebrity look-alike contests for a little bit of levity.
The trend has been going strong since Timothée Chalamet famously showed up at the search for his doppelgänger in New York last October. Since then, these sorts of organic meet-ups have brought different fandoms together around the nation. The latest one in San Francisco? A Selena look-alike contest this Saturday, March 15 at 2 p.m. in Dolores Park.
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The queen of Tejano music has a massive fanbase in the Bay Area. Each year, the San Francisco Lowrider Council honors her with a special cruise down Mission Street, where they bring out their flyest cars and finest fits in memory of the “Como La Flor” songstress.
When the Lowrider Council canceled this year’s cruise, Luis Quiroz knew Selena fans still needed a place to get together. Quiroz is the community manager of Mission Lotería, a local group that organizes events that promote the neighborhood’s Latinx-owned small businesses, like their recent Cafecito Tour of 24th Street.
“Selena is such an icon in music, but also in Latino culture in particular,” says Quiroz. “She’s cross-generational. So our mission is really to bring families together, bring different groups of people together. … Everyone has a core memory of Selena.”
Mission Lotería, which organized the Selena look-alike contest, puts on social events and tours in the neighborhood. (Courtesy of Mission Lotería)
Indeed, as journalist Maria Garcia pointed out in her Selena podcast, the singer’s career took off in the early ’90s just as Latinos started to become recognized as a major U.S. demographic with political power. And with her affable stage presence and imperfect Spanish in interviews, Selena validated the experience of first-, second- and third-generation immigrants who grew up between two cultures. When “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” or “Amor Prohibido” climbed the charts, millions of people felt like they were winning, too. When Selena was murdered in 1995, she became a symbol of unity.
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“I think at the core, Selena fans — the first thing that comes [to mind] is ‘anything for Selenas,’” says Quiroz, quoting a popular line from the 1997 biopic about the star. “Like that just shows that you’re just down. You’re down for the cause, you’re down for the people, you’re down for community.”
In addition to her musical talent, Selena was a fashion icon. Whether it’s her bedazzled bustiers and matching hats or the plum-colored bell-bottom jumpsuit she wore in her final televised performance, fans entering the lookalike contest will have plenty of material to work with as they practice their cumbia steps and finalize their outfits.
The winner of the look-alike contest gets a $100 prize — not a major payday, but that’s not really the point of these events. There’s an opportunity to make new friends (or even find love) while bonding with fellow fans over a favorite star. To foster that sense of connection, after the contest Quiroz will take everyone on a Selena-themed bar crawl through the Mission, which will make stops at Mission Bowling Club, the plant-filled wine bar Arcana, Senegalese restaurant Bissap Baobab and more.
The Selena look-alike contest takes place March 15, 2 p.m. at Dolores Park, in front of the Miguel Hidalgo statue. The Selena pub crawl departs from the park at 5 p.m.
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