Corpus

Streaming video - 1999

CORPUS is a moving tribute to Selena, the Tejana superstar gunned down in 1995 at the age of 23 as she was on the brink of blockbuster crossover fame. While the story of her murder, which was filled with sex, glamour and betrayal, caught the attention of many outside the Chicano community, this film moves well beyond the sensational to present a nuanced feminist analysis of Selena's story.. Award-winning filmmaker Lourdes Portillo (SEÑORITA EXTRAVIADA, LAS MADRES: THE MOTHERS OF PLAZA DE MAYO) intersperses Filmclips of rare home movies, family photos, and glossy music videos from later in Selena's career with lively conversations with her father, sister and Latina intellectuals that shed light onto just who Selena was and what ma...kes her such a powerful figure today. She also interviews ordinary people in Selena's hometown of Corpus Christie, including starry-eyed teenaged fans and tearful strangers who visit her grave. With a compassionate lens, Portillo places Selena's life and legacy in a cultural context, revealing powerful social forces that transformed a popular entertainer into a Chicana cultural icon turned modern-day saint. more