<P> Roger Mussenden was hired as casting director, and held casting calls throughout the United States including San Antonio, Texas, Miami, Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles . Casting calls began on March 16, 1996 and concluded on March 23 . Over 21,000 people auditioned for the title role, becoming the second largest audition since the search for Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind (1939). Casting turnouts reached 10,000 in Los Angeles and 5,000 in Chicago, while turnouts reached 8,000 in San Antonio . Mussenden chose 10 - year - old Becky Lee Meza of Harlingen to portray young Selena, her acting debut . Mexican actress Salma Hayek was invited to test the role of Selena by Esparza . Hayek turned the role down; she said she felt it was "too early" to base a movie on Selena and that it would be emotional because Selena's death was still being covered on U.S. television . Abraham discovered an actress in Los Angeles and wanted her for the role as Selena, despite her inability to convince the casting crew . He later had a change of heart when American actress and dancer Jennifer Lopez had showed up for the audition . Lopez found the audition process an elaborated procedure and was asked to sing, dance, and act out the elopement scene in front of the casting crew and Abraham . Within three takes of the elopement scene, Lopez convinced the entire casting crew who believed her performance was "among the strongest". Lopez had previously worked with Nava in My Family (1995). Screen testing was described as "grueling" and required "nine minutes of singing and dancing and eight pages of script ." After the announcement that Lopez would portray Selena, news media and fans criticized Abraham for choosing Lopez, a New York City native born to Puerto Rican parents, was selected to play a Texan of Mexican descent . The Mexican media disapproved the film and were outraged that Lopez was chosen for the title role . Lopez received backlash from the media and fans because she was not a Mexican American . The Hispanic community began protesting for a recast . During pre-production, Lopez stated: "I know a few people were protesting, but in Corpus (Selena's hometown) everyone has been really supportive". Nava admitted that the backlash was "a little hurtful", and felt the protesters "should be celebrating that we have an all - Latino cast and that Lopez, one of our own, is becoming a star ." The announcement was described as the "role of a lifetime ." from news outlets and Lopez's salary for the film was reported at $1 million, which made Lopez the highest paid Hispanic actress in history . Dave Karger of Entertainment Weekly noted that "nothing could have prepared (Lopez) for the hype attached to her million - dollar salary ." </P> <P> On August 8, 1996, the Los Angeles Daily News announced that Jon Seda and Edward James Olmos had joined the cast as Chris Perez and Abraham Quintanilla, respectively . After Lopez received the role, she decided to stay with Suzette at her home to study her character in the recordings and footage the family shared with her . Lopez felt that her "spirit and (Selena's) spirit were so similar" which was echoed by the singer's family who found that Lopez mimicked similar personality traits of Selena . They believed that Lopez' body language, laugh, and how she talked were identical to that of Selena's . Lopez had constant dance rehearsals for the film and said how she would arrive at the studio late in the day after finishing filming for another role . The family often had the entire main cast of the film over for dinner and would notice how they would watch them in their interactions with each other and the way they ate . Edward James Olmos, who took the role as Abraham, was asked to gain 40 pounds (18 kg) for the film . The cast found Olmos to be a father figure for them and often gave advice to the cast during filming . A.B., found Olmos' portrayal of his father to be convincing especially in the scene where Abraham was angered after finding out about Selena and Perez' relationship . Suzette discovered that Jackie Guerra, who played her in the film, constantly fixed her fitted and asked her family if she had done that before in which the family replied that she unknowingly does so . Band member Pete Astudillo, had to do a screen test of himself for the film and said how he had to improvised in several of his scenes since he had little dialogue in the film . American actor Jon Seda portrayed Chris Perez in the film and often spent time with Perez for character development . Seda said how he had spent time with Perez at the home he shared with Selena and found a price sticker in the bathroom with a scribbled letter that read "Selena and Chris, I Love You" and expressed on how that further inspired him to "show the love they (once) had" in the film . The biographical film focused on Selena's life rather than her death . Nava said, "I don't want to attend to (her murder)", while her death is treated "at a distance". </P> <P> Principal photography began September 1996, in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Poteet, Houston, and Lake Jackson, Texas . Nava used locals as extras for the film . Selena's singing voice was dubbed into the film, with Lopez lip - syncing the songs . During the opening of the Selena Etc . boutique scene, Suzette believed Lopez was wearing Selena's clothing to her disbelief that the costume crew members had replicated the suit the singer wore . Costume designer Elisabetta Beraldo remade Selena's dress she wore when she won the Grammy Award in 1994 . Suzette said how she was overcome with emotions after viewing Lopez in the dress . During the elopement scene, Perez explained how he had reminiscent the event as if he was "transported back in time" and remembered how he had a do not disturb sign and hearing a knock on his door . He found the scene to be one of the hardest to watch after reliving the moment when Selena had told him that eloping was the only resource they had and that they would never have a wedding she dreamed about . Perez refused to visit the set and explained that he did not want to partake in the film's process . Seda convinced him to visit for the scene where his character auditions for the role as the new guitarist for the band . After researching on how to perform a riff on a guitar and having lessons from Perez, Seda felt that the scene would not come off as authentic since he could not replicate Perez' guitar riffs . He tricked Perez into visiting the scene so that he could play the riff and have the director shoot a close up of his hands for the film . Seda said how after the film was released that people believed he could play the guitar, he said he tell fans how Perez was actually the one performing the riff in the scene . </P> <P> Nava pointed out how he wanted the performance scenes in the film to be "integrated into the drama and to reflect what the characters were going through emotionally and what Selena was going through emotionally at that particular time ." He further explained how he wanted the Astrodome scene to be the opening of the film to show viewers at her height of her career and then backtrail to show how she got there . The scene was shot at the San Antonio Alamodome on September 15, 1996 and was advertised in newspapers which garnered the attention of 35,000 people . Lopez said how she was nervous for the scene since it would be the first time she would perform in front of an audience of that size . She further expressed how uneven she was due to the criticism she received and was unsure how fans would receive her . Jackie Guerra voiced on how during the scene she saw Selena's parents sobbing, the cast later said how after the scene was completed they were overwhelmed with emotions . Later that night, fans approached Lopez sobbing that she looked identical to Selena and public perception on Lopez changed after her performance . The death scene was shot once, the cast explained how once they were emotional they continued after the director announced the take . Guerra said how she was physically and emotionally drained after the death scene was shot . She explained how she "could not imagine what's it like to be (the Quintanilla family)" and further said how she had to live with the pain for four months but found it unimaginable to the pain the family goes through since the death of Selena . Lopez spoke how the scene made her appreciate life even more, whereas Seda expressed that working on the film was one of the hardest for him in terms of departing from the cast . </P>

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