Zamora addresses all that and more in an exclusive conversation with EW.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Can you recall the first moment you saw series starChristian Serratosand knew she was your Selena?
MOISES ZAMORA: Yes!
Credit: Sara Khalid/Netflix
It was during one of her auditions when she was fully dressed and made up like Selena.
She was wearing a bustier and she sang “Amor Prohibido.”
Oh my God, it was so exhilarating!
Victor Ceballos Olea/Netflix
What I noticed about her during this specific performance were her eyes.
Selena’s eyes are so important.
I feel like Christian’s eyes matched hers and there was something about her gaze that immediately captivated me.
Netflix
Her performance of the song was also beautiful.
The costumersworked hard to recreate many iconic outfits from Selena’s life.
But did anything that belonged to Selena make a sneaky appearance?
There has been criticism aboutSelena: The Seriesfocusing so heavy on her father for the first 4-5 episodes.
Why did you go in that direction?
Abraham reminds me of my grandfather, stern yet loving.
He believes, in his own Mexican way, in his children.
It’s vital to tell this part of the story through Abraham’s POV.
Without her family, we don’t have Selena.
Selena’s widower, Chris Perez, was not involved in the series.
How did you handle telling his story?
It’s a complicated topic because, of course, we wanted to have everyone be involved.
We handled this by always staying focused on Selena’s perspective and that of her family.
Chris is a public figure and a lot has been reported about their relationship, especially their wedding.
I think I have a copy of the original marriage certificate.
We did the best we could.
We knew this was the love of her life.
We know Chris is a great person, and we knew we wouldn’t deviate from that.
Explain the process behind weaving those two worlds in the series.
I think the soundtrack is one of those really important things that tell the complexities of her character.
Yes, she was an American teen and she was obsessed with Jody Watley.
Music brought them together.
She loved that song so much too, so it eventually became their song.
They listened to it so much that it would annoy everyone!
It was through that song that they could express their feelings without arousing suspicion.
They couldn’t talk!
What they felt for each other was more than words.
Can you share insight into the brief scene that showsYolanda Saldivar (Natasha Perez)?
Her brief appearance felt innocuous, showing her as someone who at the beginning wanted to help out.
She wanted to be part of this world so she volunteered to do whatever they needed help with.
At the time, they were growing so fast and were faced with so many challenges.
The fans meant so much to Selena and they needed someone to take the lead on that full time.
There has been talk about how the series adds to the commercial exploitation of Selena.
What is your response to that?
They have a museum and there’s so much about her available online.
The fact is, with or without the “commercial exploitation” of Selena, she’s an icon.
She’s aMarilyn Monroe, she’s a Maria Felix.
I personally think there should be 100 more stories, like shows and films, about Selena.
Just like there are 100 stories about Marilyn orElvis, or any other American icon.
That gives people the opportunity to express their relationship with an icon.
The interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
