This Brewery Wanted To Honor Selena With a Limited Release, Then the Quintanilla Family Got Pissed

We all know the tragic story of Selena Quintanilla well. The iconic Tejano singer was at the peak of her career when the president of her fan club shot her dead on March 31, 1995. Selena was 23 and had already revolutionized the music industry. 

Almost 30 years later, her fans are still grieving. Meanwhile, the Quintanilla family has tried everything in their power to keep the icon alive — from series and documentaries to even AI-powered releases.

However, the Quintanillas draw the line at other people trying to dip their toes on products that feature our beloved Selena.

The Quintanilla family vs. a POC-owned lifestyle boutique

The Highland Park-based Chicano lifestyle boutique Mi Vida had a beautiful idea to celebrate the life of the late Selena. They teamed up with the POC-owned craft brewery Brewjeria for a limited beer release, Tomo La Flor, to honor the Tejano queen.

According to Laist, Tomo La Flor was conceived as an American pale ale made with hibiscus and guava. The launch party took place the weekend before the singer’s birthday, on April 16. After all, Mi Vida’s owner, Noelle Reyes, has celebrated Selena’s birthday at her shop every year for the past decade with a pizza party, honoring Selena’s favorite food.

However, Reyes “wanted to go bigger this year,” Laist continued. The celebration was held at Brewjeria, pairing beer and pizza. According to Laist, the mood was “joyous as visitors share their love of the artist,” and “there was a line out the door at the appointed time.”

Until the Quintanilla family knew about the Tomo La Flor beer

The Mi Vida and Brewjeria teams made about 1,000 cans of the pale ale and quickly sold out, Agustin Ruelas, co-owner at Bewjeria, told Laist. But right when he was thinking about making more of the beer, a letter arrived.

Selena’s estate found out about the Tomo La Flor beer and sent a cease-and-desist letter to Ruelas.

“It was a downer,” he said. “We just wanted to honor Selena.”

While Tomo La Flor’s creative treatment emulated a woman like Selena, “neither Ruelas nor Reyes believes the beer crossed over into copyright or trademark infringement.” They didn’t even include the name “Selena” on the product.

The Quintanilla family’s overzealousness of everything to do with Selena

This is not the first time the Quintanilla family has shown its claws when someone tries to use Selena in any shape or form.

Last year, Selena’s father sued a cruise company for trademark infringement and publicity violations. Abraham Quintanilla Jr. argued the cruise company was illegally using his daughter Selena’s design and word trademark to promote its Cumbia Cruise events titled “Tributo a Selena.”

Most famously, Quintanilla Jr. got into a legal fight with the husband of the late Selena, Chris Perez, over the profits of the singer’s career. According to Billboard, this included revenue from “a trove of entertainment property” such as Nº 1 hits “Amor Prohibido” and “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” that could “prove more valuable in death than life.”

Right before the release of Netflix’s “Selena: The Series,” Perez and Quintanilla Jr. reached a stalemate over the rights to tell the Tejano singer’s story. They later “amicably resolved” the legal battle.

One way or another, it seems that no one can profit from Selena’s legacy but her father and