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Folks have pointed out that the Selena series erases Salvadoran representation by excluding Alvaro Torres. Torres isn't the guy to represent us (look into his politics), but we cannot ignore the influence of Salvadoran Cumbia scene from the 80's/90's had on Selena. Thread
We already know there is a connection to the Salvadoran music scene through Alvaro Torres. Salvadorans have migrated to TX especially during the 80's. According Economic Pulse (2017), Salvadorans are the 2nd largest Latinx group in Corpus Christi https://stedc.atavist.com/immigrants-in-corpus-christi
Another important connection is that Selena & her family were Jehovah's Witnesses, a denomination that is commonly found in El Salvador. This is why her father was upset by her "busti-ca-ca." It's why Salvi girls raised evangelical relate to her so much. https://www.distractify.com/p/selena-jehovahs-witness
Throughout her career, Selena experimented with different sounds/genres. We see in the series that she tried playing pop in Mexico & it wasn't received well. But one sound/genre really worked great for her, Cumbia! a genre particularly popular during the 80's/90's in El Salvador
Selena's first album leaned more on a Tejano sound & really only incorporated a little bit of cumbia. You can here this between the sounds of her first album, Selena, compared to her second album Ven Conmigo. Here is an interesting quote that summarizes this
Her style also began to flourish during this time. In earlier photos of Selena, we see her in more disco/tex-mex influence. Later her style changed to silhouettes that emphasized her natural curves.
One group in particular from El Salvador was making waves during this time, Nenas del Grupo Cana. They were one of the only all female group in cumbia scene that garnered national & international attention. This song is called Besitos de Pilon
Selena's Baila esta cumbia (2nd album) sounds influenced by Besitos de Pilon.
Here is their popular hit: La Cosquillita. Notice the dancing, aesthetics, sound.
Another important connection is the look of the band in her later years, the instrumentation, & her dancing, all clearly influenced not only by cumbia in general, but Salvi cumbia aesthetics. Here is a video of Sabrosa Cumbia. Notice how similar it all looks.
Finally, chanchonas also had a huge influence on cumbia in El Salvador as well so we can't ignore the afroindigenous influence there. It's why we pin such a Black sound/dance influence to her.
This is all to say that yes, Salvadorans had a huge impact on Selena, her sound, and aesthetic. It doesn't take from her legacy but instead shows how much of an impact Central Americans have on what we deem "Latinx" culture
Here is a video of my tios chanchona https://twitter.com/sadgirldanny/status/1337080173397749760
Lastly there were so many other groups/bands during the 80’s/90’s that probably also had an influence on Selena and thus Latinx music as a whole. I’m also not a music expert but a girl raised on cumbias y chanchonas
omggg i love them 
One thing is clear. Selena was influenced by the afroindigenous musical traditions of Latin America, whether she realized it or not. Cumbia is originally an Afro-Colombian tradition and it’s no wonder afroindigenous Salvadorans took it and made their own distinct sound in cumbia
