Jennifer Lopezcelebrated the 23rd anniversary of the release of the “Selena” film on March 21 in the most beautiful way. The star paid tribute toSelena, the movie and the role it played in her career with a touching video uploaded to her official YouTube channel and Instagram.In her caption, Lopez expressed her admiration for the late “Queen of Cumbia” and her gratitude for her legacy. She began the post asking her audience to join her in #CelebratingSelena.

“I can’t believe it’s been 23 years since this incredible movie came out and 25 years since her passing. Selena was such an inspiration to me, and I was so lucky to be chosen to play her. As an artist, this movie truly was an experience I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” Lopez wrote. The star signed off asking fans to share their memories of both the late performer and Lopez’s role in the movie.

The video includes clips of Selena performing live intertwined with moments of Lopez acting in the movie and her later reflections about the experience. She explains how the late performer inspired her, especially as a Latina-American performer.

The 50-year-old entertainer also encouraged fans to take the time out to share some of their favorite memories of the late singer. The video tribute Lopez unveiled to honor Selena was stunning and equally touching. In clips that showed Selena strung together with Lopez portraying Selena, Lopez reminded the world of Selena’s mark on the world but also the incredible film that immortalized her. “I just go right back to the beginning of the movie and the first day of shooting and really trying to find the essence of who she was,” Lopez said in the video.

“She was an artist, and she was singing from the time she was nine years old, maybe younger. Learning how she sang, all her mannerisms and how she danced — studying the tape of her became really important,” she continued.

Lopez also noted that playing Selena was one of her best characters to date and that the portrayal helped grow her. “There’s a part of you that grows in the best characters that you do. Selena was that for me,” Lopez added.

Selena had that magic within her. She touched anyone who knew her music and everyone who knew her story. Her joy lit up a room and to have a light like that erased from the world so soon is a loss that’s deeply felt. “It still gets me, to this day, because it really did mark my life at that time,” Lopez continued in the video tribute. “And to get to know the family and work with them and everything, it was just… it was an important part of my life.”

“She’s just one of those very special type of artists that with her music and with her spirit and her joy and her heart, she really touched people,” she added.

Selena was a role she played for a reason and in the grand design of her life, Lopez felt that God led her there for a reason. “God sent me that role for a reason, so I could learn from her, so I could always have her as an inspiration,” she explained.

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