Nearly 30 years ago, Sir-Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back (I Like Big Butts)” hit the airwaves to the delight and shock of listeners.

Today, the obsession with big butts is still strong with idols like Cardi B and Beyonce. It has also permeated white culture, with Kim Kardashian “breaking the internet” and butt selfie queen Jen Selter. Maria has a theory about how big butts went from taboo to obsession--and it involves Selena and Jennifer Lopez.

She uncovers that booty politics is ultimately about race and brings us to a long overdue conversation about anti-blackness within the Latinx community.

Nearly 30 years ago, Sir-Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back (I Like Big Butts)” hit the airwaves to the delight and shock of listeners. Today, the obsession with big butts is still strong with idols like Cardi B and Beyonce. It has also permeated white culture, with Kim Kardashian “breaking the internet” and butt selfie queen Jen Selter. Maria has a theory about how big butts went from taboo to obsession--and it involves Selena and Jennifer Lopez. She uncovers that booty politics is ultimately about race and brings us to a long overdue conversation about anti-blackness within the Latinx community.

Big Butt Politics

Maria knows that to truly understand Selena as a person and not just an icon, she needs to go to Corpus Christi. Maria’s quest takes her to Abraham Quintanilla, Selena Quintanilla’s notoriously guarded father. Maria confronts his complicated legacy and reflects on fatherhood in Latinx cultures.

Maria knows that to truly understand Selena as a person and not just an icon, she needs to go to Corpus Christi. Maria’s quest takes her to Abraham Quintanilla, Selena Quintanilla’s notoriously guarded father. Maria confronts his complicated legacy and reflects on fatherhood in Latinx cultures.

Selena and Abraham

Growing up along the US-Mexico border, Maria Garcia felt torn between her two identities as Mexican and American. But then, something changed her life.

She discovered Selena Quintanilla—the Mexican-American pop icon who proved she didn’t have to choose.

In the premiere episode of Anything for Selena, host Maria Garcia explores how Selena helped Maria find her own place in the world.

Growing up along the US-Mexico border, Maria Garcia felt torn between her two identities as Mexican and American. But then, something changed her life. She discovered Selena Quintanilla—the Mexican-American pop icon who proved she didn’t have to choose. In the premiere episode of Anything for Selena, host Maria Garcia explores how Selena helped Maria find her own place in the world.

Selena and Me

Maria Garcia was nine years old and living on the U.S.-Mexico border when Selena was murdered.

25 years later, Maria is on a quest to understand what it means to love, mourn and celebrate Selena. In this intimate, sometimes wrenching, cathartic journey, Maria explores what Selena’s legacy shows us about belonging in America — and Maria’s own place in the world.

Maria Garcia was nine years old and living on the U.S.-Mexico border when Selena was murdered. 25 years later, Maria is on a quest to understand what it means to love, mourn and celebrate Selena. In this intimate, sometimes wrenching, cathartic journey, Maria explores what Selena’s legacy shows us about belonging in America — and Maria’s own place in the world.

Anything for Selena: A Podcast About Belonging

Maria García combines rigorous reporting with impassioned storytelling to honor Selena Quintanilla's life and legacy. She also explores the indelible mark she left on Latino identity and belonging, whether it’s fatherhood, big-butt politics, and the fraught relationship with whiteness and language. Anything for Selena has been named an Apple Podcasts Series Essential.

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