Selena’s Sister Suzette Quintanilla Remembers the Singer as ‘Extremely Funny’ and ‘Real’: ‘I Miss My Sister’ (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Selena Quintanilla’s sister, Suzette Quintanilla, is honoring the Queen of Tejano Music 30 years after her tragic death at age 23 in a new documentary

• “I wanted to take that time capsule from way back when and bring it to 2025 so the younger fans and new generations who want to know more about her or our music have us to tell the story,” Suzette tells PEOPLE

• Selena y Los Dinos: A Family’s Legacy premieres Nov. 17 on Netflix

It’s been 30 years since Selena Quintanilla was tragically shot and killed in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 31, 1995, at age 23 — but her older sister Suzette Quintanilla continues to honor her legacy every day.

In the new Netflix documentary Selena y Los Dinos: A Family’s Legacy, debuting Nov. 17, the Queen of Tejano Music’s family and bandmates reflect on the profound impact of Selena’s life and music.

“I wanted to take that time capsule from way back when and bring it to 2025 so the younger fans and new generations who want to know more about her or our music have us to tell the story,” Suzette, 58, tells PEOPLE about the decision to make the film. “I’m so honored and blown away by the fact that people are still jamming to our music and celebrating Selena.”

Reflecting on her sister’s personality, Suzette remembers Selena as “always laughing and full of life.” She adds, “That’s one of the beautiful things she left behind.… She never took herself too seriously, and you could feel the realness of who she was.”

In the documentary, Suzette also revisits the heartbreaking days following Selena’s death, including her funeral on April 3, 1995, and the public viewing that drew more than 60,000 fans. “I look back, and I see those pictures of how many people were there,” she recalls. “I don’t remember any of that. “I just remember being there and being so lost. And so empty.”

“I love my sister. I miss my sister,” Suzette tells PEOPLE. “I miss what we could have had. It’s something I had to let go of a long time ago to be able to move forward — to let go of the what-ifs. She was robbed of her life; it was taken from her. I had to make peace with the dream we shared of having kids and raising them together. It’s emotional.”

Suzette says she fully recognizes the magnitude of Selena’s cultural and artistic influence. “I understand the significance of what Selena represents — not just as a Mexican American artist in the music world, but as a human being,” she explains. “Her legacy is my legacy. We were sisters and bandmates, so it’s hard to separate the two, but I don’t think she truly understood the magnitude of her talent. It was a combination of my parents keeping us grounded and her never letting it go to her head.”

With the documentary, Suzette hopes to continue inspiring others through Selena’s story. “Hopefully Selena inspires just one soul…. I hope her story reminds someone that you can dream,” she says. “She lives in each and every one of us who continues to talk about her, listen to her music, and celebrate who she was as a person. It’s a pretty incredible story.”

Selena y Los Dinos will be available to stream on Netflix from Nov. 17.

Read the original article on People