Selena Quintanilla was honored in a surprising way during Taylor Swift’s first Mexico City concert last night (Aug. 24). Her opener, pop star Sabrina Carpenter, performed one of the classics by the late Queen of Tejano music.
Swift kicked off the first of four Eras Tour concerts at the massive Foro Sol in Mexico City. She quickly sold out all her shows at the stadium with the capacity of 65,000 people. Carpenter is serving as the opening act for all of Swift’s concerts in Latin America this year.
While performing for all the Mexican Swifties, Carpenter paid homage to Selena. She performed a heart-warming rendition of her song “Dreaming of You.” The ballad became a hit after Quintanilla’s murder in March 1995. It was a preview of her unfinished English album, released as Dreaming of You later that year. The stadium glowed with white lights as Carpenter sang the song that Quintanilla was sadly never able to perform live herself.
The unexpected moment during the Mexico City concert quickly went viral on social media, with many people praising Carpenter’s thoughtful tribute. “SABRINA CARPENTER IS IN THE ERAS TOUR STAGE SINGING MF DREAMING OF YOU BY SELENA????????????? OKAY CORPUS CHRISTI BABES RISE,” wrote one person on Twitter. “Sabrina carpenter singing a selena quintanilla song latinas everywhere just fell to their floors,” added another person.
Swift herself was a part of another viral moment from her first concert at Foro Sol. In between songs, she spoke a few words of Spanish to the crowd. “Ciudad de Mexico, bienvenidos al Eras Tour,” she said to rapturous cheers from her Mexican fans.
In November, Swift will bring the Eras Tour to Argentina and Brazil. Carpenter will be joining her for those dates as well.