Johnny Canales interviews future Tejano superstar Selena. Credit: Trojan Horse Media

It started with a phone call.

Emmy-nominated director Myrna Pérez reached out to fellow filmmaker Adrian Arredondo to ask if he knew anything about Johnny Canales, the iconic TV host behind The Johnny Canales Show, a syndicated variety series that launched in 1983 and gave countless Tejano musicians a national platform.

At the time, Pérez was working on the Netflix series Selena, where Canales appeared as a character. Canales is often credited with helping launch Selena Quintanilla’s career. She first appeared on his show at age 13 and became a recurring guest. To many, he was the “Mexican American Dick Clark,” a charismatic host who brought Latino music into homes across the U.S. for more than two decades.

As a McAllen native, Arredondo was familiar with Canales. After talking it over, he and Pérez decided the TV host’s story needed to be told on film. The result is Take It Away, a documentary named after Canales’ famous catchphrase, which explores his influence through archival footage and emotional interviews with family, friends and music legends.

Take it Away makes its San Antonio premiere at 5 p.m. Sunday, July 13, at the 46th Annual CineFestival. The screening will take place at the Jo Long Theatre at the Carver Community Cultural Center.

Did you grow up watching The Johnny Canales Show?

Yes, my parents would watch the show when I was a kid. Even after the show went off the air, Johnny and his presence were still very much a part of the culture in the Valley. Even in 2020, when we went down to start shooting the film, Johnny’s presence was felt everywhere you went.

The archive footage in the film is amazing. What did you have to do to get your hands on that?

The archive was the first piece of the puzzle. Before we knew the full story that we wanted to tell in the film, we knew we had to explore the archives of The Johnny Canales Show. So, we contacted [Johnny’s wife] Nora and the family, and we got their blessing and permission to make the movie. They opened the archives. With flashlights, we went through the archives and just picked out tapes.

How extensive was the archive?

There were thousands of tapes — 30 years’ worth. Myrna and I, along with a local producer, just started making our selections. We would do about 30 tapes at a time. We would then send those tapes to the UCLA Film School. They very generously donated their services to digitize the tapes. Then, we would watch the episodes. It took years.

How did you decide what footage you wanted to use for the film?

We started by identifying the major artists first. We were like, “Let’s get all the Selena tapes. Let’s get all the Ramon Ayala tapes. Let’s get all the Bobby Pulido tapes.” Then we were like, “OK, now let’s find the interesting tapes.” We would see something amazing on one tape, and were like, “OK, there’s a good story thread we can follow.”

Why do you think Johnny and the family gave you full access?

We were not the first people to come with a proposal to make a long-format movie or TV show. They’ve gotten requests quite regularly. But they ultimately decided to give the rights to Myrna and myself because of our experience and our pedigree. We were fortunate to establish a rapport with them. It really started with our friendship with Nora.

Did that put pressure on you as filmmakers to get it right?

We did feel some pressure. We made the movie for all the Johnny Canales fans, all the Mexican Americans, the migrant community and for all the Latinos who really saw themselves reflected on TV with Johnny Canales. That’s what we cared about the most. We made sure we told this story accurately and truthfully.

Do you believe Selena wouldn’t have become the Selena we know without Johnny Canales?

I do. Selena was a superstar in her own right. She definitely would have been groundbreaking in any universe. But I don’t believe that it would have been in this universe had it not been for Johnny’s television show and for the way he mentored her. He really took her under his wing the second that he met her. He opened every single door for her.

When Johnny died last year, what was your thought process on deciding to include that in the film?

We were so grateful we finished the film prior to Johnny passing. Then, suddenly, right when we were putting the last touches on it, we got a call from Nora that he passed away. On top of being heartbroken, we were a little bit confused. We were unsure what to do and how to navigate our [narrative] structure. But we knew that it was a part of the story. We recognize that it was a very poetic way to finish the story of his life.

What do you want people to know about Johnny when they see this film?

I want people to know that Johnny Canales was just like all of us Latinos in America. He is somebody who came to this country with not a lot in his pocket. He really made himself into the person that he saw he could be. I want people to see themselves in Johnny and to understand that there’s a lot of opportunities for Latinos when we come together and support each other.

$23, 5 p.m. Sunday, July 13, 46th Annual CineFestival, Jo Long Theatre, Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry St., (210) 207-7211, 46cinefestival.eventive.org.

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This article appears in Jul 10-23, 2025.