Canal 5 is a national free-to-air television network in Mexico, operated by Televisa (now TelevisaUnivision), one of the country’s largest and most influential media conglomerates. Established on May 10, 1952, under the call sign XHGC-TV, the channel is among the oldest television broadcasters in Mexico and has played a significant role in the development of the nation’s television industry. Notably, Canal 5 became the first television station in Mexico to broadcast programming in color in 1963, marking an important technological milestone in Mexican broadcasting history.

Historically, Canal 5 has been oriented toward children and youth audiences, particularly through its daytime programming. From its early years, the channel emphasized animated content, educational children’s programs, and later, imported television series and films. This programming strategy distinguished Canal 5 from other national networks that focused primarily on news, telenovelas, and adult-oriented content. Over time, the channel expanded its offerings to include a broader range of entertainment, such as foreign television series, feature films, and live sports broadcasts, particularly association football (soccer). Much of its content has consisted of dubbed international programming, especially from the United States and Japan, which contributed to Canal 5’s role as a key mediator of global popular culture for Mexican audiences.

Canal 5 operates as a nationwide network through a system of terrestrial transmitters and digital affiliates, ensuring broad geographic coverage across Mexico. In addition to over-the-air transmission, the channel is widely available via cable and satellite television providers and offers high-definition broadcasts in major urban centers.

From a cultural perspective, Canal 5 has had a substantial impact on multiple generations of viewers by serving as a primary platform for children’s animation, youth-oriented series, and international media content. Its programming practices, particularly the juxtaposition of entertainment content with serious public-service announcements, have been the subject of discussion in media studies and popular memory, underscoring its significance within Mexico’s television landscape.

The "Al Servicio De La Comunidad" (“Serving the Community”) segment was dedicated to the dissemination of information concerning missing persons, encompassing individuals who had disappeared voluntarily, run away from home, or were victims of abduction, kidnapping, or forced disappearance. In some instances, disappearances were even attributed to mental illness and/or disabilities. These segments were notable for their serious and somber tone, which contrasted sharply with the network’s predominantly children-oriented programming. Among the cases broadcast, one of the most frequently cited involved Selene Delgado López, an 18 year old missing woman whose profile was first broadcast in 2001 and has reportedly aired on multiple occasions since. However, there is no verifiable evidence regarding her identity, background, or whereabouts, resulting in the case being widely regarded as an internet urban legend. Scholarly and online interpretations have suggested that the image associated with the case may have been inaccurate, manipulated, or unrelated to an actual individual.

Another missing persons case with seemingly little available information about the circumstances of their dissappearance was the case of Manuel Rosas. The only available information broadcast about their case was that of Manuel Rosas Andrade, who reportedly was 24 years old, and disappeared on January 1st, 1996, in Tehuacán, Puebla. Accompanying the narrator's short description of the circumstances of Manuel Rosa's dissappearance was a photograph of extremely poor quality, with only the outline of a head, a head of black hair and two eyes visible. The photograph doesn't appear to show a 24 year old man, and seems to show what appears to look more like the outline of a child or teen. The only discernible facial features being what resembles a set of eyes is unsettling, and elicits similar emotions to the uncanny valley fight-or-flight response observed in humans when someone/something viewed is human-esque but somewhat noticeably visually different from an average human , even if the afformentioned differences are indescribable. This photograph almost seems to elicit those responses moreso than that of the photograph of Selene Delgado López. However, Manuel Rosa's case and photograph have flown mostly under the radar while Selene Delgado López's has evolved into an urban legend that has remained in the discourse of Canal 5 since the first broadcast she appeared in, considering her photograph was shot back into online discourse when, in 2020, Canal 5 shared multiple unsettling and disturbing clips on Twitter between the early-morning hours of 3am and 7am. The Canal 5 account would often post the strange videos around 3am and subsequently delete them at 7am. It was eventually accepted that the most likely reason for the posting of the videos and clips was merely a publicity stunt for the channel. However, the inclusion of a clip of the Selene Delgado López section of the "Al Servicio De La Comunidad" segment reignited the public discourse around her case and the theories surrounding the urban legend accompanying it, as well as giving many more people the chance to notice Manuel Rosa's case.

Many think Selene Delgado López was a hoax, created by Canal 5 to scare the viewers. They cite the inclusion of her case in Others believe she is a real missing person and the photograph associated with her case was the only one available to be aired. Some have even theorized that her photo was actually AI generated, even though AI wasn't really a thing at all back in the 1990's-2000's (even if it was, it definitely wasn't advanced enough to produce the purported photograph of her). According to some, like YouTube channel 'Florecita Dreams', her photograph may have even been digitally created using an e-fit of Louisiana serial killer Derrick Todd Lee, known as "The Baton Rouge Slayer", as a template. The YouTube channel claimed to have proved this by using a 3D modelling program to demonstrate that Selene's face was made from a mixture of other images of both real people and other composites via comparing them side-by-side and layering them over each other. According to 'Florecita Dreams', Selene Delgado López's face is too similar to these images to be real, and that her face was created using characteristics and features from multiple different images of people, composites, sketches, reconstructions and recreations. Lastly, a more cruel theory that seemingly absolves Canal 5 of any wrongdoing or perpetrating of hoaxes is that a prankster created the photograph of Selene Delgado López, drummed up a backstory for the circumstances of her dissappearance, and submitted it to Canal 5 for inclusion on their "Al Servicio De La Comunidad" segment. This theory seems likely given that Canal 5 continued to include Selene Delgado López's case in future segments that were broadcast after the initial segment had been broadcast, as if they believed she was a real missing person.

All of the afformentioned theories could also be applied to Manuel Rosa's photograph. However, the truth is far more likely that his original physical photograph was already extremely blurry, damaged, aged, out of focus or a mix of these things and was photocopied to be included in the segment. The result was an unsettling and highly contrasted image with almost no discernible features. This strange visual aspect, coupled with the clear lack of any circumstantial description of the missing individual (date of birth, physical characteristics, a phone number to contact, etc), had created a similar urban legend to Selene Delgado López, albeit far less discussed.

Whatever the case may be, if Selene Delgado López wasn't real back then; with all of the myths and the urban legend that persists about her to this day, she may as well be real now. One good thing that has come out of her case being thrust into the media mystery spotlight is that it has the potential to give other cases of missing people like Manuel Rosas the chance to be seen again, and have people talk about and research their cases.

Sources: "Al Servicio De La Comunidad" segment broadcast Youtube video on Manuel Rosas 'Florecita Dreams' YouTube comparison video Al Servicio De La Comunidad - Wikipedia (Spanish) Canal 5 - Wikipedia) XHGC-TDT - Wikipedia Selene Delgado Lopez