selena quintanilla
Selena Quintanilla, known as the ‘Queen of Tejano Music’, Selena was a beloved Latin artist who was murdered by the president of her fan club.
Born April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas, Selena Quintanilla made her recording debut in the ’80s, becoming an award-winning artist on the Latin music scene with records like Amor Prohibido and Selena Live.
In 1995, she was murdered by the founder of her fan club. Her last album, Dreaming of You, was released posthumously in 1995.
early career
Selena Quintanilla was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas. Selena was considered the «Queen of Tejano», a type of Mexican music that incorporated other styles, such as country.
She was also sometimes known as the «Mexican Madonna» for her sexy outfits and dance moves. Selena started acting as a child.
Around the age of 10, Selena became the lead singer in her family’s band, Selena Y Los Dinos. The band began playing weddings and clubs in her native Texas. The band featured her brother Abraham on bass and her sister Suzette on drums.
His father, Abraham, a former musician, managed and produced the group. Selena grew up speaking English, but her father taught her to sing in Spanish so she could resonate with the Latino community. She learned the lyrics phonetically at first, and eventually became fluent in Spanish.
Childhood
Selena Quintanilla was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas, the daughter of Marcella Ofelia Quintanilla and Abraham Quintanilla, Jr.
His father was a former Mexican-American musician who formed the band ‘Selena y Los Dinos’. Selena used to be the lead vocal and hers two brothers of hers played guitar and drums.
Selena graduated from the American School of Correspondence and enrolled at Pacific Western University at the age of 17.
In 1984, he recorded his first LP, which was the name of the band. The compositions belonged to Tejano music, which was a genre dominated by men.
In 1987, she was discovered by the founder of the ‘Tejano Music Awards’, Rick Trevi.
Selena had already recorded 5 more albums like ‘Alpha’ (1986) and ‘And the Winner is… ‘ (1987) for 1988.
Career
On October 17, 1989, Selena released her debut album, ‘Selena’. The album was recorded at AMEN Studios in Texas and produced by EMI Latin Records. The song ‘Sukiyaki’ and the album debuted on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart.
That same year, he became a spokesperson for Coca-Cola. The first two jingles he sang were composed by his brother Quintanilla III and Chris Pérez, the band’s new guitarist.
In 1990, Selena released her second studio album, ‘Ven Conmigo’. One of her singles, ‘Baila Esta Cumbia’, became one of Selena’s most popular songs.
His 1991 album ‘Nada Se Compara Contigo’ included a duet, ‘Buenos Amigos’ by Selena and Álvaro Torres. This song was not only her first number one single on the US Billboard Top Latin Songs chart, but also increased her share on the most popular radio channels.
In 1992, he released his ‘breakthrough album’, ‘Entre a Mi Mundo’. It remained in the number 1 position on the Billboard chart for 19 weeks.
In 1993, he released «Live!», his Grammy-winning album. By then, she had already started appearing in cameo roles in telenovelas like ‘Dos Mujeres, Un Camino’.
In 1994, he started his own clothing line. Selena Etc.’, which opened in Corpus Christi and San Antonio.
The year 1994 saw the release of his fourth album, ‘Amor Prohibido’, which became one of the best-selling Latin albums in the United States.
Music
All of his albums were commercially successful. Come with me’ was qualified platinum by (AMPROFON), with sales of 150,000 units.
Entre a Mi Mundo’ became the first Tejano album by a female artist to sell more than 300,000 copies, while ‘Amor Prohibido’ became the second Tejano album to sell 500,000 copies. Her 1993 album `Live! received the title of Album of the Year from the Billboard Latin Music Awards.
Humanitarian Works
Selena had been active in her support of the ‘Congressional Hispanic Caucus’, the victims of Hurricane Andrew.
He performed free of charge in fundraising concerts for organizations like `DARE’, `Dep Corporation’, `Teach the Children Festival’. She shot pro-education videos like ‘My Music’ and ‘Selena Agrees’. Selena always reached out to victims in abusive relationships and to the homeless.
Awards and achievements.
In 1994, the singer won the ‘Regional Mexican Female Artist’ award and the title of ‘Female Vocalist of the Year’ for her debut album ‘Selena’.
That same year, Selena Quintanilla won the Grammy Award for «Live!
Amor Prohibido’ won Record of the Year at the 1995 Tejano Music Awards and Regional/Mexican Album of the Year at the 1995 Lo Nuestro Awards.
She also won a host of ‘Billboard Latin Music Awards’ for songs like ‘Tú Tú Tú Tú’ and albums like ‘Selena’ and ‘Amor Prohibido’.
In 1995, Selena was inducted into the ‘Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame’, the Hard Rock Café’s Hall of Fame, and the South Texas Music Hall of Fame.
The Orange County Register’ ranks fifth among the «100 Most Influential Latino Musicians of the 20th Century.»
personal legacy
She had a relationship with Chris Perez, which was disapproved of by her father. So, on April 2, 1992, they eloped and got married. The couple was married for 3 years until Selena’s death.
Yolanda Saldívar, president of Selena’s fan club and manager of her boutiques, was about to be fired for embezzling $60,000 worth of money. On March 31, 1995, she shot Selena, in an act of supposed revenge. Her bullet hit her right shoulder. She died from blood loss and cardiac arrest.
Selena was buried at Seaside Memorial Park in Texas.
His posthumous album ‘Dreaming of You’ (1995) created a record selling 175,000 copies on the day of its release.
Selena Quintanilla’s life has been the subject of the movie ‘Selena’ (1997), starring Jenefer Lopez in the title role.
gold records
Selena became very popular with fans of Tejano music, and at the 1987 Tejano Music Awards, she won both «Best Female Vocalist of the Year» and «Performer of the Year» awards.
His 1990 album Ven Conmigo was the first Tejano record to achieve gold record status, meaning it sold over 500,000 copies. In 1992, Selena took a break from her hectic schedule to marry Chris Perez, the band’s lead guitarist, in April.
His recordings continued to have strong sales, and he won the Grammy Award (Best Mexican-American Album) in 1993 for his album Live.
In 1994, she and the band played numerous tours in New York, California, Puerto Rico, and Argentina. Amor Prohibido was released that same year, and it went gold.
posthumous recognition
Shortly after the release of Live, Selena set to work on an English-language album that she hoped would put her at the top of the American pop charts. Unfortunately, she did not live to see her success.
Selena died on March 31, 1995 in Corpus Christi, Texas, after being shot by Yolanda Saldivar, the founder of Selena’s fan club.
Selena’s murder shocked the Latino community, with fans around the world mourning the singer’s passing.
Selena’s first English album, Dreaming of You, was released after her death and became a huge hit.
Additionally, her life story became the subject of a 1997 film, Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez as the Texan superstar and Edward James Olmos as her father.
The popularity of Selena’s music and personality endured through the years. In 2017, reality star Kim Kardashian West dressed up as a Tejano singer as part of her tribute to music legends for Halloween.
Selena was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 3, proclaimed «Selena Day» in Los Angeles by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
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