Considered the “Queen of Tejano Music,” Selena Quintanilla Pérez – stage name Selena – was one of the most successful Latina artists ever, despite her relatively short career. According to Billboard charts, seven of her albums hit No. 1 on the Top Latin Artists chart. Dreaming of You (released after her death) held this rank for a staggering 44 weeks, and became the first primarily Spanish-language album to reach No. 1 across all genres. However, Selena had a passion even greater than music: fashion. Her outfits are considered iconic to this day, but this pursuit led to her early death at 23 years old.
Selena at Astrodome Performance, AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, John Everett
Selena was born to musical Mexican-American parents in Lake Jackson, Texas. As a way of making some money, her father created the family band: Selena y Los Dinos. At 10 she took the role of lead singer and they began playing at local weddings and clubs. To connect with the Latin audience, Selena learned to sing in Spanish. Her brother (A.B. Quintanilla) was a songwriter; his talent combined with her outstanding voice led to the band’s success. Even when Selena went solo in 1989 at 18, A.B. played a major role in writing her music and the family continued to back her up on tour. One of the few non-familial members of the band – guitarist Chris Pérez – became Selena’s husband in 1992.
Selena y Los Dinos, Express-News file photo
Selena and her family ended up producing so many hit songs and albums that I don’t have the space to go through all of them, so I’ll just tell you about my personal favorites. If you’ve never heard Selena’s music before you should at least know this: she primarily sang Tejano cumbia, a form of Latin dance music with Mexican and American influences. In other words, her music is happy! This description might be biased since I have been enjoying her music since I was a kid, but I don’t care. My personal favorite album by her is Amor Prohibido, with the exceptional tracks “Si Una Vez” and “No Me Queda Más.” In 1995, about a year after the release of this album, she gave her legendary performance at Astrodome. I have watched the clip of her singing “Como La Flor” on YouTube countless times; the extended intro where she shows off her vocal talent always impresses me.
Amor Prohibido by Selena on Spotify
Selena’s Performance of “Como La Flor”
As previously mentioned, Selena took a great interest in fashion and started a boutique. This was when Yolanda Saldívar – president of Selena’s fan club – eagerly offered to help her run the business. Soon after, the Quintanilla family began receiving letters from fans who were not receiving the merchandise they paid for. Turns out Yolanda had taken thousands of dollars from the fan club and stores. Of course, she was fired for this, but still had possession of some important documents. It is unclear how the meeting was planned, but Selena met Yolanda at a motel to collect her paperwork. Upon arriving Yolanda aimed a gun at Selena, and she was unable to escape. When police arrived at the scene, Yolanda entered a 10-hour standoff as she locked herself in a pickup truck and threatened to kill herself.
Selena and Yolanda, Associated Press/SHUTTERSTOCK
As someone who grew up listening to her music, I had no idea about the tragic end of her life until a few years ago. I guess my parents didn’t feel the need to mention her murder to four-year-old me dancing to her music. However, when Selena: The Series was released on Netflix in 2020, we decided to watch it as a family. It was a great quarantine watch; I genuinely just enjoyed seeing her life and career blossom. The ending was honestly dreadful. Even though everything happened years before I was born, it was really upsetting to learn the details of her death. She wasn’t just a singer; she was a daughter, a sister, and recently a wife. Her legacy would have been legendary even without the dramatic conclusion, which is why I prefer to focus on the positive aspects of her life. I am proud to celebrate her story by continuing to enjoy her songs and remembering the profound impact she had on Latin music.
Selena is such an inspiration to the Latin community and all women. She was a beautiful soul and a talented musician. It is so scary and ironic that the president of her fan club turned out to be the cause of her demise. I hope that Yolanda was brought to justice and is serving time in jail.