Selena

All Music Guide:

The tragic shooting death of Tejano singer Selena spawned a reaction within the Latino community that can be compared to the reactions to the deaths of Elvis Presley and John Lennon. An enormously popular singer in Latino communities across North America, her music crossed cultural boundaries to touch the lives of young and old alike. A flamboyant, sexy stage performer sometimes hailed as the Latina Madonna, Selena was nonetheless considered a role model for off-stage she was family oriented, active in anti-drug campaigns and AIDS awareness programs.

She was born Selena Quintanilla to Mexican-American parents in Lake Jackson, TX. Before her birth, her father Abraham had been a member of los Dinos. When Selena began performing at the age of ten, her father became her manager and los Dinos became her backing band. In 1983, she made her recording debut after appearing on the popular radio show of L.A. deejay Johnnie Canales. While Selena grew up understanding Spanish, English was her first language. Her first records were recorded in Spanish, and she sang the words phonetically. After her music began to catch on, she began learning Spanish formally and by the time of her death, she was fluent in the language.

In 1987, she was named Female Vocalist of the Year and Performer of the Year at the Tejano Music Awards. Two years later she signed with EMI Latin and in 1990, she and los Dinos released their eponymous debut album. Later that year she released a singles compilation, Personal Best, and she also released Ven Conmigo. In 1991 the title track of the latter became the first Tejano record to go gold. Selena also released two more albums, including one of cumbia music, Baila Esta Cumbia that year. Selena married Los Dinos' lead guitarist Chris Perez in April of 1992. Other group members included her brother, Abraham Quintanilla, III, who played bass and penned many of her songs, and her sister Suzette, the drummer. She won her first Grammy in 1993 for Best Mexican American Performance for her album Selena Live. That same year, she released an album of love songs, Quiero, and she also opened Selena Etc, a clothing manufacturing business. In 1994, she made her feature-film debut in Don Juan DeMarco, in which she played a singer. Later that year, she and her band embarked upon a tour of New York, L.A., Argentina, and Puerto Rico. Amor Prohibido was released in 1994; the record's title track won a Grammy and went gold. In 1995, Selena began preparing to make her breakthrough into the American pop mainstream.

In the spring of that year she was working on her first English-language album, when she went to a motel room in Corpus Christi, TX, to fire 34-year-old Yolanda Saldivar, the woman who managed Selena's boutique in San Antonio, and the founder of the Selena fan club. A few days before the confrontation, Selena's father had unearthed paperwork proving that Saldivar had been embezzling from the fan club. Saldivar and Selena argued and as the singer left, she was shot in the back. Selena didn't die right away and managed to stagger into the lobby where she named Saldivar as the killer. An hour later, Selena died in a local hospital.

It was a death that rocked the entire Latino music industry. Saldivar was convicted for the murder of Selena in November, 1995 and sentenced to at least 30 years in prison.

A special service was held in the Los Angeles Coliseum where she was to give a concert. Less than a month later, Texas governor George W. Bush declared April 16, "Selena Day," in her honor. Dreaming of You, her final album, was released posthumously in the early summer. It became the first Tejano album to reach number one in America and was double platinum by the end of the year.

Wikipedia:

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995), known simply as Selena, was an American singer-songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard for her fourteen top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart, including seven number-one hits. The singer had the most successful singles of 1994 and 1995, "Amor Prohibido" and "No Me Queda Más". She was called "The Queen of Tejano music" and the Mexican equivalent of Madonna. Selena released her first album, Selena y Los Dinos, at the age of twelve. She won Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1987 Tejano Music Awards and landed a recording contract with EMI a few years later. Her fame grew throughout the early 1990s, especially in Spanish-speaking countries.

Selena was murdered at the age of 23 by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club. On April 12, 1995, two weeks after her death, George W. Bush, governor of Texas at the time, declared her birthday "Selena Day" in Texas. Warner Bros. produced Selena, a film based on her life starring Jennifer Lopez, in 1997. Selena's life was also the basis of the musical Selena Forever starring Veronica Vazquez as Selena. In June 2006 Selena was commemorated with a life-sized bronze statue (Mirador de la Flor in Corpus Christi, Texas) and a Selena museum opened there. She has sold over 60 million albums worldwide.

Early life

Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas, as the youngest child of a Mexican American father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr. and a half-Cherokee Native American mother, Marcella Ofelia Samora, and was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. She began singing at the age of three; when she was nine her father launched a singing group consisting of several of his children, Selena y Los Dinos. They initially performed at the restaurant operated by the family. The family went bankrupt soon thereafter. They relocated to Corpus Christi, Texas, where they performed wherever they could: at street corners, weddings, quinceañeras, and fairs. As Selena grew more popular as a musical performer, the demands of her performance and travel schedule began to interfere with her education. Her father pulled her out of school altogether when she was in eighth grade. Eventually, at seventeen, she earned a high school diploma by the American School Program.

The band's efforts at spreading their names and talents paid off in 1985 when the fourteen-year-old Selena recorded her first album for a local record company. The album was not sold in stores and her father bought all of the original copies. It was re-released in 1995 under the title Mis Primeras Grabaciones. Over the next three years, while not having a recording contract, she released six more albums.

Success

At the 1987 Tejano Music Awards, Selena won Best Female Vocalist, an award she would dominate for the rest of her life. In 1989, José Behar, the former head of Sony Music Latin, signed Selena with Capitol/EMI. He later said that he signed her because he thought he had discovered the next Gloria Estefan. In 1988, she met Chris Pérez, who had his own band. Two years later, the Quintanilla family hired him to play in Selena's band and they quickly fell in love. At first her father opposed their relationship and went as far as firing Pérez from the band. He eventually came to accept the relationship. On April 2, 1992, Selena and Pérez were married in Nueces County, Texas.

In 1990 the album, Ven Conmigo was released, written by her brother and main songwriter Abraham Quintanilla III. This recording was the first Tejano album recorded by a female artist to achieve gold status. Around the same time, a registered nurse and fan named Yolanda Saldívar approached Selena's father with the idea of starting a fan club. Her wish was granted and she became the club's president; later she became the manager of Selena's retail enterprises. In 1992, Selena’s stardom got a big boost with the song, "Como La Flor" off a new album, Entre a Mi Mundo. The next album, Selena Live! won Best Mexican-American Album at the 36th Grammy Awards.

The album Amor Prohibido was released in 1994. It was nominated for a Grammy award for Mexican-American Album of the Year. Selena and her band received yet more accolades in 1994. Billboard's Premio Lo Nuestro awarded them six awards, including Best Latin Artist and Song of the Year for "Como La Flor". Meanwhile, her duet with the Barrio Boyzz, "Donde Quiera Que Estés", reached number one in the Billboard Latin Charts. This prompted Selena to tour in Latin America. She performed a duet with Salvadoran singer Álvaro Torres, "Buenos Amigos". By fall of 1994, Amor Prohibido was a commercial success in Mexico and made four number one Latin hits, replacing Gloria Estefan's Mi Tierra on the chart's number one spot. It sold over 400,000 copies by late 1994 in the U.S. and another 50,000 copies in Mexico, reaching gold status.

Aside from music, she began designing and manufacturing a clothing line in 1994 and opened two boutiques called Selena Etc., one in Corpus Christi and the other in San Antonio. Both were equipped with in-house beauty salons. Hispanic Business magazine reported that the singer earned over five million dollars from these boutiques. Selena briefly played opposite Erik Estrada in a Mexican telenovela titled Dos Mujeres, Un Camino. In 1995 she entered negotiations to star in another telenovela produced by Emilio Larrosa.

At the peak of her career, Selena visited local schools to talk to students about the importance of education. She also donated her time to civic organizations such as D.A.R.E.. These demonstrations of community involvement won her loyalty from her fan base. Selena scheduled her English album for release in the summer of 1995.

Murder

In early 1995, the Quintanillas discovered that Saldívar was embezzling money from the fan club, and they decided to fire her. Three weeks later, Selena agreed to meet Saldívar in a Days Inn hotel in Corpus Christi on the morning of March 31, 1995, to retrieve financial records Saldívar had been refusing to turn over. At the hotel, Saldívar once again delayed the handover by claiming she had been raped in Mexico. The singer drove Saldívar to a local hospital, where doctors found no evidence of rape. The two returned to the motel, where Selena again demanded the missing financial papers. Saldívar drew a gun from her purse and aimed at Selena. As Selena tried to flee, Saldívar shot her once in her right shoulder, severing an artery. Critically wounded, Selena ran towards the lobby to get help. She collapsed on the floor as the clerk called 911, with Saldívar chasing her, calling her "bitch". Selena died in a hospital there from loss of blood at 1:05 p.m, 16 days before her 24th birthday.She is buried at Seaside Memorial Park, in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Impact

Selena's murder had widespread impacts. Major networks interrupted their regular programming to break the news; Tom Brokaw referred to Selena as "The Mexican Madonna". It was front page news on The New York Times for two days after her death. Numerous vigils and memorials were held in her honor, and radio stations in Texas played her music non-stop. Her funeral drew 60,000 mourners, many of whom traveled from outside the United States. Among the celebrities who were reported to have phoned the Quintanilla family to express their condolences were Gloria Estefan, Celia Cruz, Julio Iglesias, and Madonna. People magazine published a commemorative issue in honor of Selena's memory and musical career, titled Selena 1971–1995, Her Life in Pictures. The issue sold nearly 450,000 copies; two weeks later the company released a special issue for Selena, which sold more than 600,000 copies. A few days later, Howard Stern mocked Selena's murder and burial, poked fun at her mourners, and criticized her music. Stern said, "This music does absolutely nothing for me. Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul ... Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth." Stern's comments outraged and infuriated the Hispanic community across Texas. After a disorderly conduct arrest warrant was issued in his name, Stern made an on-air apology, in Spanish, for his comments. Two weeks after her death, on April 12, George W. Bush, then Governor of Texas, declared Selena's birthday April 16 as "Selena Day" in Texas. Selena was inducted into the "Latin Music Hall of Fame" in 1995.

That summer, Selena's album Dreaming of You, a combination of Spanish-language songs and new English-language tracks, debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making her the first Hispanic singer to accomplish this feat. and the second highest debut after Michael Jackson's HIStory. On its release date, the album sold over 175,000 copies, a record for a female pop singer, and it sold two million copies in its first year. Dreaming of You sold more than 330,000 copies in its first week. The album was number 75 in the List of BMG Music Club's top selling albums in the United States. Songs such as "I Could Fall in Love" and "Dreaming of You" were played widely by mainstream English-language radio, with the latter reaching number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, "I Could Fall in Love", while ineligible for the Hot 100 at the time, reached number 8 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and the top 10 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. "Dreaming of You" was certified 35× Platinum (Latin field) by the Recording Industry Association of America. In October 1995, a Houston jury convicted Saldívar of first degree murder and sentenced her to life in prison, with the possibility of parole in thirty years. Under a judge's order, the gun used to kill Selena was destroyed in 2002, and the pieces thrown into Corpus Christi Bay.

Posthumous commemorations and popularity

Jennifer Lopez played Selena in a film about Selena's life. Selena was among two other Latin artists who had the best sales of records for the year 2001. On March 16, 2011, the United States Post Office released a "Latin Legends" memorial stamp to honor Selena, Carlos Gardel, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, and Carmen Miranda. She has sold over 60 million albums worldwide.

Filmography

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