Compiled by Mary Alize Velázquez and Tony Franco
In March 31, of 1995 the entire world was blown away by the tragic news...a young woman had died at the age of only 23. The fact that a woman's life would end at such a young age is terrible, but this was so much worse. It was worse because the innocent victim in this horrible crime was Selena Quintanilla Perez: The Queen Of Tejano Music. A women who was admired and followed by thousands of fans in the Latin World and who would have soon been followed by millions more in the English Pop world had she lived to fulfill her crossover dream, her American Dream...
“La Reina Del Tex Mex
“ or translated in English, “The
Queen of Tex Mex” was Selena Quintanilla- Perez nickname
in the entertainment industry. Selena
was born April 16, 1971 in the city of Lake Jackson, Texas. Selena was the
youngest of her siblings Suzette
and Abraham. Her parents Abraham Quintanilla and Marcela Ofelia Zamora
raised her as a Jehovah Witness. Selena’s singing career started at the age of
3, when her father Abraham began
teaching her songs. By the age of 9, with a little more experience,
Mr.Quintanilla started a band by the name of Selena y los Dinos.
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| Selena y Los Dinos |
The group started performing at the Quintanilla´s family restaurant,
however this was not for a long time since the family experienced a financial
crisis and went bankrupt. The family then relocated to Corpus Cristi, Texas. At
this point they would perform anywhere possible, whether it was at quinceañera (15th birthday
celebration), weddings, street corners, fairs, or anywhere they would get
hired.
Within time, Selena’s popularity increased causing her
singing career to interfere with her education. By the 8th grade,
her father decided to pull Selena out of school, so that she could pursue her
singing career, eventually later on, she was able to obtained her high school diploma, when she
was 17 years old.
Selena and her band recorded their first album in 1985, it was
produced by a local record company. This first album was not a hit since it did
not reach the stores and her father Mr. Quintanilla, purchased all the copies.
This album was released once again several years later, and it was titled “Mis Primeras Grabaciones”.
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| Selena and husband Chris Perez |
Selena y los Dinos “
as they were known, recorded six albums without having a record company.
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 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
The album ‘Ven
Conmigo” was released in 1990 and it became such a hit, that it made her,
the first female to achieve gold status.
“Amor Prohibido” 2 years later, raised Selena to stardom. 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.
The album Amor
Prohibido was released in 1994, and
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".
BARRIO BOYZZ AND SELENA
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 Salvadorian
singer Álvaro Torres, the song title was "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.
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, Selena 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 (soap
opera) 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.
After three weeks of letting go of Yolanda from her position
she called Selena and scheduled a meeting to discuss the situation at a motel.
Selena and Yolanda meet at the Days Inn hotel in Corpus Cristi, on March 31,
1995. The reason for the mutual meeting was for Yolanda to hand over financial
records, which she had previously declined to give Selena.
During this first encounter between both, Yolanda claimed
that she had been raped in México, and was in need of help from Selena. Selena concerned
with the situation and worried for Saldivar immediately took her to the
hospital. At the hospital after tests where ran to prove any type of rape
indications on Yolanda, doctors found no evidence, or sign of possible rape. With
this being discovered both Yolanda and Selena proceeded to the hotel where they
had previously met. Once they arrive Selena demanded Yolanda the financial records Saldívar had been refusing to turn over.
SELENA´S DEATH
SELENA´S DEATH
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| Selena and Yolanda Saldivar days before the fatal encounter. |
At the Days Inn in Corpus Christi, Texas, during the argument, Yolanda pulled out a gun and aimed at Selena while inside
the room of the hotel. Startled by the weapon, Selena attempted to escape from
the scene, but during this attempt Yolanda fired the gun shooting Selena in her
right shoulder causing injury to an artery. As she managed to ran out of the room, Yolanda followed her cursing and still aggravating the wounded Selena verbally, there was a 150 foot blood trail
leading from the room to the lobby.
Seriously hurt Selena managed to reach the lobby of the hotel and seeked for help, but she collapsed on the floor. The lobby clerk called 911 to seek help for the wounded young singing star, who was trying to cling to life....As Selena lay dying on the lobby floor, she
told them who shot her before she passed out.
The paramedics began working on her, they managed to put her in the ambulance, Selena was transported to a nearby hospital, but she lost her struggle for life due to her wound and loss of blood. It's rumoured that the last words Selena spoke were
"Why did she do this to me?" "Please don't
let me die!"...
17 years ago, on march 31st at 1:05 p.m., 16 days before her 24th birthday, the world lost that beautiful young and talented sweet girl whose dreams were just beginning to become a reality, but were cut short by a bullet.
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.
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.
The death of Selena cause anger and commotion within the
entertainment industry and society. It was such a shock to the whole world the
news stopped there actual programming to bring the world the tragic news of
this super star whose life had been taken away.
Her music was heard nation wide through out radio stations her albums sold out everywhere. It was such tragedy for the music world and for all the fans who followed the star.
Her music was heard nation wide through out radio stations her albums sold out everywhere. It was such tragedy for the music world and for all the fans who followed the star.
Her face was on the front covers of many magazines,
newspapers, and fliers, any publication you can possibly think of, showed and
talked about Selena´s tragic death. Thousands of mourners cried her departure
from this world, and paid tribute to Selena.
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| CHRIS PEREZ AND WIFE SELENA |
Now 17 years later she is still remembered throughout movies like “Selena “ with the participation of Jennifer Lopez, many early recording albums and unreleased recordings hit the market after her death, her music lives on, and you can still hear songs like Amor Prohibido, Como la Flor, Bidi Bidi Bom Bom, Dreaming of You on radio stations today.
On April 3rd, Chris Perez, widower of Selena, will released a book about their relationship, something that her fans had been long waiting for.
The new book "To Selena, With Love" reveals intimate details about the late Tejano star's life, but the book's author – her widower, Chris Perez – doesn't consider it a "tell-all" kind of book.
"I thought it should be honest, with dignity. I knew there would be things that would make me feel uncomfortable, but I think I wrote the book with respect," Perez, 42, said in a recent interview.
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 HI Story.
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.[34] 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 3x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of
America.
Where would Selena be at today, if this woman had not killed
her? That we´ll never know, but there is no doubt that Selena will always live
through her videos, pictures and her musical legacy forever. We thank her for everything that she shared with us, while she was alive, and for the many
memories she left behind.
Today her music lives on, on March 20, 2012 her CD "Enamorada de Ti" (In Love with You), was released and it includes several duets with Cristian Castro "Como la Flor", Samo and Selena singing "Amor Prohibido", Bidi Bidi Bom Bom with Selena Gomez, "Fotos y Recuerdos" with Don Omar, and the title song from the album "Enamorada de Ti" featuring Selena and Juan Magan among other songs.
Today her music lives on, on March 20, 2012 her CD "Enamorada de Ti" (In Love with You), was released and it includes several duets with Cristian Castro "Como la Flor", Samo and Selena singing "Amor Prohibido", Bidi Bidi Bom Bom with Selena Gomez, "Fotos y Recuerdos" with Don Omar, and the title song from the album "Enamorada de Ti" featuring Selena and Juan Magan among other songs.
Her smile
will forever shine from heaven, WE TRULY MISS HER! Rest In Peace….
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