Home > Selena Quintanilla

Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas and grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, where she began her musical career. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., was a singer with the original Los Dinos from 1957- 1972, and nurtured the burgeoning musical talent of his children. Selena, her brother Abe III (bass), and their sister, Suzette (drums), were a second generation of Los Dinos. Its other two members who started in the band were Ricky Vela on keyboards and Roger Garcia on guitar.

Selena made her first public appearance at her father's Mexican restaurant in Lake Jackson at eight and recorded her first record at nine. Throughout her adolescence Selena was constantly on tour. She completed her education via correspondence courses. The singer signed with Capitol EMI in 1989, and released several albums with that label, including 1994's wildly popular 'Amor Prohibido'.

In 19941994 is a common year starting on Saturday, and was designated the International year of the Family''. Events January events January 1 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect January 6 Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the right leg by an, Selena won a GrammyThe Grammy Awards presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in musical recordings, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the Unit for Best Mexican-American AlbumThe Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album has been awarded since 1984. The award has had several minor name changes: From 1984 to 1991 the award was known as Best Mexican-American Performance From 1992 to 1994 it was awarded as Best Mexican for Live. She holds the record of drawing the biggest concert crowd in the history of the Houston Astrodome, for her FebruaryFebruary is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 28 days in regular years. In leap years February has 29 days. Three times in history a February 30 did occur. February was named for the Roman god Februus, the god of purification. 1995 performance at the Houston Livestock Show and RodeoThe Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo with attendance approaching nearly two million visitors per year, is the world's largest livestock exhibition as well as the world's largest rodeo event, and requires the support of sixteen thousand volunteers. The thr.

The greatest irony in Selena's musical career is that she became a star singing in her second language. Her first language was English, not Spanish.

Aside from her singing, Selena was an avid clothing designer. Boutique shops with the Selena name opened in Corpus Christi and San Antonio in 199X. She also dabbled in acting, making a cameo in the Johnny Depp film 'Don Juan de Marco'.

A woman named Yolanda Saldivar worked her way into the singer's inner circle, becoming president of Selena's fan club and manager of the boutiques. In 1995 the Quintanillas found out Saldivar had embezzled money from these ventures and decided to fire her. Selena agreed to meet Saldivar at a Corpus Christi Days Inn on the morning of March 31, 1995 in order to retrieve paperwork for tax purposes. At the motel an argument ensued over the embezzlement and Saldivar shot the singer once in the back. Selena died at a local hospital at 1:05 pm, hours after she was shot.

Selena's death shocked and saddened Tejano fans in Latino communities throughout the United States and in Mexico. Numerous vigils and memorials were held in the singer's honor. That summer her album 'Dreaming of You', a combination of Spanish language hits and new English language tracks, debuted at #1 on the Billboard music charts in the US.

In October of 1995 a Houston jury convicted Saldivar of murder and sentenced her to life in prison, with parole eligibility in thirty years.

There is a museum to honor Selena's memory and a bronze life-sized statue of her on Ocean Drive in Corpus Christi. In 1997, Jennifer Lopez played Selena in the movie of the same name. The movie became the basis in which Lopez rose to superstardom.