Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (Latin American Spanish pronunciation: [seˈlena kintaˈniʝa ˈpeɾes]; née Quintanilla; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995), known mononymously as Selena, was an American singer. Referred to as the "Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. In 2020, Billboard magazine put her in third place on their list of "Greatest Latino Artists of All Time", based on both Latin albums and Latin songs chart.[3] Media outlets called her the "Tejano Madonna" for her clothing choices.[a] She also ranks among the most influential Latin artists of all time and is credited for catapulting the Tejano genre into the mainstream market.[8][9]
For other uses, see Selena (disambiguation).
Selena
March 31, 1995 (aged 23)
Murder (gunshot wound)
Seaside Memorial Park, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
- Singer
- fashion designer
- Abraham Isaac Quintanilla Jr.
- Marcella Ofelia Samora
- A.B. Quintanilla III (brother)
- Suzette Quintanilla (sister)
1981–1995
The youngest child of the Quintanilla family, she debuted on the music scene as a member of the band Selena y Los Dinos, which also included her elder siblings A.B. Quintanilla and Suzette Quintanilla. In the 1980s, she was often criticized and was refused bookings at venues across Texas for performing Tejano music—a male-dominated music genre. However, her popularity grew after she won the Tejano Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1987, which she won nine consecutive times. She signed with EMI Latin in 1989 and released her self-titled debut album the same year, while her brother became her principal music producer and songwriter.
Selena released Entre a Mi Mundo (1992), which peaked at number one on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart for eight consecutive months. The album's commercial success led music critics to call it the "breakthrough" recording of her musical career. One of its singles, "Como la Flor", became one of her most popular signature songs. Live! (1993) won Best Mexican/American Album at the 1994 Grammy Awards, becoming the first recording by a female Tejano artist to do so. In 1994, she released Amor Prohibido, which became one of the best-selling Latin albums in the United States. It was critically acclaimed as being responsible for Tejano music's first marketable era as it became one of the most popular Latin music subgenres at the time.
Selena was shot and killed on March 31, 1995, by Yolanda Saldívar, her friend and the former manager of her Selena Etc. boutiques. Saldívar was cornered by police when she attempted to flee and threatened to kill herself but was convinced to give herself up. She was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with possible parole after 30 years. Two weeks later, George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas, declared April 16 as Selena Day in Texas. Her posthumous crossover album, Dreaming of You (1995), debuted atop the Billboard 200, making Selena the first Latin artist to accomplish this feat. In 1997, Warner Bros. released Selena, a film about her life and career, which starred a then-unknown Jennifer Lopez as Selena, catapulting Lopez into fame. In 2020, Netflix released Selena: The Series starring Christian Serratos. Selena has sold around 18 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female artists in Latin music.[10]
Life and career
1971–1988: Early life and career beginnings
Selena Quintanilla was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas.[11] She was the youngest child of Marcella Ofelia Quintanilla (née Samora), who had Cherokee ancestry,[12] and Abraham Quintanilla Jr., a Mexican American former musician.[13] The obstetrician-gynecologist at her birth was future House of Representatives member Ron Paul.[14] Selena was raised as a Jehovah's Witness.[15] Quintanilla Jr. noticed her musical abilities when she was six years old. He told People magazine, "Her timing, her pitch were perfect, I could see it from day one". In 1980, Quintanilla Jr. opened his first Tex-Mex restaurant in Lake Jackson, Papa Gayo's, where Selena and her siblings Abraham III (on bass guitar) and Suzette Quintanilla (on drums) would often perform.[16] The following year, the restaurant was forced to close after a recession caused by the 1980s oil glut. The family declared bankruptcy and were evicted from their home.[16][17] They settled in Corpus Christi, Texas; Quintanilla Jr. became manager of the newly formed band Selena y Los Dinos and began promoting it.[5][16][18] They needed the money and played on street corners, weddings, quinceañeras, and fairs.[16][19]
As her popularity as a singer grew, the demands of Selena's performance and travel schedule began to interfere with her education. Her father took her out of school when she was in the eighth grade.[20] Her teacher Marilyn Greer disapproved of Selena's musical career. She threatened to report Quintanilla Jr. to the Texas Board of Education, believing the conditions to which Selena was exposed were inappropriate for a girl her age. Quintanilla Jr. told Greer to "mind her business". Other teachers expressed their concerns when they noticed how tired Selena appeared when she arrived at school.[21] At seventeen, Selena earned a high school diploma from the American School of Correspondence in Chicago[22] and was also accepted at Louisiana State University.[23] She enrolled at Pacific Western University, taking up business administration as her major subject.[24]
Quintanilla Jr. refurbished an old bus; he named it "Big Bertha" and the family used it as their tour bus. In the first years of touring, the family sang for food and barely had enough money to pay for gasoline.[25] In 1984, Selena recorded her first LP record, Selena y Los Dinos, for Freddie Records.[26] Despite wanting to record English-language songs, Selena recorded Tejano music compositions; a male-dominated, Spanish-language genre[27] with German influences[28] of polka, jazz, and country music, popularized by Mexicans living in the United States.[29]
Quintanilla Jr. believed that Selena should record musical compositions related to her heritage.[30] During the recording sessions for the album, Selena had to learn Spanish phonetically with guidance from her father.[31] In 1985, to promote the album, Selena appeared on the Johnny Canales Show, a popular Spanish-language radio program, on which she continued to appear for several years. Selena was discovered by musician Rudy Trevino, founder of the Tejano Music Awards, where she won the Female Vocalist of the Year award in 1987 and for nine consecutive years after.[32]
The band was often turned down by Texas music venues because of the members' ages and because Selena was their lead singer.[33] Her father was often told by promoters that Selena would never be successful because she was a woman in a genre historically dominated by men.[34] By 1988, Selena had released five more LP records; Alpha (1986), Muñequito de Trapo (1987), And the Winner Is... (1987), Preciosa (1988), and Dulce Amor (1988).[35]
Artistry
Selena possessed a soprano vocal range.[193] During her lifetime, she expressed her love and admiration for Gloria Estefan, who she credited with opening the door for female artists of hispanic descent.[194] Selena's other major influences include Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, as well as rock bands such as AC/DC and Kiss.[195]
In an April 1995 interview with Billboard magazine, Behar said he saw Selena as a "cross between Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston in style, feel, and vocal range".[196] Although Selena did not write most of her songs, she incorporated R&B,[197] Latin pop, technopop,[198] country and western, and disco into her Tejano music repertoire.[199] Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News said that during her music career, Selena "merges Tejano's infectious cumbia rhythm with street-savvy R&B, old-school soul, dancehall reggae, sizzling salsa, and trippy, loopy funk".[200] Selena's recordings expressed "love and pain, as well as strength and passion", according to Charles Tatum.[201]
She also recorded independently driven, female-empowerment-themed compositions; "Si La Quieres", "¿Qué Creías?", "Ya Ves" and "Ya No", which centered around inappropriate relationships and recovery from domestic violence.[202] Peter Watrous of The New York Times said Selena's voice "sometimes quivered", and that she "roughed it up a bit". He continued, "[a]t its best, it had a coolness, a type of unadorned passion".[203] Ilan Stavans called her music "cursi-melodramatic, cheesy, overemotional, not too far from Juan Gabriel and a relative of Iglesias".[204] Richard Corliss of Time magazine said her songs "are perky, cheerful rather than soulful", and that earlier recordings, "with their tinny, Tijuana Brass charts, and keyboards that evoke calliopes are ideal for the fairground or merry-go-round". Corliss calls Selena's singing an "expert mimicry of everything from Édith Piaf's melodramatic contralto to the coloratura riffs of Mariah Carey. But the sounds are still lightly Hispanic."[205]
Newsweek magazine called Selena's English-language recordings "a blend of urban pop and Latin warmth".[206] According to Texas Monthly, Selena's brother modernized her music into a more "funk and hip hop" sound.[207] Selena's use of emotive range during her musical career has been praised by critics as being her trademark.[208][209] A.B. wrote increasingly cumbia-influenced songs for Ven Conmigo (1990); Ramiro Burr of Billboard said Selena and her band had "evolved a rhythmic style that demonstrated its increasing prowess for catchy cumbias such as 'Baila Esta Cumbia' and the title track".[210] Italian essayist Gaetano Prampolini wrote that "Selena's voice projected a sonorous warmth and joyfulness" during his review of Selena's cumbia recordings.[211] In his review of the remix album Enamorada de Ti (2012), Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that Selena's songs were "rooted in the '90s and sound that way".[212]
Public image
Quintanilla Jr. sought to maintain Selena's image clean and family-oriented.[213] In 1989, she was offered sponsorship from beer companies but her father turned them down.[175] Selena was often refused gigs at Tejano venues because she was a female singer in a male-dominated music scene.[214] Manuel Peña wrote that after 1989, Selena's popularity increased and she became a sex icon following the release of her debut album.[213] Charles Tatum said Selena drew most attention from her "beauty, sexuality, and youthful impact on the Tejano music scene".[201]
Selena said she never wanted to record explicit songs because of her upbringing and because her fan base consisted largely of young children, who regarded her as a role model. She further commented on the question of her sexual appeal to men during her crossover attempt, asserting that she will "stay the same" and that her English-language recordings will refrain from foul language and sexual themes.[215] In 1997, María Celeste Arrarás wrote in her book about Selena's death that the singer was a "sweet and charismatic girl".[216] According to Arrarás, Selena "trusted everyone"; she often went shopping alone, despite her father's concerns over her safety.[217]
Betty Cortina of People magazine said Selena's provocative choice of clothing was an acceptable emulation of Janet Jackson and Madonna, and that she wore "sexy outfits that [accentuated] a body of a Latina woman".[175][218] Cortina also stated that Selena had a "flamboyant style, an unbelievable body, curves and booty".[175] Arrarás wrote that Selena "began wearing clothes designed to emphasize her curvaceous figure" and that she "never came across as cheap—simply sexy". She also said Selena's makeup regimen was not being "painted up or vulgar".[219] Arrarás also noted Selena's "fun-loving stage manner" and said she was "playful onstage and off".[220]
Matt S. Meier wrote in his book The Mexican American Experience: An Encyclopedia (2010) that Selena exhibited "contagious energy" during her concerts and said she displayed "warmth, passion, and sexuality" while exuding a "down-to-earth persona of the wholesome young girl next door".[221] Selena wore outfits that accented her physical attributes and was not afraid to wear outfits she liked,[175] despite criticism from parents who thought Selena's choice of outfits were inappropriate for young girls, who began emulating Selena.[222] Her views on public image in the fashion industry were bothersome; she said she was opposed to the image that all woman should be "rail-thin" and the notion that they must wear certain outfits and be "super-young to be beautiful".[223]
In the early 1990s, Selena began wearing decorative bustiers, spandex or tight pants, and attractive, unbuttoned jackets during her concerts. She was inspired by Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, and Madonna.[222] During a 1992 interview, Selena said her choice of clothing does not reflect her personality.[175] NBC News called Selena's outfit "provocative".[224] Because of her choices of outfits and dance moves, she was named by her fans as the "Mexican Madonna".[225][226] According to Suzette, Selena often designed and sewed her outfits backstage with her designers, moments before she was due on stage. Quintanilla Jr. disapproved of Selena's outfits, but he later accepted it when Selena discussed it being a fashion trend.[175]
Selena became an inactive member of the Jehovah's Witnesses due to her exotic clothing.[227] During the photo shoot for Entre a Mi Mundo (1992), a photographer remarked on the ways Selena's choice of clothing affected Quintanilla Jr. tremendously; he often left sessions when Selena appeared in revealing outfits.[228] Selena was credited as the first woman to change public perceptions of feminine beauty in the Tejano market; a feminist, she blazed a trail for other female artists during her career.[175][229]
Following Selena's death, some celebrities questioned her status as a role model among Hispanic women. In her 1999 documentary about the singer, filmmaker Lourdes Portillo expressed concerns whether Selena was a great role model for young women.[230] Portillo believed Selena was sending the wrong message to young girls by dancing in clothing that suggested hypersexualization.[231] American author Sandra Cisneros agreed with Portillo's assessment that Selena was "not a good role model to Latina women".[232] Media outlets also shared Portillo's views; they said the "fairy tale story" of Selena was one that her family would want to preserve, questioning Quintanilla Jr.'s role for pushing an image that Selena had "never made mistakes" into the media, calling it "lies" and "not the real story".[233][234]
Philanthropy
During her childhood, Selena helped organizations such as Toys for Tots.[153] She was active in the U.S. Latino community, visiting local schools to talk to students about the importance of education.[235] At Fulmore Junior High School in Austin, she educated two hundred high school students about positive attitudes and setting life-goals in their adult lives.[153] Selena urged children to stay in school, and that alcohol and drugs will lead them nowhere in life.[236] She spent her free time helping her community. Selena performed in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the forming of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.[235] Following the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, Selena helped victims in Florida by performing at a Houston benefit concert.[235][130]
In August 1994, Selena hosted a charity baseball game to raise money for unspecified charities.[237] She also donated her time to civic organizations such as D.A.R.E. and planned a fundraising concert to help AIDS patients. Selena participated with the Texas Prevention Partnership which was sponsored by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Dep Corporation), which released an educational video that was sent to students for free. Her pro-education videos included "My Music" and "Selena Agrees". She was in the works for a Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Boys & Girls Clubs of America benefit concert.[24]
In January 1995, Selena headlined the Teach the Children festival in San Antonio. The concert funded a non-profit program to provide school supplies to needy children.[130] Selena was a spokesperson for women in abusive relationships.[238] She also helped out at homeless shelters.[130] According to the A&E television series Biography, Selena's fans were often minorities; she encouraged them to make the most of their lives.[175]
Selena y Los Dinos albums
Solo studio albums