Selena Quintanilla-Pérez

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (born April 16, 1971 as Selena Quintanilla in Lake Jackson , Texas , † March 31, 1995 in Corpus Christi , Texas) was an American Tejano singer. Her untimely death made her a legend in Mexico and the United States. Even today, she is one of the most popular Latina singers who has greatly influenced the Latin music scene.

Life

The early years

Selena was born in Lake Jackson , Texas and grew up in Corpus Christi , which is where her musical career began. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., was the singer in the band Los Dinos from 1957 to 1972 and promoted the musical talent of his children. Selena, her brother Abraham Isaac III (bass) and her sister Suzette (drums) became the second generation of Los Dinos. The other two members were Ricky Vela on keyboard and Roger Garcia on guitar. Selena made her first public appearance at the age of eight in her father's Mexican restaurant in Lake Jackson. Her first recordings were made at the age of nine. In her youth, Selena was on tour regularly. She graduated from high school by distance while traveling around the country. After successful albums such as Alpha and Muñequito de trapo (both 1986), Selena won the Entertainer of the Year award at the Tejano Music Awards in 1987 at the age of 15 . This is how Jose Behar from the music label EMI-Latin became aware of her. In 1989 she was signed by Capitol Records .

The breakthrough

Her 1990 album Ven conmigo already achieved gold status. The hit Baila esta cumbia first made Selena known to a larger audience. Then Coca-Cola took her under contract because they saw in her the right advertiser for the young Latino target group and produced several commercials with her. Her final musical breakthrough came in 1992. Her album Entre a mi mundo made it into the top 100 of the album sales charts and reached number 4 on the Latin charts. She owed this mainly to the song Como la flor . It is still one of their most popular songs today and has become their trademark. Her first music video, however, was shot for La carcacha , which also became a hit. Selena gained recognition from the entire music world at the 1994 Grammy Awards . Their 1993 album Live! , which included recordings of a Corpus Christi concert and new studio recordings, won a Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Album .

Her album Amor Prohibido (1994) was her most successful album during her lifetime. Hits like Bidi Bidi Bom Bom , No me queda más and the title song Amor Prohibido are still very popular today. For more than 1.2 million copies sold in the USA, it received an award of 2x diamond (20 times platinum, in the Latin Award). Selena's last music video ( No me queda más ) was made in 1994 in San Antonio , Texas. Also Amor prohibido was nominated for a Grammy Award. Selena holds the record for having the largest crowd gathered at the Astrodome in Houston . In 1993, over 67,000 fans wanted to see Selena at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo . Selena's most famous concert was also her last. On February 26, 1995, over 64,000 fans came together again at the Houston Astrodome to see the singer known as “La reina del Tex-Mex” live.

In addition to her career as a singer, Selena also worked as a clothing designer. She opened two boutiques in Corpus Christi and San Antonio , both under the label Selena Etc .. The artist was also active as an actress. In the film Don Juan DeMarco , she plays a mariachi singer alongside Johnny Depp , Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway . She recorded four songs for the soundtrack. After Selena's death, some of the scenes that had already been shot with her were cut from the film. After Chris Pérez replaced guitarist Roger Garcia, Pérez and Selena became a couple; they married on April 2, 1992.

assassination

Selena's tomb in Corpus Christi, Texas

Yolanda Saldívar was one of the singer's closest friends. She became the manager of the boutiques and president of Selena's fan club. In 1995, the Quintanillas discovered that Saldívar was stealing money from the boutiques and fan clubs. They released Saldívar. While the rest of the family turned away from her, Selena continued to stick with her friend. On the morning of March 31, 1995, the singer went to Yolanda Saldívar to get missing documents. The two of them quarreled in a hotel. As Selena was about to leave the room, Saldívar shot her in the back and injured a major artery. Despite the serious injury, Selena fled to the hotel lobby, where she collapsed. Before she passed out, she was able to give the perpetrator's name and room number. Selena Quintanilla-Pérez died the same day in a nearby hospital. In October 1995, Saldívar was sentenced to life imprisonment in a Houston court for killing Selenas.

After death

In the summer of 1995, Selena's first English-language album was released, which she had been working on until shortly before her death. Dreaming of You , a combination of new English tracks like I Could Fall in Love and Dreaming of You and Spanish songs like Tú, sólo tú and some remixes of Selena's Spanish-language hits like Techno Cumbia , debuted as number 1 on the official album charts in the USA. Selena was the first Spanish-speaking artist to do this. Over 175,000 Dreaming of You CDs were sold on the first day of sales, and to date over 2.1 million albums have been sold in the United States alone. For this Selena received a 3x diamond award (35 times platinum, in the Latin Award).

People magazine published a commemorative issue in honor of Selena - such a special issue has only been published for two other people: Grace Kelly and Diana . Since the demand was enormous in the north of the country too, an issue had to be reprinted for the first time in the history of People magazine. This was also taken as an opportunity to publish a Spanish edition of the magazine: People en Español . George W. Bush , then governor of Texas, declared April 16, 1995, Selena's 24th birthday, to be Selena Day on April 12, 1995 . In Corpus Christi, in whose La Molina district the artist lived, several memorials have been erected, including a museum and a bronze statue.

Even Jennifer Lopez owes Selena their breakthrough. She played the leading role in the movie Selena - An American Dream from 1997. Not least thanks to Selena's meanwhile enormous popularity, the film became a success in the USA and many Spanish-speaking countries. A great memorial concert called ¡Selena vive! , attended by over 50,000 fans, took place on April 7, 2005 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. This arena is next to the Astrodome , where Selena's last concert took place. Latin music stars like Gloria Estefan , Thalía , Paulina Rubio , Soraya and the Kumbia Kings , which her brother AB III started, performed. ¡Selena vive! has since held the record for the most-watched Spanish-language TV program in US history.

On November 3, 2017, Selena was posthumously honored with a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame .

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Latin
1992	Entre a Mi Mundo	US97 (7 weeks) US	Latin4th diamond (116 weeks)Latin	Chart entry only 1995
1993	Live!	US79 (7 weeks) US	Latin2 × 8 Eight times platinum (129 weeks)Latin	Chart entry only 1995
1994	Cupid Prohibido	US29 × 2 Double platinum (23 weeks)US	Latin1 × 3 × 6 Triple diamond + six times platinum (184 weeks)Latin
	12 Super Éxitos	US64 gold (10 weeks)US	Latin2 (76 weeks) Latin
1995	Las Reinas Del Pueblo	US147 (4 weeks) US	Latin5 (39 weeks) Latin	with Graciela Beltran
	Dreaming of You	US1 × 3 Triple platinum (49 weeks)US	Latin1 × 5 × 9 Five-fold diamond + nine-fold platinum (106 weeks)Latin
1996	Siempre Selena	US82 (5 weeks) US	Latin1 × 3 Triple platinum (56 weeks)Latin
1997	Exitos y recuerdos	-	Latin13 (63 weeks) Latin
1998	Anthology	US131 (6 weeks) US	Latin1 diamond (38 weeks)Latin
1999	All My Hits / Todos Mis Exitos Vol. 1	US54 (19 weeks) US	Latin1 diamond (68 weeks)Latin
2000	All My Hits / Todos Mis Éxitos Vol. 2	US149 (6 weeks) US	Latin1 × 2 Double platinum (50 weeks)Latin
2001	Live! The Last Concert	US176 (3 weeks) US	Latin2 × 3 Triple platinum (72 weeks)Latin
2003	Greatest hits	US117 (1 week) US	Latin- × 4 Quadruple platinum Latin
2004	Momentos intimos	-	Latin11 gold (17 weeks)Latin
2005	Unforgettable: The Studio Album	-	Latin17th platinum (8 weeks)Latin
	Unforgettable: The Live Album	-	Latin26 (4 weeks) Latin
	Unforgettable: Special Edition	-	Latin18 (3 weeks) Latin
	Selena Remembered: Her Life, Her Music, Her Dream	-	Latin61 (2 weeks) Latin
2006	Dos Historias	-	Latin21 (8 weeks) Latin	with Ana Bárbara
2007	Through The Years / A Traves De Los Anos	-	Latin28 (5 weeks) Latin
2010	La Leyenda	-	Latin7th platinum (37 weeks)Latin
2012	Enamorada de Ti	US135 (1 week) US	Latin1 gold (14 weeks)Latin
2015	Lo Mejor de ... Selena	US102 (1 week) US	Latin2 × 2 Double platinum (84 weeks)Latin
2016	Ones	US139 gold (6 weeks)US	Latin2 × 8 Diamond + eight-fold platinum (248 weeks)Latin

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More albums

• Selena y Los Dinos / Re-Release: Mis Primeras Grabaciones (1984) / (1995)
• The New Girl in Town (1985)
• Alpha (1986)
• Muñequito de trapo (1986)
• And the Winner Is ... (1987)
• Preciosa (1988)
• Dulce amor (1988)
• Selena (1989)
• 16 super éxitos originales [Mis primeros éxitos] (1990)
• Ven conmigo (1990, US:× 3Triple platinum (latin) )
• Personal Best (1990)
• Baila esta cumbia (Mexican Release) (1992)
• Selena y Emilio - Entertainers of the Year (1992)
• Mis mejores canciones - 17 super éxitos (1993, US:Diamond (Latin))
• Quiero (Mexican Release) (1993)
• Selena (1994)
• Selena y Los Barrio Boyzz - 10 super exitos (1994)
• Como la flor (Venezuelan Release) (1994)
• Grandes éxitos (1995)
• Mis primeras grabaciones [Selena y Los Dinos] (Re-Release) (1995)
• The Selena Collection (1997)
• Selena - OST - Soundtrack (1997, US:platinum)
• Selena - OST - Soundtrack - Score (1997)
• Éxitos y recuerdos / Éxitos del recuerdo (1997)
• Sing Along Karaoke (2000)
• Selena y sus inicios Volume 1 (2000)
• Selena (Re-Release) (2002)
• Mis primeros éxitos [16 super éxitos originales] (Re-Release) (2002)
• Ven conmigo (re-release) (2002)
• Entre a mi mundo (Re-Release) (2002)
• Live! (Re-Release) (2002)
• Amor prohibido (US version) (Re-Release) (2002)
• Dreaming of You (Re-Release) (2002)
• Selena - OST - Soundtrack (2002)
• Live - The Last Concert (Re-Release) (2002)
• Selena y sus Inicios Volume 2 (2003)
• Selena y sus inicios Volume 1 (Re-Release) (2003)
• Selena y sus inicios Volume 2 (Re-Release) (2004)
• Selena y sus inicios Volume 3 (2004)
• Selena y sus inicios Volume 4 (2004)
• Remembered Her Life, Her Music, Her Dream (CD + DVD) & (DVD) (2005)
• Unforgettable (Studio Album + Live Album + Greatest Hits DVD + Remembered DVD) (Ultimate Edition) (2005)
• ¡Selena Vive! (CD + DVD / DVD)
• Classic Series, Vol. 1 (2007)
• Classic Series, Vol. 2 (2007)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Latin
1992	Buenos Amigos Entre a Mi Mundo	-	Latin1 gold (17 weeks)Latin	with Alvaro Torres
	Como La Flor Entre a Mi Mundo	-	Latin6th × 9 Nine-fold platinum (19 weeks)Latin
1993	Que Creias Entre a Mi Mundo	-	Latin14th gold (14 weeks)Latin
	Amame Entre a Mi Mundo	-	Latin27 (6 weeks) Latin
	No Debes Jugar Live!	-	Latin3 platinum (18 weeks)Latin
	La Llamada Live!	-	Latin5 platinum (16 weeks)Latin
1994	Dondequiera Que Estes Dondequiera Que Estes	-	Latin1 gold (16 weeks)Latin	with The Barrio Boyzz
	Cupid Prohibido Cupid Prohibido	-	Latin1 × 7 Seven times platinum (20 weeks)Latin
	Bidi Bidi Bom Bom Amor Prohibido	-	Latin1 × 9 Nine-fold platinum (26 weeks)Latin
	No Me Queda Mas Amor Prohibido	-	Latin1 × 4 Quadruple platinum (33 weeks)Latin
1995	Photos y Recuerdos (Back On The Chain Gang) Amor Prohibido	-	Latin1 platinum (25 weeks)Latin
	I Could Fall In Love Dreaming of You	US- gold US	Latin2 (19 weeks) Latin
	Do Solo Do Dreaming of You	-	Latin1 platinum (26 weeks)Latin
	Techno Cumbia Dreaming of You	-	Latin4th platinum (12 weeks)Latin
	El Toro Relajo Dreaming of You	-	Latin24 (4 weeks) Latin
	Dreaming of You Dreaming of You	US22nd gold (20 weeks)US	Latin11 (10 weeks) Latin
1996	No Quiero Saber Siempre Selena	-	Latin6 (13 weeks) Latin
	Siempre Hace Frio Siempre Selena	-	Latin2 (16 weeks) Latin
1997	Costumbres Siempre Selena	-	Latin15 (7 weeks) Latin
	Last Dance / The Hustle / On The Radio	-	Latin25 (5 weeks) Latin
2005	Baila Esta Kumbia	-	Latin44 × 6 Six-fold platinum (2 weeks)Latin	with AB Quintanilla & Kumbia Kings
2012	Cupid Prohibido	-	Latin23 (9 weeks) Latin	with Samo

Awards for music sales

Golden record  Hong Kong 1997: for the album Selena (soundtrack)  Canada 1995: for the album Dreaming of You  United States 2017: for the single Cumbia Medley

2 × platinum record  United States 2017: for the single El Chico Del Apartamento 512 3 × platinum record  United States 2017: for the single La Carcacha 2017: for the single Si Una Vez

Country / Region	gold	platinum	diamond	Sales	swell
Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Hong Kong (IFPI / HKRIA)	gold1	-	-	10,000	Individual evidence
Canada (MC)	gold1	-	-	50,000	musiccanada.com
United States (RIAA)	10 × gold10	104 × platinum104	13 × diamond13	22,330,000	riaa.com
All in all	12 × gold12	104 × platinum104	13 × diamond13

Web links

Commons : Selena Quintanilla-Pérez  - Collection of Images

• Q Productions - Official Website (English)
• Selena at MusicBrainz (English)
• Selena Quintanilla-Pérez on Allmusic (English)
• Selena at Discogs (English)
• Selena in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Selena Quintanilla-Pérez on Twitter (Spanish and English)

swell

1. ^ Gold and platinum database of the RIAA (USA), search: Artist = Selena
2. ↑ Hollywood Chamber of Commerce website (accessed November 3, 2017) .
3. ↑ Selena Is Memorialized With Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame NBC News, November 3, 2017 (accessed November 4, 2017) .
4. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: US
5. ↑ Gold for Selena (soundtrack) in Hong Kong ( Memento from May 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive )