The next Gloria Estefan or the next Madonna? Absolutely. This woman could do whatever she set her mind to and be whomever she wanted to be. After almost an hour, I walked off the bus feeling lightheaded and totally smitten. Dressed casually in a white sweatshirt and jeans, she was strikingly beautiful without the heavy makeup she always wore in public, animated, and very much in command, hushing father-manager Abraham who was sitting on the nearby sofa with her mom, Marcella, when he interrupted to add to the conversation. boutiques were her ideas.Ĭhatting across the table, she had me mesmerized. The band she performed in - with her producer brother, A.B., on bass and her sister, Suzette, on drums - was her father Abraham’s idea, born out of his inability to crack the big time with his early 1960s doo-wop group, the Dinos. boutiques in San Antonio and her hometown of Corpus Christi and the fashion line she was developing. Her crossover into pop music - the “general market,” as Mexican Americans call it - was imminent when I interviewed her for Texas Monthly magazine in the spring of 1994.īut as we sat and talked on her tour bus before a show in Austin that night, she seemed more interested in telling me about her Selena Etc. She recorded a duet with David Byrne and sang mariachi in a film starring Johnny Depp. Selena y los Dinos were part of a musical wave - along with the Houston band La Mafia, Grupo Mazz from the Rio Grande Valley of deep South Texas, and Emilio Navaira from San Antonio - that was putting Tejano on the map. Her powerful vocals were the signatures of the crunching cumbia rocker “La Carcacha,” the traditional Mexican ranchera “El Toro Relajo,” and the nonsensical singalong “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.” Ballads such as her biggest English-language hit, “Dreaming of You,” and the story song about forbidden love, “Amor Prohibido,” showcased her exceptional emotional range. She was the complete entertainment package: a powerful singer, a physical dancer, a commanding presence on and off stage. In the early 1990s, her band, Los Dinos, was selling hundreds of thousands of records, more than even ZZ Top or Willie Nelson. As a Texas-based music writer, I had followed her trajectory in Tejano music from captivating teenage singer performing with her sister and brother to the confident young woman who was the biggest star in that musical genre. They’ve heard her voice, seen video clips of her storied Astrodome performance, and are drawn to the uplifting life story that ended abruptly in death, darkness, and tragedy. Many weren’t yet born when Selena was alive. They are people of all colors, from all walks of life, from all around the world. The tragedy remains fresh for her longtime fans and, increasingly, for new converts, not all of whom are Mexican Americans in Texas or the Southwest. She was smart, successful, and clearly destined for greatness.Īll that promise was cut short on the last day of March 25 years ago, when Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was shot and killed in a crime of passion by Yolanda Saldívar, her fan club president, business associate, and best friend. She was a role model to young Mexican American girls who had precious few role models to look up to. She was all of 22 when I met her - a flower in full bloom, knockout gorgeous, charismatic, and comfortable in her own skin. She was La Reina, the Queen of Tejano Music, the rising star and standard-bearer of the regional sound made by Mexican Americans in Texas, a sound that was on the verge of crossing over into the mainstream popular arena. Either way, you can’t help but wonder: Who is Selena? Maybe you’ve heard her music, or just heard her name. The image is unforgettable: a beautiful young woman with full red lips, burnished brown skin, and a full head of dark hair. You’ve seen the face and the likeness - on street murals from San Francisco to Chicago, on a bridge in San Antonio, on commemorative drinking cups and T-shirts, on bumper stickers and album covers. The Queen of Tejano Music was murdered 25 years ago in Texas at age 23, but her legacy will live forever in the hearts of old and new fans alike.
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