Once, when I was living in Mexico, I was on a long distance bus - probably my regular trip from Mexico City's southern terminus out to Morelos - when the driver simultaneously moved up several gears as he joined the autopista while sliding a clunky VHS tape into the onboard player. I gritted my teeth in anticipation of yet another kung-fu fightathon or something else that would inevitably showcase how great women were at cooking tortillas. And then Selena came on and I was hooked. She was captivating.
As a young girl, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, grew up to Texas. Her parents had come from Mexico a generation before and their musical daughter went on to break down racial barriers and unite folk from many backgrounds with her winning combination of memorable tunes - she sung everything from rancheras cumbias, and tejano to soul and pop - and a relationship with audiences that won her legions of fans. She single-handedly familiarised US audiences with Mexican music and brought pride to the US’ Mexican population.
Selena began in a band with her siblings, but proving to be a charismatic performer, began singing on her own. Despite receiving criticism and being refused bookings at venues across Texas for performing a male-dominated music genre, her popularity grew.
José Behar of the newly formed label EMI Latin Records watched Selena perform at the 1989 Tejano Music Awards and thought he had discovered the "next Gloria Estefan" but his superior called Behar illogical because he had been in South Texas less than a week. Behar said he saw Selena as a "cross between Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston in style, feel, and vocal ra nge." Although Selena did not write most of her songs, she was the first to incorporate R&B, Latin pop, technopop, country and western, and disco into her Tejano music repertoire.
After being signed by EMI Latin, Selena released Entre a Mi Mundo (1992), which peaked at number one on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart for eight consecutive months. 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. Many see it as responsible for Tejano music's first marketable era as it became one of the most popular Latin music subgenres at the time.
Then the American Dream became the American nightmare. At the height of her popularity, Selena was shot dead on March 31, 1995, 16 days before her 24th birthday, by Yolanda Saldívar, Selena’s friend and the former manager of her fan club and 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.
In the months leading up to the murder, Saldívar had been accused by Selena’s father of mismanagement. According to Quintanilla Jr., in January 1995, he began receiving telephone calls from fans who said they had paid for membership in the Selena fan club and had received nothing in return for it, and he began an investigation. Quintanilla Jr. discovered that Saldívar had embezzled more than $30,000 via forged checks from both the fan club and the boutiques. Quintanilla Jr. told her that if she did not provide evidence that disproved his accusations, he would involve the local police. He banned Saldívar from having any contact with Selena. However, Selena did not want to dissolve their friendship.
In the days before Selena's death, Saldívar delayed handing over the bank statements and financial records by saying she had been sexually assaulted in Mexico. On the night of the murder, Selena met with Saldívar in her motel room at the Days Inn in Corpus Christi and demanded the financial papers. At 11:48 a.m. Saldívar got a gun from her purse and pointed it at Selena. As Selena attempted to flee, Saldívar shot her once on the right lower shoulder, severing the subclavian artery and causing a severe loss of blood. Critically wounded, Selena ran towards the lobby, leaving a long trail of blood. She collapsed on the floor as the clerk called the emergency services, with Saldívar still chasing after her and calling her a "bitch". Before collapsing, Selena named Saldívar as her assailant and gave the number of the room where she had been shot.
News of Selena’s death generated complete hysteria. Fans lined up for almost a 1 mile to see her casket. Rumours that the casket was empty began circulating, prompted the Quintanilla family to have an open-casket viewing. About 30,000 to 40,000 fans passed by Selena's casket. More than 78,000 signed a book of condolence.
They say the reaction at the time was akin to the death of one of the Beatles and Elvis. What was it that made her such an icon? It is easy to forget just how many people took comfort from someone who looked and sounded - she sung in English and Spanish - just like them.
Two weeks later, Texas Governor George W. Bush declared Selena's birthday Selena Day in Texas. Her posthumous crossover album, Dreaming of You (1995), debuted at the top the Billboard 200, making Selena the first Latin artist to accomplish this. In 1997, Warner Bros. released Selena, a film about her life and career, which starred Jennifer Lopez as Selena and Lupe Ontiveros as Saldívar. There is also a NetFlix series about her.
Selena has sold around 30 million records worldwide, making the best-selling artist in Latin music, bigger than Marc Anthony. America called her the "Tejano Madonna." Perhaps Madonna was the American Selena. She would have been 50 this year. Que te vayas bien Selenita...
