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FILE – A portrait of the late singer Selena Quintanilla is seen in the crowd following a posthumous star ceremony for Quintanilla on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) By Laysha Macedo April 16, 2025 – 09:00 Thirty years since her untimely death, Tejano music icon Selena Quintanilla’s impact on music and culture can be felt to this day. Today, the icon would have been 54 years old and in honor of her birthday we are taking a look back at the life and legacy of the beloved Queen of Tejano . From her early beginnings with the family band to her ventures into fashion and becoming an example to first-generation Latinas across the country, Selena has become a cultural icon for the community. Read on to learn more about this trailblazer and how she’s impacted our community and beyond. Early Life & Selena y Los Dinos Selena Quintanilla was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas to Marcela and Abraham Quintanilla, the youngest of three including her sister Suzette and Abraham Jr. When she was just eight years old, Selena’s father first formed the now-iconic Selena y Los Dinos with her and her siblings—Suzette on the drums, Abraham Jr. on the base guitar, and Selena as the vocalist. Early in their career, they would perform at bars, restaurants, weddings and fairs, encouraged by Abraham Sr.’s determination and passion for music from his days in his own Tejano band called Los Dinos. By 1981, Selena y Los Dinos was a professional band prompting the Quintanillas to move to Corpus Christi, Texas . During this time, Selena continued her studies attending Oran M. Roberts Elementary School in Lake Jackson and West Oso Junior High in Corpus Christi. She finished high school in 1989 and then enrolled at Pacific Western University in business administration correspondence courses.The band quickly became the family’s source of income with the hopes of making it big, a goal they would eventually reach in the late 1980s when Selena y Los Dinos became more established. They made television appearances on shows like Sábado Gigante and Selena took home the 1986 Tejano Music Awards for Female Vocalist of the Year and Performer of the Year. She became known as “La Reina de la Onda Tejana” and her star grew following the Tejano Music Awards with a solo contract with EMI Latin Records in 1989. In the early 1990s, the band expanded, adding Chris Perez, who would later go on to to date Selena. Despite Abraham Sr.’s disapproval of the relationship, Selena and Chris continued their relationship, eventually marrying on April 2, 1992. Selena’s Solo Success Stay connected! Subscribe now and get the latest on culture, empowerment, and more. SIGN ME UP! Este sitio está protegido por reCAPTCHA y Google Política de privacidad y Se aplican las Condiciones de servicio . Thank You! You are already subscribed to our newsletter Over the course of the band’s career, Selena y Los Dinos released many albums including: Alpha (1986), Preciosa (1988), and Dulce Amor (1988). Between 1989 and 1995, as a solo artist Selena released five studio albums and one live album including, Entre a Mi Mundo (1992), Selena Live (1993), Amor Prohibido (1994), and her final album Dreaming of You (1995). The release of Entre a Mi Mundo, which includes hits like “Como La Flor” and “La Carcacha,” was history-making for Selena when she became the first Tejana to sell more than 300,000 albums. Selena’s career can be summed up as history-making and trailblazing with many firsts as a Latina in the music industry. Selena Live! led to a historic Grammy win for Selena when she took home her first career Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album —the first Tejano artist to win the award. Selena’s dream to perform at the Houston Astrodome became a reality and with it she broke attendance records, including her own. She performed three times at the major Texas venue in 1993, 1994, and 1995—the latter garnering over 66,700 concert goers with her final concert at the Houston Rodeo just a month prior to her death. Seven of Selena’s songs made it to No. 1 on Billboard ’s Hot Latin Songs chart like “Tu Solo Tu”, “Amor Prohibido”, “No Me Queda Mas,”and “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”. Selena’s final album, Dreaming of You , a bilingual record aiming to crossover into the English-language market, was released posthumously July 18, 1995 to much success. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200—the first predominantly Spanish-language album to take the No.1 spot. According to Guinness World Records , Dreaming of You became the biggest-selling Latin album in the U.S. on November 13, 2017 with over 3 million copies sold. The album produced to major English-language hits that continue to get airplay including “Dreaming of You” and “I Could Fall in Love.” Outside of Selena’s music, her style and iconic fashion choices are also a core part of her legacy. Her signature bustiers, red lip, and bold and bright stage attire have become emblematic of the start with her famous purple jumpsuit from the Houston Rodeo performance becoming an iconic moment in fashion. As much as Selena loved music, she had a passion for fashion design that led her to start her own clothing line in 1992 and founding her boutique/salon Selena Etc. in Corpus Christi and San Antonio—with plans to open more locations in Monterrey and Puerto Rico around the time of her death. Selena’s Death & Impact At just 23 years old, Selena was shot and killed on March 31, 1995 by by the former president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldívar in Corpus Christi, Texas. Saldivar, who was also the manager of two of the singer’s clothing boutiques, was fired in early March 1995 after the Quintanilla family accused her of embezzling. To this day she maintains she never intended to kill Selena but was recently denied parole and remains in prison. This past March 31 marked 30 years since her untimely death and despite the decades, her voice and impact have endured with generations of fans keeping her memory alive. Her legacy remains and has been immortalized by documentaries, most recently Isabel Castro’s Selena y Los Dinos and films like the now-classic Selena (1997) by director Gregory Nava starring Jennifer Lopez as the Tejano icon. She continues to receive posthumous accolades including the National Medal of Arts , the highest award given to artists by the U.S. government and a Lifetime Achievement Grammy award . In this Article latina mexican american queen of tejano Selena Selena Quintanilla Selena Y Los Dinos Texas More on this topic Culture Coping with Rejection as a First Gen Latina Feeling the Weight of Failure April 15, 2025 – 10:00 Culture 14 Poetry Collections by Latinas Out in 2025 April 10, 2025 – 09:00 Culture How Latina Immigrants Can Confront Workplace Bullying April 09, 2025 – 11:00 Culture Embracing the Challenges of Unlearning as a Latina in my 30s April 07, 2025 – 09:00
