A Brief Biography
Selena was born April 16, 1971 in Corpus Christi Texas . She was the youngest of three children born to Marcela and Abraham Quintanilla. When Selena was eight, she began a career in a band formed by her father. The band was composed of Selena and her older siblings Abraham junior, who played the base guitar, and Sister Suzette, who played the drums, and Selena was the singer of the band. The band was called Selena Y Los Dino and she would perform along with her siblings at various bars, restaurants, wedding, fairs, and many other places. The band was very time consuming for Selena and her siblings, so they never had much of a childhood, but they were encouraged to be dedicated musicians because of determination from their father Abraham.
Abraham senior was also a musician in the original band called Los Dinos. Selena Y Los Dinos was officially formed in 1981. The band was the family business and the main source of income from the family. Although there were tough times at the beginning with little money, the Quintanilla family was determined and continued in their endeavors to be a successful band. Their patience would eventually pay off; by the late 1980's Selena Y Los Dinos gained popularly in the western states. In 1986, the band got their first taste of success when Selena received awards for “Female Vocalist of the Year” and “Performer of the Year” at the Tejano music awards. From that point on, Selena Y Los Dinos were among the top winners year after year and gained fame and recognition. They appeared on many Spanish language television shows such as El Show De Johnny Canales, Siempre En Domingo, and Sábado Gigante.
In the early 90's, Selena Y Los Dinos added a new guitarist named Chris Perez. Chris and Selena were attracted to each other instantly and wasted no time by dating right away. Selena's father Abraham was absolutely opposed to the relationship and threatened to remove Chris from the band. The threats by Abraham senior were completely ignored by Selena and Chris and they were married on April 2, 1992 . In 1993, Yolanda Saldívar, the aunt of one of Selena's childhood friends, contacted Selena after a concert. After that, Yolanda got involved in Selena's fan club organization by leaving several messages. This intrigued Abraham senior and he hired Yolanda as president of Selena's fan club. Yolanda gained access to Selena's personal life and ended up being close friends with her.
Selena had ambitions beyond singing; she wanted to become a fashion designer, and with the help of Martin Gomez, a young designer in Texas . In 1994, Selena opened up her first boutique in Corpus Christi , Texas . Later, Selena opened up two more boutiques in San Antonio, Texas and in Monterrey , Mexico . Early 1995, Selena's father confronted Yolanda about missing funds from Selena's fan club. Selena and Abraham senior met with Yolanda to question her about the missing money. Abraham did research and found out that Yolanda had run into similar situations with money in another job. Yolanda denied stealing the money, but had no concrete answers about what happened to it. Selena felt that Yolanda might have been guilty of the allegations and felt betrayed.
On the 31 st of March 1995 , Yolanda asked to meet in private with Selena to give her proof that she was not stealing funds. Selena agreed to meet with Yolanda and they met at a Holiday Inn in Corpus Christi , Texas . Once there, Yolanda presented Selena with incomplete documents and they started to argue. Selena, not wanting any more trouble, told Yolanda that she would no longer be president of the fan club and walked away. At this moment Yolanda shot Selena in the back, a wound that put an ending to Selena's short-lived life of only twenty-three years old. At the height of her career as a crossover artist, Selena was taken away from millions of people who adored her. Selena was capable of anything, that we will never know where she was going to take us in the next level of Tejano music. Selena is know by many as the “Queen of Tejano” and will be greatly missed. Her life, legacy, and accomplishments will continue to live on through her fans and family. 5 & 11
Altars Awards and Acheivements Selena changed Tejan@o music and image Obstacles that Selena Overcame Bibliography