Selena Quintanilla-Pérez By Alex Lopez

Early Life Selena Quintanilla was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr., worked as a shipping clerk. She has an older sister, Suzette, and and older brother, Abraham III.

Early Life Selena started performing with a band at the age of 6. Once her father heard her sing, he knew that she was going to be great. She worked on music and would be the reason why her family could survive during the recession of the 1980s.

Road to Success After the recession, they moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, and that’s when Selena y Los Dinos hit the road and performed. In 1987, she won an award for Performer of the Year and Best Female Vocalist, which got her career going.

Fixing A Flat Tire On the road to success, Selena had a problem with her singing because she sung in Spanish, but she didn’t know how to speak it. She had to take lessons so she could project that Hispanic image. It worked.

Fan Club? Selena had numerous offers for fan clubs but denied them all until Yolanda Saldivar came into the picture. Yolanda was a huge fan of Selena and was named President of her fan club. Even though Yolanda wasn’t paid Selena bestowed many gifts on Yolanda.

Work and Songs Selena was a huge success and sold millions of her albums. Some of the songs are, Como la Flor and La Llamada. She was nominated for many awards and recieved some. Selena was gaining so much success that she opened up boutiques and promoted Saldivar to a high position.

Accomplishments She had a movie about her life called, Selena. She had won various awards and received praise for her work in music. She worked on issues that she cared about like money to help AIDS victims and donated to D.A.R.E.

Her downfall.. Selena had been hearing complaints of Saldivar and how she was manipulative and mean and that also she was stealing money. Selena confronted Saldivar and asked her where this money went to and she told her that it was just a fluke. Selena’s father accused Saldivar of embezzling the money.

Her death Selena was invited to talk to Saldivar and that was the last time she would ever be seen alive again. During Selena’s and Yolanda’s confrontation, Yolanda shot Selena. Selena was then rushed to the hospital where she died March 31, 1995.

The result… Saldivar was sentenced to life in prison. After her death, tons of people were mourning her death from as far away as Canada and Guatemala. People Magazine even did a whole story of Selena and her life. The gun used to kill Selena was dismantled and thrown into the ocean.

Legacy Selena left behind a legacy of music and love for the people she sang to. She helped inspire the creation of People en Español. She has inspired many women to sing and pursue their dreams. She was given a tribute concert after her death to celebrate her music and her work.

Legacy She has left her music for many generations to listen to and be proud of. She has inspired a movie depicting her rise and fall. She will always be known as the “Queen of Tejano” She is one the biggest idols I’ve ever had.