SELENA
Name: Selena Quintanilla Perez
Born: 16 April 1971 Lake Jackson, Texas, U.S.
Died: 31 March 1995 Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Selena Quintanilla-Perez (April 16, 1971 - March 31, 1995), best known as Selena,
was a Mexican American singer who has been called "the queen of Tejano music".
The youngest child of a Mexican-American couple, Selena released her first album
at the age of twelve. She won Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1987 Tejano
Music Awards and landed a recording contract with EMI a few years later. Her
fame grew throughout the early 1990s, especially in Spanish-speaking countries.
Her album Selena Live! won Best Mexican-American Album at the 36th Grammy Awards
and her 1994 album Amor Prohibido, which was nominated for another Grammy,
produced four number one Spanish hits.
Selena attained further notability in North America after Yolanda Saldivar, the
president of her fan club, murdered her at the age of 23. On April 12, 1995, two
weeks after her death, George W. Bush, then the governor of Texas, declared her
birthday "Selena Day" in Texas. Warner Brothers made a film based on her life
starring Jennifer Lopez in 1997. As of June 2006, Selena was commemorated with a
museum and a bronze life-sized statue (Mirador de la Flor in Corpus Christi,
Texas). The statue and museum are visited by hundreds of fans each week.
Name: Selena Quintanilla Perez
Born: 16 April 1971 Lake Jackson, Texas, U.S.
Died: 31 March 1995 Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Selena Quintanilla-Perez (April 16, 1971 - March 31, 1995), best known as Selena,
was a Mexican American singer who has been called "the queen of Tejano music".
The youngest child of a Mexican-American couple, Selena released her first album
at the age of twelve. She won Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1987 Tejano
Music Awards and landed a recording contract with EMI a few years later. Her
fame grew throughout the early 1990s, especially in Spanish-speaking countries.
Her album Selena Live! won Best Mexican-American Album at the 36th Grammy Awards
and her 1994 album Amor Prohibido, which was nominated for another Grammy,
produced four number one Spanish hits.
Selena attained further notability in North America after Yolanda Saldivar, the
president of her fan club, murdered her at the age of 23. On April 12, 1995, two
weeks after her death, George W. Bush, then the governor of Texas, declared her
birthday "Selena Day" in Texas. Warner Brothers made a film based on her life
starring Jennifer Lopez in 1997. As of June 2006, Selena was commemorated with a
museum and a bronze life-sized statue (Mirador de la Flor in Corpus Christi,
Texas). The statue and museum are visited by hundreds of fans each week.