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Selena

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Performers and composers

                    Selena
            Background information
   Birth name   Selena Quintanilla
   Born         April 16, 1971
   Origin       Lake Jackson, Texas, United States
   Died         March 31, 1995
   Genre(s)     Tejano
   Years active 1984–1990 (group)
                1991–1995 (solo)
   Label(s)     EMI
   Website      Official site

   Selena Quintanilla Pérez ( 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 took
   the award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1987 at the Tejano Music
   Awards and landed a recording contract with EMI a few years later. Her
   fame continued to grow throughout the early nineties, especially in
   Spanish-speaking countries. Her album Selena Live! won a Grammy Award
   for Best Mexican-American album at the 36th Grammy Awards and her 1994
   album Amor Prohibido was nominated for another Grammy and produced four
   number one Spanish hits.

   Selena attained further notability in the United States and Mexico
   after Yolanda Saldívar, 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). Both the statue and museum are visited by hundreds of fans each
   week.

Early career

   Born in Lake Jackson, Texas, to the Mexican-American father Abraham
   Quintanilla and a Mexican/Native American mother Marcella Ophelia
   Zamora. She began singing at the age of six; when she was nine her
   father founded the singing group Selena y Los Dinos, which she fronted.
   They initially performed at the Quintanilla family's restaurant,
   "Papagallos," but the restaurant failed shortly afterwards.

   The family soon went bankrupt and was evicted from their home. Taking
   all their musical equipment in an old bus, they relocated to Corpus
   Christi in Southern Texas. There, they performed wherever they could:
   at street corners, weddings, quinceañeras, and fairs. These efforts at
   spreading their name paid off in 1984, when Selena, then twelve years
   old, recorded her first album for a local record company. The album was
   not sold in stores, and her father bought all the original copies. It
   was later released in 1995 under the title Mis Primeras Grabaciones.

   Selena did well in school, but as she grew more popular, the travel
   demands of her performance schedule began to interfere with her
   education. Her father pulled her out of school altogether when she was
   in eighth grade. She continued her education on the road; at age
   seventeen she earned a high school diploma from The American School of
   Correspondence in Chicago and was accepted at LSU. Selena released her
   second album, Alpha, in 1986.

Successes

   At the Tejano Music Awards in 1987, Selena took the award for Female
   Vocalist of the Year (and would continue to dominate the Awards for the
   next seven years). In 1988, she released two albums, Preciosa and Dulce
   Amor. In 1989, José Behar, the former head of the Sony Latin Music
   division, signed Selena with Capitol/EMI records, a record company
   founded by Behar. Behar later said that the reason he signed Selena was
   because he thought he discovered the next Gloria Estéfan. Selena signed
   a contract with Coca-Cola to become one of their spokespersons the same
   year, and her concerts were drawing thousands of people.

   In 1988, Selena met guitarist Chris Perez, who had his own band. Two
   years later, the Quintanilla family hired him to play in Selena's band
   and they quickly fell in love. At first her father didn't approve of
   the relationship between Perez and Selena, and went as far as firing
   Perez from the band. He eventually came to accept the relationship,
   telling Selena that Perez could come back only if they married and
   moved next door to the family home. Selena accepted and on April 2,
   1992, Selena and Perez married in Nueces County, Texas, and Selena
   added her new husband's surname to her own.

   In 1990, Selena released another album, Ven Conmigo, written by her
   main songwriter and brother Abraham Quintanilla, III. This recording
   was the first Tejano album ever to achieve gold status. Around the same
   time, a registered nurse and fan named Yolanda Saldívar approached
   Selena's father with the idea of starting a fan club. Her wish was
   granted, and she became the club's president; later she would become
   the manager of Selena's clothing boutiques. Selena released another hit
   album in 1992, Entre A Mi Mundo, which also achieved gold status. Songs
   from that album, such as " Como La Flor", helped make Selena a star.
   Her 1993 Live album won a Grammy award for Best Mexican-American
   Performance.

   Selena released her next album, Amor Prohibido in 1994. The album was
   nominated for another Grammy award for Mexican-American Album of the
   Year. She began designing and manufacturing a clothing line in 1994,
   and opened two boutiques called Selena Inc., one in Corpus Christi and
   the other in San Antonio. Both were equipped with their own in-house
   beauty salons. Hispanic Business magazine reported that the singer
   earned over five million dollars from these boutiques. Selena also made
   appearances alongside Erik Estrada in a Latin soap opera titled Dos
   Mujeres, Un Camino.

   Selena and her band continued to receive accolades; Billboard's Premio
   Lo Nuestro awarded them a total of six prestigious awards, including
   Best Latin artist and song of the year for Como La Flor. Coca-Cola
   released a commemorative bottle in her honour to celebrate their
   five-year relationship. Meanwhile, her duet with the Barrio Boyz,
   "Dondequiera Que Estes", raced to the top of the Latin charts. This
   prompted Selena to tour in New York City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and
   Central America, where she was in growing demand. The duet with
   Salvadoran singer Alvaro Torres "Buenos Amigos" was also a hit.

   By fall of 1994, Amor Prohibido was a commercial success in Mexico and
   made four number-one Latin hits, replacing Gloria Estefan's "Mi Tierra"
   on the chart's number one spot. It sold over 400,000 copies by March of
   1995, reaching gold status. At this point, Selena developed plans to
   record an English-language album, but continued to tour for Amor
   Prohibido while beginning preparations for the album.

   In 1995, Selena made a cameo appearance in the romantic comedy Don Juan
   DeMarco, which starred Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway. She
   appeared as a background mariachi singer during the first scene. In
   February, 1995, Selena played a concert at the Houston Livestock Show
   and Rodeo in the Houston Astrodome, which attracted over 61,000 fans --
   more than country stars such as George Strait, Vince Gill and Reba
   McEntire. Despite her busy schedule, Selena visited local schools to
   talk to students about the importance of education. She also donated
   her time to civic organizations such as D.A.R.E., and planned a
   fundraising concert to help AIDS patients. These demonstrations of
   community involvement won her loyalty from her fan base. Selena
   scheduled her English album for release in the summer of 1995. Afraid
   that her fans would think she was turning her back on them, she was
   working on a new Tejano album as well. Meanwhile, she planned to open
   two more boutiques, including one in Monterrey, Mexico.

Death

   In early 1995, the Quintanillas discovered that Yolanda Saldívar, the
   president of Selena's fanclub and the manager of her boutiques, was
   stealing money from the boutiques and decided to fire her. Soon after
   the fallout, Selena agreed to meet Saldívar in a Days Inn hotel in
   Corpus Christi, Texas, on the morning of March 31, 1995 in order to
   retrieve paperwork for tax purposes. At the motel, Selena demanded the
   missing financial papers. Saldívar delayed the handover by claiming she
   had been raped in Mexico. The singer drove Saldívar to a local
   hospital, where doctors found no evidence of rape. Saldivar returned to
   the motel where Selena again demanded the missing financial papers.

   An argument ensued and Saldívar drew a gun from her purse, pointing it
   first at her own head and then at Selena. As the singer turned and left
   the room, Saldívar shot her once in the back. Selena fled to the
   manager's office in the lobby for help, with Saldivar chasing her,
   calling her a bitch. Before collapsing to the floor, Selena named
   Saldívar as her assailant and gave the number of the hotel room where
   she was shot. An ambulance and the police arrived on scene and Selena
   was transported to a local hospital. She died there from loss of blood
   at 1:05 P.M., at the age of 23, sixteen days shy of her 24th birthday.
   The gun used to kill Selena was later destroyed and the pieces thrown
   into Corpus Christi Bay.

Aftermath

   Selena's death shocked and saddened Latinos and non-Latinos alike
   across the United States and abroad. Major networks interrupted their
   regular programming to break the news; Tom Brokaw referred to Selena as
   "The Mexican Madonna". Numerous vigils and memorials were held in her
   honour and radio stations in Texas played her music non-stop. Her
   funeral drew approximately 60,000 mourners, many of whom traveled from
   outside the United States. Among the celebrities who were reported to
   have immediately phoned the Quintanilla family to express their
   condolences were Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias and Madonna. The
   magazine People published a commemorative issue in honour of Selena's
   memory and musicial career, titled Selena 1971-1995, Her Life in
   Pictures. A few days afterwards, Howard Stern, mocked Selena's murder
   and burial, poked fun at her mourners, and criticized her music. Stern
   said, "This music does absolutely nothing for me. Alvin and the
   Chipmunks have more soul, Spanish people have the worst taste in music.
   They have no depth." Stern's comments outraged the Hispanic community
   all across Texas. Two weeks after her death, on April 12, 1995, George
   W. Bush, the then Governor of Texas, declared April 16, Selena's
   birthday, "Selena Day," in Texas.

   That summer, Selena's album Dreaming of You, a combination of Spanish
   language songs and several new English language tracks, debuted at
   number one on the Billboard music charts in the US, making her the
   first Hispanic singer to accomplish this feat and the second highest
   debut after Michael Jackson's HIStory. On its release date, the album
   sold over 175,000 copies, a record for a female pop singer, and sold
   two million copies in its first year. Songs such as "I Could Fall In
   Love" and "Dreaming Of You" were played widely by mainstream English
   language radio with the latter reaching #21 on the Billboard Hot 100.
   Meanwhile, "I Could Fall In Love," while ineligible for the Hot 100 at
   the time, did reach #12 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and the top 10 on
   the Adult Contemporary Chart. "Dreaming of You" has sold approximately
   five million copies in the USA.

   In October 1995 a Houston jury convicted Saldívar of first-degree
   murder and sentenced her to life in prison, with the possibility of
   parole in thirty years.

Legacy

   A statue made in the honor of Selena in Corpus Christi, Texas
   Enlarge
   A statue made in the honour of Selena in Corpus Christi, Texas

   In 1997, Jennifer Lopez played Selena in a film about her life, called
   Selena. Directed by Gregory Nava, the biopic opened with mostly
   positive reviews. More than 12,000 people auditioned for a role in the
   film. The film stirred some controversy in the Mexican-American
   community, since Lopez is Puerto Rican and played the role of a singer
   of Mexican descent. But Selena's fans supported the movie, and Lopez's
   role in the film helped elevate her career. Although Lopez would
   succeed as a pop star herself a few years later, Selena's voice was
   dubbed in for all the songs in the movie. For her role in the film,
   Lopez was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a
   Musical.

   Reliant Stadium in Houston hosted a tribute concert, " Selena ¡VIVE!",
   on April 7, 2005. Held a week after the 10th anniversary of her death,
   more than 50,000 fans attended the concert, which featured various
   high-profile artists including Gloria Estefan, Pepe Aguilar, Thalía,
   Paulina Rubio, Ana Barbara, Alejandra Guzmán, Ana Gabriel, and Fey. All
   of the artists at the event performed renditions of Selena's music, as
   did her brother, A.B. Quintanilla, who performed along with his band
   Kumbia Kings backed with footage of Selena singing Baila Esta Cumbia.
   Broadcast live on the Univision network, "Selena ¡VIVE!" now holds the
   record for the highest-rated and most-viewed Spanish-language show in
   American television history. The show, which was over three hours long,
   scored a 35.9 Nielsen household rating.

Selected discography

Early releases

   Year          Album
   1984 Mis Primeras Grabaciones
   1986 Alpha
   1987 And the Winner Is...
   1988 Preciosa (album)
   1988 Dulce Amor

EMI Music releases

   Year Re-released      Album
   1989    2002     Selena
   1990    2002     Ven Conmigo
   1992    2002     Entre A Mi Mundo
   1993    2002     Selena Live!
   1994    2002     Amor Prohibido

Posthumous releases

   Year         Album
   1995 Dreaming of You
   1996 Siempre Selena
   2002 Ones (CD/DVD)
   2003 Greatest Hits (CD/DVD)
   2004 Momentos Intimos
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selena"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
