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Selena Quintanilla Perez (April 16, 1971 –
March 31, 1995), principally known by her first
name, was a Mexican-American singer who has
reached mythical status and is considered to be
one of the most popular and influential Hispanic
music icons of all time. Very few other Hispanic
celebrities (e.g. Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan)
rival her popularity among American Hispanics.

Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas|Lake
Jackson, Texas and grew up in Corpus Christi,
Texas, where she began her musical career. Her
father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., was a singer with
the original Los Dinos from 1957-1972, and
nurtured the burgeoning musical talent of his
children.  Selena, her brother A.B.
Quintanilla|Abe III (bass), and their sister,
Suzette (drums), were a second generation of Los
Dinos. Its other two members who started in the
band were Ricky Vela on keyboards and Roger Garcia
on guitar.

Selena made her first public appearance at her
father's Mexican cuisine|Mexican restaurant in
Lake Jackson at eight and recorded her first
record at nine. Throughout her adolescence Selena
was constantly on tour. She finished high school
by mail and lived most of her life on the tour bus
"Big Bertha". She completed her education via
correspondence courses.  The singer signed with
Capitol EMI in 1989, and released several albums
with that label, including 1994's wildly popular
Amor Prohibido, which knocked Gloria Estefan's Mi
Tierra off the number one spot.

Chris Perez replaced Roger Garcia as guitar
player. A romance budded between Perez and Selena,
and the two married on April 2, 1992. Even as
Selena's career skyrocketed she remained very
close to her family, choosing to live next door to
them in Corpus Christi.

In 1994, Selena won a Grammy_Award|Grammy for
Grammy_Award_for_Best_Mexican/Mexican-American_Alb
um|Best Mexican-American Album for Live. 

She holds the record of drawing the largest
concert crowd -- over 67,000 screaming fans -- in
the history of the Houston Astrodome, for her 1993
performance at the Houston Livestock Show and
Rodeo. It is erroneously believed that her largest
crowd at the Astrodome was the famed 1995 concert,
which she gave a little over a month before her
death. The crowd she drew that night, however, was
nevertheless enormous: over 64,000 fans. 

The greatest irony in Selena's musical career is
that she became a star singing in her second
language. She grew up speaking English, recording
her early Spanish hits phonetically. 

Aside from her singing, Selena was an avid
clothing designer. Boutique shops with the Selena
name opened in Corpus Christi and San Antonio,
Texas|San Antonio in the 1990s. She also dabbled
in acting, making a cameo in the Johnny Depp film
Don Juan de Marco.

A woman named Yolanda Saldivar worked her way into
the singer's inner circle, becoming president of
Selena's fan club and manager of the boutiques. In
1995 the Quintanillas found out Saldivar had
embezzled money from these ventures and decided to
fire her. Selena agreed to meet Saldivar at a
Corpus Christi Days Inn on the morning of March
31, 1995 in order to retrieve paperwork for tax
purposes. At the motel an argument ensued over the
embezzlement and Saldivar shot the singer once in
the back. Selena died at a local hospital at 1:05
pm, hours after she was shot.

Selena's death shocked and saddened Latinos and
non-Latinos alike across the United States. Major
networks interrupted their regular programming to
break the news. The outpouring of grief by her
massive faithful fanbase was unprecendented. Soon,
America's reaction to her death was being compared
to the reactions to the deaths of John Lennon and
U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Numerous vigils
and memorials were held in the singer's honor. 

That summer her album Dreaming of You, a
combination of Spanish language hits and new
English language tracks, debuted at #1 on the
Billboard music charts in the US, making her the
first Hispanic singer to accomplish that feat. On
its release date, it sold over 175,000 copies, the
most ever by an American female singer in pop
history. To date, is has sold approximately
4,000,000 copies in the United States.

People Magazine issued a commemorative edition in
her honor -- the third such tribute in its
history. It sold a record number of copies -- over
1 million -- and ultimately spurred the creation
for People En Espanol.

In October of 1995 a Houston jury convicted
Saldívar of murder and sentenced her to life in
prison, without possibility of parole.

There is a museum to honor Selena's memory and a
bronze life-sized statue of her on Ocean Drive in
Corpus Christi. 

In 1997, Jennifer Lopez played Selena in the
Selena (movie)|movie of the same name. This fact
stirred some controversy in the Mexican-American
community as Jennifer Lopez was a Hispanic of
Puerto Rican descent playing the role of a singer
who was of Mexican descent. Lopez's role in Selena
catapulted her to superstardom.

Selena's enduring popularity is evidenced by the
fact that she continues to outsell many living
artists. In fact, the Guinness Book of World
Records, in 2003 (she had previously graced the
book's pages as the "most dominating artist"),
considered adding her to their pages as being the
only deceased celebrity who continues to compete
with today's top pop stars. 

A massive tribute concert, "Selena Vive!", --
which over 50,000 fans attended -- was organized
on April 7, 2005, a week after the tenth
anniversary of the star's death. Reliant Stadium
in Houston, Texas|Houston hosted the event, which
featured many high-profile artists, including
Gloria Estefan, Pepe Aguilar, Thalía, Paulina
Rubio, Banda El Recodo, Ana Barbara, Alejandra
Guzmán, Aleks Syntek, Ana Gabriel, Fey and many
others. All of the musicians present performed
renditions of her music, including her brother
A.B. Quintanilla, who performed along with his
band Kumbia Kings, backed with footage of Selena
singing "Baila Esta Cumbia."

"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 3 hours long, scored a whopping
35.9 household rating.

==Discography==
 
Released While Being Alive
*Selena y Los Dinos (1984)
 
*The New Girl In Town (1985)
 
*Alpha (1986)
 
*Munequito de Trapo (1986)
 
*And the Winner Is... (1987)
 
*Preciosa (1988)
 
*Dulce Amor (1988)
 
*Selena y Los Dinos (Re-released in 2002 as
"Selena") (1989)
 
*Personal Best (1990)
 
*16 Super Exitos Originales (Re-released in 2002
as "Mis Primeros Grabaciones) (1990)
 
*Ven Conmigo (Re-released in 2002) (1990)
 
*Entre A Mi Mundo (Re-released in 2002) (1992)
 
*Baila Esta Cumbia (Mexico release) (1992)
 
*Selena y Emilio Navaira: Entertainers of the Year
(1992)
 
*Quiero (Mexico release) (1993)
 
*Selena Live! (Re-released in 2002) (1993)
 
*Mis Mejores Canciones: 17 Super Exitos (1993)
 
*Amor Prohibido (Re-released in 2002) (1994)
 
*12 Super Exitos (Re-released in 2002) (1994)
 
*Selena (AKA Excelsior) (1994)
 
*Grandes Exitos (Mexico release) (1994)
 
*Selena y Graciela Beltran: Las Reinas del Pueblo
(1995)
 
*Dreaming of You (Re-released in 2002) (1995)

Released Posthumously

*Mis Primeras Grabaciones (Re-release of 1984
album) (1995)
 
*Exito del Recuerdo (Canada release) (1995)
 
*Blue in the Face Soundtrack (Song- "God's Child
(Baila Conmigo)")  (1995)
 
* Multipistas: 10 Exitos de Selena (1995)

*Fotos Y Ruecuerdos (????)

*Exitos y Recuerdos (Three different versions:
pink, orange, and blue covers. Platinum disc
re-release in 2001) (1996)
 
*Siempre Selena (1996)
 
*Selena Soundtrack (Re-released in 2002) (1997)
 
*Anthology (1998)
 
*All My Hits Todos Mis Exitos (1999)
 
*All My Hits Todos Mis Exitos, Vol. 2 (2000)

*Live! The last concert (Re-released in 2005 as a
CD/DVD) (2001)

*Ones (CD/DVD) (2002)

*Greatest Hits (CD/DVD) (2003)

*Y sus Incios (2003)

*Y sus Incios, Vol. 2 (2004)

*Y sus Incios, Vol 3: The Early Years (2004)

*Y sus Incios, Vol. 4 (2004)

*Intimos Momentos (2004)

*Selena Remembered (CD/DVD) (2005)

*Unforgettable (Limited Edition 2 CD Set) (2005)

*Unforgettable: The Studio Album (2005)

*Unforgettable: The Live Album (2005)

*Unforgettable (CD/DVD Set) (2005)