On a day like this, 25 years ago, Selena Quintanilla left, the singer who moved from a Latin idol of youth to a martyr of an entire community. Since then, films, series, books and documentaries have praised a legend that never dies.
In 1995 Selena Quintanilla was the biggest Latin pop star in the United States, representing the cultural rise of the Hispanic community and its integration into society. killed by the founder of her fan club on March 31, Selena’s death shocked the community in collective trauma. This tragedy also exposed the tensions of coexistence between Whites and Latinos in the United States. What made Selena a symbol of identity despite the fact that she had triumphed precisely because of being an ordinary girl.
The Quintanilla family suffered the oil crisis that devastated Texas in the 1970s and, after closing their Mexican restaurant a year after its inauguration, they hit the road to perform at weddings, baptisms, and quinceañeras (The fiesta de quince años, a traditional celebration in the Latin-Hispanic world).
The pop-up of the Queen of Tejano
Between the late 80s and early 90s, Selena appeared as a star of Tejano, the Mexican regional music, although she does not speak Spanish, she learned the songs phonetically. At that time, Mexicans considered Tejano artists the idols of the “Pochos”, a term used to refer (frequently pejoratively) Chicanos and those who have left Mexico.
After marrying the guitarist of her band Selena y Los Dinos, Chris Pérez in 1992, his father, Abraham Quintanilla, feared the diversion to which the famous couple could be exposed, especially after the success of which each album was sold more than the previous one.
Selena personified a new generation of Latinas who respected and vindicated both her traditional and modernized image. Her cowboy style, often with her abdomen exposed, presented her as a sexy, decent Hispanic girl integrated into American aesthetics. Selena was therefore nominated as a pop star acceptable to audiences of all races.
Fraud and Depression
Yolanda Saldívar, one of her best friends, who took care of all kinds of non-music business with such confidentiality, to the point where Selena appointed him the director of her clothing line Selena Etc. The fashion industry, cosmetics and beauty salons, led Selena Etc to touch approximately 4.5 million euros.
In 1994, Selena was the third Latin artist to make the most money in the United States. Forbidden Love, her fourth album, made Tejano music popular among young Latino Americans. Her fan club then had over 8,000 members.
On March 10, 1995, Yolanda Saldívar was removed from Selena, etc., and her bank account was replaced as president of the fan club after her father Abraham Quintilla discovered the embezzlement of the bank checks without any justification on his part. A day later, Yolanda bought a revolver and pointed it at Selena in an isolated park, but Selena convinced him to return the gun to the store and promised to keep his job. 2 days later, during a trip to Tennessee to record songs from her next album in English, Selena demanded that Yolanda show her the appropriate papers for her accounts. On March 27, Saldívar returned to the same store and bought the same revolver.
Three days later, Selena took her best friend to the hospital after having simulated rape several times, where she discovered that Yolanda was suffering from depression. Once arrived at Corpus Christi, Texas, Selena had had enough and shouted on the face of her best friend saying that she no longer trusted her. Yolanda pointed the revolver at her and when the singer tried to flee, Saldívar shot her in the back and Selena ran to the reception where she fell in a pool of blood and said her last words: “Yolanda … 158”, referring to the number from the room where his attacker was hiding.
Crowdful Funerals and fake death
Selena declared dead, Saldívar tried to commit suicide, But she turned around to make sure that his shot at Selena had been accidental, after nine hours of negotiation with FBI agents. While Saldívar was under arrest, several members of Latino criminal gangs in Texas tried to raise funds to bail him out for € 450,000 so that they could murder her themselves.
At the funeral, family members, friends and admirers crowded in, rumors spread that the singer was alive and that the coffin was empty, so the Quintanilla family decided to open the coffin to avoid chaos; 40,000 participants managed to see the body of their idol.
Since then, Selena has been praised as a legend that never dies through Films, series, and documentaries, like Selena in 1997, Telemundo series, El Secreto de Selena released in 2018, and the upcoming Netflix Selena: The Series starring Christian Serratos. Many artists paid tribute to her in songs, interviews and concerts. The most recent one was from Jennifer Lopez, which was shared on Selena’s official twitter account on March 22.
Surely with or without Selena’s death, Latin music would have exploded, however, its effect as the first star of all races has left a mark in the biggest Latin icon of pop culture like Ricky Martin, Shakira, and Enrique Iglesias. Selena’s future was cut short, but that of her people was unstoppable.
