In honor of Selena Quintanilla’s birthday on April 16, I would love to take this time to honor her and think about where she would be today if she unfortunately hadn’t passed away at such a young age. As a Latina woman, I absolutely adore Selena not only for her music, but for the kind and caring person she truly was. Even though I wasn’t born during the time Selena was making music, my family made sure I knew who she was, just like many Latinos did, because if I’m being honest here, Selena should’ve and would’ve been our It Girl for the Latino community.
And I’m not the only one to think so because celebrities like Becky G, Camila Cabello, Cardi B, and so many other Latino artists couldn’t agree more. They sometimes give Selena a shoutout, whether it’s singing her songs at a concert, mentioning how they would have loved to work with her, etc. Selena was so big already before she passed away, and I know she would have been so much bigger with the new generations if she was still alive and continued to do her work. So, let’s talk about where she might be today.
If you don’t know who Selena Quintanilla is, then you are not on social media enough and don’t listen to music enough. She was a Mexican-American singer who performed conjunto, tejano, and border music. She was actually known as the “Queen of Tejano.” She began performing at 9 years old with her family band, Selena y Los Dinos, and had grown to be very big ever since. She even designed her own iconic stage costumes, which led to her starting her own clothing line. Eventually, she opened her own boutique, Selena Etc., where she presented her clothing, accessories, and even a salon. Unfortunately, as her career in music and fashion kept growing, it did end way sooner than anyone expected.
Her so-called best friend and president of her fan club,Yolanda Saldívar, was stealing money from Selena. One day, Selena went to confront Saldívar about everything that she had done to her, which eventually led to Saldívar shooting Selena at the Days Inn Motel. Selena was rushed to the hospital and was shortly after pronounced dead on March 31, 1995. Selena was only 23 years old, and the life she was meant to have was taken so soon due to a so-called friend feeling hatred and jealousy. Even though Selena was gone too soon, her legacy still lives on due to her family keeping her name alive and all of her fans that still support her no matter what.
When it comes to her music, it always brings people together and brings so much joy. Very popular ones that many will know are “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “Como la Flor,” “Dreaming of You,” and “I Could Fall in Love.” Not only did Selena have a beautiful voice, but she had all types of talent, and she knew how to put on a show for her fans. At first, she only had Spanish albums, but eventually she was able to make a highly-anticipated English album before she passed away. This is a very important detail in her life because she didn’t know Spanish at first and had to learn it when she started making her music. Having only Spanish albums was a symbol showing that she was loved and respected by all, whether they were Latino or American, because she showed her love for being Mexican-American.
The Selena movie was a great representation of that key detail about her if you want to learn more about it. If she was alive today, I could see her coming out with more English albums that would have been a big hit. There was talk about her possibly quitting music for good to focus on her fashion career. I honestly feel like she would have made a few more albums and would have shifted her focus to fashion, similar to what Rihanna did with her makeup line. One thing is for sure though, whether she’d still be making music or not, she would have definitely done the Super Bowl eventually, and that stadium would have been packed because she would have given us the performance of a lifetime.
Speaking of fashion, we have to talk about Selena’s career in it. Selena was full of surprises when she was alive, but it was no surprise that she had an amazing talent of designing her clothes. She was the one to create all of her costumes for herself and her band when they were performing. Her most iconic and famous design that she created was a purple jumpsuit. It was a shimmering and sparkling flared jumpsuit with a halter top and matching jacket. She wore it for the 1995 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which was her last televised performance; she was even buried with it. Her fashion empire would have been a huge success if she was here today. I feel like she would have blended old-school fashion and modern fashion because, to this day, people loved her style and everything that she had created. There would have been plenty of people that would have done their own designs and cosplays inspired by her. She also would have collaborated with fashion icons and possibly would have made the designs for collaborative performances with other artists. No matter what age and time we are in, Selena’s fashion is so iconic and legendary, and we must always respect and love every fashion piece she has ever created.
Now, this is a little more personal because Selena’s life wasn’t only just about music and fashion. She had a life with her husband, Chris Pérez, who was a guitarist in her band. They were secretly dating at one point because her father didn’t approve of him. Eventually, they decided to get married when she was only 20 years old, which was probably a great decision because both didn’t know how much time they would have with each other. To this day, Pérez will always have love for Selena, which melts and breaks my heart for him because you can tell he was deeply in love with Selena not for her career, but because of the person she was inside and out. There are talks online sometimes about whether or not they would still be together because of how many celebrities break up and divorce so easily. However, I truly believe that they would still be married to this day because they are both very kind and humble and actually knew how to deal with their relationship away from their careers. It makes me sad, too, because they wanted to have kids, and they would have made an amazing family together. Yes, Pérez did remarry and have kids, but it’s not fair that he didn’t get to experience that and continue his love story with Selena, and she never got the chance to experience being a mother. However, just because Selena was gone so soon, that didn’t mean Pérez’s love for her died. He has proven throughout the years that he will always honor, remember, and love Selena, which is something that I feel is so beautiful to see.
Selena was an iconic, beautiful human being inside and out, and deserved so much more than what happened to her. Because of Saldívar, we lost one of the most important figures in the Latino community. However, Selena’s death did get justice because Saldívar got sentenced to life in prison. She was actually denied parole recently because she keeps trying to get out of prison. She needs to stop because why does she think anyone would defend her to be released when she’s the reason we lost such an amazing person? Plus, everyone is saying that if she truly gets out one day, people are going to jump and attack her. If I’m being completely honest, Yolanda should stay in jail because she’s just safer there. So even though we never got to see Selena’s career grow or even see her grow more with being a wife and mother, her career was huge and very successful. Who knows, maybe she would have revealed more talent, like maybe pursuing an acting career or voice acting. I could see her playing roles that other actresses played if the part didn’t go to them. All I know is that her story and legacy still lives on with her fans that grew up watching her during her life and even with the new generation since so many people get to learn about Selena and listen to her music. No matter what generation anyone is a part of, Selena’s name will be heard and loved by many people.
Your success will be known by many generations to come, Selena, with the help of our Latino community, and I hope this piece puts a smile on your face and helps to keep your name alive. Happy 55th birthday to Selena Quintanilla. We love and miss you dearly and hope that you continue to rest in peace.