This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois State chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Selena Quintanilla was a Mexican-America singer known as the “Queen of Tejano music” who was highly successful, but sadly met a premature end at the age of 23 in 1995.

Selena Movie Poster — Warner Bros. Pictures

Selena’s Backstory

Born in 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas, Selena started off her career as a child when her father made her siblings join a band together called Selena y Los Dinos. Her older sister was the drummer, her older brother was the bass guitarist, and Selena was the lead singer. This family band helped her rise to fame in the Latin music market, winning a Grammy in 1994. In her teens, she was breaking barriers in the Tejano music industry, which was male-dominated.

Becoming a Star

She released her first solo album, Selena, in 1989 and this helped her with her highly successful career in the Spanish-speaking market. As stated before, she won a Grammy in 1994, this was for Best Mexican-American Album in 1994 for Selena Live!, making her the first Tejano artist to achieve this. She was well known for captivating her audience with her stage presence, especially with her unique fashion sense and her ability to connect with her audience from different cultural backgrounds.

Chris Perez

Born August 14, 1969. He was an American guitarist and joined the band Selena y Los Dinos in 1989. Their relationship started as a secret, leading them to elope in 1992 against her father’s wishes. On April 2, 1992, Selena and Chris got married, despite Selena’s father’s disapproval. Sadly, they were only married for three years.

Yolanda Saldivar

Born September 19, 1960. She was the fan club president for Selena. She and Selena actually became friends after meeting. This led to Selena asking for Yolanda’s help with her success. Yolanda started embezzling money from Selena, and this led to the fateful confrontation in 1995.

March 31, 1995

Selena confronted Yolanda about the rumors of embezzling money from her fan club and boutique. Selena met Yolanda at her motel room in Corpus Christi. While collecting the financial records, an argument broke out between the two. After being shot in the back, Selena fled to the motel lobby, where she named Yolanda as her attacker before being taken to the hospital. Shortly after the shooting, Yolanda fled to her truck and engaged in a nine-hour standoff with the police before surrendering. During this, she begged for her mother and threatened to end her own life. During this standoff, the hospital where Selena was taken had pronounced Selena dead at 1:05 pm. They said that the bullet had severed a major artery and the damage was irreparable.

The Legal Process

Yolanda was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. This date actually came up last March, but she was denied parole, not because she didn’t deserve it, but because they were worried about her safety. The next time she will be eligible for parole review will be in 2030.

Legacy

Selena’s crossover album, Dreaming of You, was released in 1995 and debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, making her the first Latin artist to achieve this. In 1997, her life was the subject of a biopic starring Jennifer Lopez, which helped solidify her legacy in pop culture. In 1998 the Selena Museum in Corpus Christi opened. This was established by the Quintanilla family to house her memorabilia for public viewing and is located in the building that contains her music company, Q Productions. In 2020, Selena: The Series, was released and has two seasons available on Netflix.

The Tragic Story of Selena Quintanilla