Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was a Tejano superstar who was killed on Friday March 31, 1995 by Yolanda Saldívar, the ex-president of her fan club and her boutiques. Selena was a 23-year old star on the rise before her life was taken away at such a young age. A possible lifelong career of success and fame was taken away so soon thanks to one's jealousy. No one knows how far her star would have shone if she were still with us today. In preparing this blog post, I had no idea that the dark anniversary of her death is approaching. I knew it was around this time, but not THIS close. This blog post highlights on her and some of her music.
Before I begin, here's a fun fact... did you know that Selena Gomez was named after Selena Quintanilla-Pérez?
Most information (excluding personal commentary) provided by the Wikipedia entry on Selena as well as SelenaForever.com.
LATEST UPDATE(S)/REVISION(S):
APR 1 2012 - edited information on Selena--- A (Brief) Look at Selena ---
I obviously do not know much of anything about her. However, I've heard some of her songs to have a general idea of who she is and what she brought to music.I'll begin with a picture. THIS is Selena:
^ from: fold3.com (best I could find) - The late Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was one of the brightest stars in Tejano music before her murder in 1995.
Basics.
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas, USA. This Mexican-American singing star began singing starting in 1980. It was 1984 when she released her first album, Selena y Los Dinos. She would go on to create a handful of other albums through her career, all receiving vast amounts of fame and honor. What would be her final concert was in late February 1995 in Houston at the Astrodome.Selena's Dark Fate and Reaction.
Now... for Selena's dark fate. Money was getting embezzled (or taking something from someone as a means of betrayal or anti-trust) from Selena's fan club from Yolanda Saldívar, who was the president of Selena's fan club as well as her boutiques. This obviously led to Selena and her family wanting to part ways with Yolanda. A secret meeting was arranged and agreed upon between Selena and Yolanda at a Days Inn Motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA. An argument between the two eventually led to Yolanda brandishing a gun and shooting Selena as she was trying to walk out the door of the motel room. She tried to escape but later collapsed in the lobby of the motel and was killed. Before being killed, she noted to people in the lobby that Yolanda was the assailant.Outrage poured out from the Hispanic community as they called the day of Selena's murder as "Black Friday." Many have thought that Yolanda was jealous of Selena's success and killed her as Selena's fame was rising. It was said that Yolanda tried to take her own life but "accidentally" took Selena's life instead. Nobody was buying this, and neither were the ones who eventually sentenced Yolanda to life in prison for first-degree murder. Over 60K people attended her funeral including various celebrities, even including Madonna. I even remember in my middle school days the outpouring of support of Selena and her music. There were students at my school who wore Selena shirts in loving memory of Selena as news broke of Selena's murder. It was no doubt a horrible experience for such a heroine in music to have her life taken away so young.
Immortalizing and Remembering Selena.
The slain Tejano star's life would be portrayed in a 1997 movie called "Selena," with Jennifer Lopez playing as Selena. A movie or film in 2003 would highlight on Selena's final-ever concert in February 1995 at the Houston Astrodome. The motel in Corpus Christi where Selena was killed has a statue outside of the motel called the Mirador del Flor. For fans of Selena, this is a surreal place. It gets a great deal of traffic from tourists.There are people to this day who still love Selena and what she brought to music. They even still listen to songs from Selena, remembering just what she brought to music before being killed. Some people even think Tejano still isn't the same without her. Then again, I know very little (if anything) about Tejano music past or present, so I can't say that with any sort of professionalism. All I know is that Selena and her music still resonate with many people even years since her death.
Most of what I've read about Selena and her untimely passing in preparing this blog post was mostly along the lines of jealousy of one's stardom. Selena was becoming a major deal while someone else just got jealous and decided to prevent Selena's star from rising any further. Who knows how far Selena's star would have risen if she were still with us to this day? Shame.
--- The Music of Selena ---
The majority of this post is just a look back at Selena's music. All of the following have been provided for educational and entertainment purposes. Thanks to all YouTube channels that allowed their videos to be embedded. Any songs I can't embed will be shown with a link to the content.The first two songs I'll feature are two of her English-language songs. If you've never heard these before, this is your first chance to hear her sing.
If I Could Fall in Love.
The first one I've heard from Selena was this one called "If I Could Fall in Love." It is an English-language song from Selena. Feel free to enjoy this one:Dreaming of You.
Of the two English-language songs I've heard, I like this one better. It is both the music and the instrumentals that are just sweet together.I had learned from another website that the two English songs you just listened to were only two of four English-language songs Selena had planned to be in an album. Part of my thoughts was that Selena was hoping to emerge from the Latin music scene to perhaps cross over into the American music scene. "If I Could Fall in Love" and "Dreaming of You" are the only two English-language songs I've heard. Selena probably could have been an amazing transitional music star had her life not been taken away so soon.
I have more songs to feature. More of her non-English songs will be featured next. So make sure you're reading the full blog post if you've enjoyed what you've read so far. Read on after this Jump Break to listen to her other songs that I've chosen for this post. Also, don't forget to subscribe and follow my blog if you love it.
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It is now time to move on and showcase some more songs of hers.
Como La Flor.
This is regarded as one of Selena's most popular songs. Here is your chance to experience Selena and one of her most famous songs. This Tejano star shone her brightest with this song:Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.
While not a fan of this song, I am sure a lot of my readers would appreciate it if I post this song among the many different songs Selena did. So here is another popular song of Selena's for you all... "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" is ready for your listening pleasure:La Carcacha.
Here is one more track for you from Selena. This video is a collection of Selena's performances with "La Carcacha" playing. Check out some of Selena's moves here with this nice song playing:I only included so many songs to entertain my audience. I also included so many so that I don't run the risk of you having a slow connection to this blog. It can be a tough task to try to offer videos while also keep this blog and its posts viewable and efficient. If there are any other songs you all may like from Selena that I should feature here, feel free to Contact Me via E-Mail.
--- In Closing... ---
As I had mentioned previously, "Selena" was released in 1997 with Jennifer Lopez playing as Selena. If you're interested in seeing the movie to Selena, have a look at these (and feel free to buy them if you are interested in doing so. I would appreciate your support):THIS LINE (from left to right):
• "Selena" the movie on DVD. Rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America
(here is a trailer on YouTube for this movie: "Selena" the Movie Trailer - YouTube)
• "Selena," the 10th Anniversary Two-Disc Special Edition.
More Selena for you on Amazon:
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I'll be honest with you- I had no idea in preparing this initial blog post that it is coming up on 17 years since Selena was killed. I created the post mostly to highlight on the music career of Selena. Hope you enjoyed this blog post of mine. I will edit this post if need be to make sure it remains useful and accurate.
--- Cross-Promotion/Other Reading ---
Only one blog post of mine and several other links for your reading pleasure:"Selena Gomez" - John's Blog Space
^ Selena Gomez was named after Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. In a VERY old blog post here on JBS, this was my look at Selena Gomez.
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez Tribute - Selena Forever.com
^ This site is devoted to Selena and features many different facts and figures about the Tejano superstar. Some of the information from the first section was taken from Wikipedia as well as from selenaforever.com.
"Selena Remembered" - Music Terra (in English)
^ A look at Selena and her music. At the time of this article, it was 15 years since Selena's murder.
Depending on traffic (or other factors), I may add more resources to keep my fans and readers interested in future edits.
This is all. Thank you for reading!
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