Selena Quintanilla a Gifted Icon

When I was a little girl, I was a big fan of Selena Quintanilla. I had all her music, disks and posters all over my room. My dream was to meet her in person and it came true when I assisted one of her concerts. I knew everything about her even though I was 4 years old. She was a role model for me, she was family oriented and she is still today living in my memory. I memorized every song of hers word by word, and I would imitate her dancing all day long. As a little girl I could not understand why someone would have wanted to take her life away when she was a good person.

Selena Quintanilla is considered to be one of the most popular and influential Hipic music icons of all times because of her history, culture, and all the people she influenced with her charisma. Selena Quintanilla in her early years was a girl who had the spirit to believe in a dream, blessed by being born in a musical family. Quintanilla was a Mexican-American singer born in Lake Jackson, Texas, where her musical career began. Her father Abraham Quintanilla was the greatest influence and inspiration in her music career. Mr. Quintanilla stimulated the musical talents in all his children, teaching them to play instruments and sing in Spanish. Selena Quintanilla made her first performance at the age of 8 in the year of 1980 at her father’s Mexican restaurant (PapaGayo), and recorded her first record at 9. Through her adolescence years she was mostly on the tour bus “Big Bertha”. Everything was not a bed of roses, her education was probably the hardest she had to accomplished. Her father made her dropped from regular school education permanently when she was in 8th grade.

His major concern was to give her the opportunity to concentrate and devote more time to music. Selena Quintanilla in order to perform the music with her family on long trips crossing the states was forced by the nature of the music venture to complete her high school diploma through the American School in Chicago, Illinois by mail (encyclopedia supplement/library vcc)and this was the way she earned her general education diploma (GED) in 1989. She enrolled at Pacific Western University as a correspondence student taking business classes (contemporary/vcc library).

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Quintanilla had a love life like any other girl. The singer fell deeply in love with guitarist Chris Perez. This relationship led the singer to a very troubled life and finally her family accepted him because they realized he made her happy. The Queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla had multiple talents. Since the age of 8 she was a vivacious entertainer. Her passion for music took her to the stage of being one of the most recognized Latino singers in the United States.

Her ability to sing in a sexy and charismatic way made her an idol of the American and Latin markets. Throughout her short life filled with success Quintanilla was a singer, song writer, record producer, and to add to those multiple talents she also dabbled in acting, making a cameo in a romantic comedy in the Johnny Deep Film ‘Don Juan de Marco’. She also danced at the stage making her performance more appealing to the audience. Included among other qualities she enjoyed to design her own clothes.

Her unique way of designing her own bustier earned her the nickname of “The Mexican Madonna”(BD). Among her career successes as a singer vocalist it is obvious why she got so famous, she was hooked on music and her passion for it brought her success, music was in her heart. In 1982 the family band moves to Corpus Christi, Texas and the Tejano music flourishes making Quintanilla a Tejano music star. Her first album was “Ya Se Va”; the second album was “The New Girl in Town” in 1985; “Alpha” and “Munequito Ea Trapo” in 1986.

Also in 1986 Quintanilla was discovered by two huge names in the tejano music industry, Rick Trevi, founder of The Tejano Music Award, and Johnny Canales, the host of one of the top Spanish television shows. She won the tejano music award for “female entertainer of the year” in year of 1987, and in the same year the “female vocalist of the year” and “performer of the year” honors at the annual Tejano music awards. Other awards follow, in the late 1980’s Quintanilla’s was known as “La Reina de la Honda Tejana” (“The Queen of Tejano Music”).

Her popularity attracted her with annual awards and a contract EME Latin Records in 1989. The band attracted 11,041 people, more than Clint Black, George Straight, Vince Gil and Reba McIntyre. All of Quintanilla’s efforts pay of quickly. Her band reaches their popularity to the highest peak in 1993 with “Entre a mi Mundo” making Quintanilla the first tejana to sell more than 300,000 albums. In 1993 she signed with SBK Records to produce an all-English album, and eventually replaced with the bilingual “Dreaming of You”.

The record “Dreaming of You” sold 175,000 copies on its first day of release, making its debut number one on billboard magazine pop chart. Also in 1993 Selena Live received a Grammy Award for best Mexican album (notable Hipic American women). The song “Fotos y Recuerdos” reached the top ten on Billboard magazine’s Latino charts. By 1995, “Bidi Bidi Bon Bon” won the singer a song of the year award at The Tejano Music Award, making her the winner of an additional 5 more awards, including “Female Entertainer”, “best female vocalist”, album of the year, record of the year, and tejano crossover song.

Quintanilla quoted, “Never in my dreams would I have thought I would become this big. I am still freaking out. ”(notable Hipic, 5) She was recipient for ten consecutive years of the “Best Vocalist” award. Quintanilla becomes a millionaire By the year of 1995 Selena Quintanilla had become an icon in the Hipic community, a beloved figure to whom Mexican-Americans attached their aspirations and their feelings about their cultural identities. Her music crossed cultural boundaries touching the lives of young and old.

She will be remembered in the years to come by her fans for her kindness, her positive attitude and the wonderful music she made. The American and Spanish speaking Western Hemisphere markets had been influenced by Quintanilla’s music were she took the Tejano music into new stylistic realms. Her death has perpetuated and immortalized her image for future generations. The queen of tejano will live forever in the people’s heart (SME). Quintanilla’s death shocked Latinos and non-Latin across the United States.

She was cried by thousands of fans who rendered the ‘Queen of Tejano music’ the last goodbye in the Friday she died; this day will always be known as black Friday, March 31, 1995 (IP). Her body was displayed at the Bayfront Plaza in Corpus Christi. Two weeks after her death Governor George W. Bush declared Selena’s Day in Texas (biography based ). The violent death of Selena by Yolanda Saldivar, her fan club president, compares to the grief to the one experience by American people after the death of such major cultural figure as President John F. Kennedy.

Quintanilla became immortalized after her death. In conclusion, Quintanilla influenced millions of people around her from young to old, including g me. Everyone has been able to know Quintanilla’s history and appreciate what she was as a person to her people. I understand what her family went through at the time of losing their Selena. I also recognize that as a human being she was like any other person with troubles and economic problems. I can related to her as a person now that I have learned as about her as a cultural icon. Sometimes we just have to go with the short but successful happy life.

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