Selena Quintanilla couldn’t believe she was about to step on stage at the Houston Astrodome. Although she was only 21, she had been performing with her family’s Tejano band, Selena y Los Dinos, for over 10 years. She usually felt like the veteran performer she was, but today was different. This was the Astrodome – which had hosted icons like Garth Brooks, George Strait, and Michael Jackson. She had grown up in its shadow and barely had dared to dream she would ever perform there. But here she was, waiting to take the stage for the matinee show at the Houston Rodeo. It was February 28, 1993. 

Selena performing at the Astrodome (1994 Austin-American Statesman)

Selena had been well known in the Tejano music scene for years, performing in local bars, clubs and festivals. South Texas, where Selena grew up, was the birthplace of Tejano music. The sound is a melting pot of the cultural influences in the area, including accordion from German polka, horns from southern jazz, quick beats of rock and roll, melodies of rhythm and blues, three part harmonies of country music, all with Spanish language lyrics.

Selena y Los Dinos had built a huge following in the Southwest through word of mouth, which had attracted attention of Capitol Records a few years earlier. Having a major label release their albums had exposed them to a much bigger audience. Selena was excited to perform her new single “Coma La Flor.” It had been released in October 1992 and was climbing the charts, but Selena had never performed it live.

Selena took the stage to the roar of the audience –all 57,894 of them. Selena didn’t know it at the time, but her show that day set an all-time attendance record for the Astrodome! Selena sang and danced on the rotating rodeo stage, matching the energy of her fans as they in turn matched hers. It felt magical.

Selena capitalized on the momentum from the concert, releasing her first solo album, Selena Live, shortly afterwards. It was a huge hit, rising to #2 on Billboard’s Latin Albums chart. Her Grammy nomination for Best Mexican-American Album followed, which was a sweet triumph in the male dominated Latin music industry. There were very few women at any level – from performer to producer.

Selena was notorious for running late – even for big events – and the March 1, 1994 Grammy ceremony was no different!  Her group arrived a little late and sat down quickly in a row near the back of the auditorium. When Selena became the first Tejano woman to win a Grammy, her family and friends jumped up to celebrate as she began the long walk to the stage. Selena was wearing a crystal beaded gown with fishtail train, the aisle slanted downwards, and her primary thought was “don’t fall!”  

When Selena safely reached the microphone, her smile got even bigger as she thanked her label, band, and family. Her final words were to her fans: “I’d like to thank all my Latin family. Thank you for having faith in me. I love you. Thank you.”

The Power of the Wand

Selena died tragically at age 23, but her music survived and thrived. She had been working on a new album, and her family decided to finish it and release it. They named it Dreaming of You. It included new music (English language and Tejano) plus a few of her older songs. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. No other Latina artist had ever accomplished that before.

Selena’s fans have passed their love for her music on to a whole new generation. In 2021, Spotify listeners in 177 countries streamed her music 452,500,000 times. Selena was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Grammys. In March 2022, her family and record label released a new album of 13 previously unreleased songs 

Her Yellow Brick Road

Selena y Los Dinos (Texas State Historical Society)

Selena y Los Dinos got their first big break in 1983, when they were hired to open for the hugely popular Tejano band Mazz. The show was at a Texas fairgrounds and the crowd was surprised to see an 11 year old Selena take the stage. But as soon as the music started, they were on their feet dancing.

The band recorded its first album in 1984 with a local Spanish language record label. They called it “Mi Primeras Grabaciones” (“My First Recordings”). No record stores were willing to stock and sell it – the band simply wasn’t well-known enough. Instead, Selena’s dad Abraham brought copies of it to their performances, selling them to fans and giving them to any talent scouts and record executives he could find in the audience.

In 1986, the band released two more albums: Alpha and Munequito de Trapo (“Rag Doll”). They still didn’t have enough clout to make it into record stores or have any national press. They lived in a van while they played at clubs and fairgrounds all over the southwest. The new songs were a hit with their concert audiences, word of mouth spread, and the crowds at their shows kept getting bigger.

Selena’s autograph

Things changed when, in 1987, Selena received two Tejano Music Awards nominations – one for Best Female Vocalist and the other for Best Female Performer. She won both awards, and people were charmed by this 15 year old teenager who had a voice and presence beyond her years. The band released two more albums to take advantage of their higher profile: Preciosa (“Lovely”) and Dulce Amor (“Sweet Love”).

Pretty soon, Selena y Los Dinos songs were making their way up the Latin music charts, and a major record label offer followed. They signed with Capitol/EMI and released several albums over the next few years. The first was Selena, followed by Ven Comigo (“Come With Me”), Entre A Mi Mundo (“Enter My World”), and Baile Esta Cumbia (“Dance This Cumbia”). And then “Buenos Amigos (“Good Friends”), her duet with Alvaro Torres, that put Selena at the top of the Latin pop chart.

Selena and the band started experimenting with adding a tropical/Afro-Caribbean influence to the traditional Tejano rhythms. As their sound expanded, so did their audience. As Selena’s fame grew, she was determined to speak to her Mexican fans in their native language. She immersed herself in Spanish and became so fluent she often did her interviews in Spanish instead of English.

Selena (San Antonio Current Facebook/Selena)

Selena’s brother A.B. wrote many of the band’s songs, including “Como El Flor “and “Amor Prohibido”. Amor Prohibido was based on the “forbidden love” story of their grandparents. At the time, Selena was experiencing a similar dynamic in her own life. Guitarist Chris Perez joined the band and soon he and Selena were spending all of their free time together, but her dad didn’t approve of them getting serious so young– they were 20 and 22. Selena and Chris took matters into their own hands and eloped in 1992, but softened the blow by moving into a house next door to Selena’s family.

Brains, Heart & Courage 

Selena spent her early years in a small town an hour south of Houston with her parents Abraham and Marcella, big brother A.B., and big sister Suzette. Although she grew up speaking English, her parents immersed their kids in the music and culture of their Mexican-American heritage.

Selena’s in elementary school (Q Productions)

Abraham was a passionate musician who spent more than 10 years as the lead singer of the band Los Dinos (slang for The Boys) as a young man. Once he had a family, he needed a more reliable job to support them, and left the band to take a position as a shipping clerk at Dow Chemical.

Abraham continued to nurture his artistic dreams and passed them on to his kids. When Abraham was teaching A.B. how to play guitar, Selena started singing along. Even though she was only 6 years old,  Abraham realized then she had a special voice with “perfect pitch and timing.”

Abraham decided to resurrect Los Dinos as a family band. He taught A.B. bass guitar and encouraged Suzette to learn how to play drums. He created a soundproof rehearsal space in the family garage and got to work writing Spanish language Tejano style songs. They practiced every day when the kids got home from school. Selena learned to sing in Spanish through phonics and memorization.

Selena y Los Dinos

By 1980, Abraham quit his job at Dow and opened a restaurant called Papagayo’s. It had a stage and dance floor, and one of his motives for buying it was to have a guaranteed place for the band, now called Selena y Los Dinos, to perform. Two more guitarists and a keyboard player joined them. The timing for opening a restaurant wasn’t ideal. The Texas oil industry was in trouble, which led to fewer customers and financial trouble at the restaurant. Selena’s parents had to close it in 1991 and declare bankruptcy.

Looking for a fresh start, they moved to Abraham’s hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas. Abraham decided that the band was their best chance to get out of debt, so he focused his energy on booking enough gigs in dance halls, nightclubs, and festivals to support the family. Selena y Los Dinos became a popular and reliable opening act for other more well-known Tejano bands.

The band traveled across Texas and usually played late into the night, which meant Selena missed a lot of school.Selena was a good student, so her absences became a source of tension between the school and her parents. Her teachers wanted her to focus on academics and earn a college scholarship. Her 7^th grade teacher even threatened to report her parents to the authorities for her truancy. The dispute ended when Selena’s parents took her out of school in 8^th grade and enrolled her in a high school correspondence course (the 1980s equivalent of online school). This gave her the flexibility to tour with the band and finish high school.

Glinda’s Gallery

Just the Facts

• Selena was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas.
• Selena loved animals. When she was young, she had a pet chicken and piglets. Once she grew up, she had five dogs, a huge aquarium filled with fish (that doubled as the headboard of her bed), and a python. Her heart for animals was so big that when she accidentally hit a wild rabbit while driving, she stopped, brought it to the veterinarian, and spent $300 to save its life.
• One of Selena’s biggest hits was “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.” Selena and her brother A.B. came up with it during a performance. The band was on track to finish early, which meant they wouldn’t get paid their full fee. So A.B. led the band in playing a bass line while Selena started singing, making up lyrics on the fly about a fish under water. They initially called the song Bidi Bidi Bubbles, the crowd loved it, and they started playing it at every gig.
• Selena returned to the Astrodome in February 1994, breaking her own attendance record with 60,948 in the crowd. Her album Amor Prohibido was the top selling Latin album of 1994, won the Album of the Year at the Tejano Music Awards, and had four #1 singles. She broke the Astrodome attendance record again in February 1995, about a month before she died, with 61,041 attending her show.
• The seeds of Selena’s tragic death were planted in 1990, when Yolanda Saldivar, the aunt of one of Selena’s childhood friends, asked if she could set up a Selena Fan Club. Yolanda volunteered her time as president and built a membership of thousands. A few years later, Selena offered Yolanda a job as the manager of the Selena Etc. boutique shops. It wasn’t a good fit. Yolanda clashed with the designer, orders went unfulfilled, and there were discrepancies in the financial records, including missing receipts.
• Selena and her dad fired Yolanda on March 29, 1995 and asked her to return all Selena Etc. records in her possession. Yolanda asked Selena to meet her at the Days Inn in Corpus Christi, Texas.  On March 31, Selena went to Yolanda’s hotel room, got the records, and turned to leave. As she walked out of the door, Yolanda shot her in the back. Selena was able to get to the hotel lobby, but collapsed before the ambulance arrived. She died at the hospital from a severed artery.
• Yolanda claimed it was an accident, but the jury at her trial did not believe her and she was sentenced to life in prison.
• Selena’s tragic and shocking death, just 16 days before her 24^th birthday, was heartbreaking for her family, friends, and fans. Over 50,000 fans came to her funeral.
• Selena was working on a makeup line when she was killed. Twenty-one years after she died, in response to a petition signed by 40,000 people, MAC Cosmetics released a makeup line inspired by and named after her.
• Selena received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. Her sister Suzette accepted the honor for her. Over 4500 fans came to the star’s unveiling – which a record setting crowd!
• Selena’s life has been dramatized in film and television. In 1997, Jennifer Lopez, in her first major role, starred in the movie Selena. More recently, Selena’s dad and sister produced a Netflix biography of Selena that debuted in 2020.

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