Selena Quintanilla
April 16,1971- March 31,1995
Brief History
Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas by her parents Abraham Quintanilla and Marcella Ofelia. When Abraham realized Selena could sing at the age of 9, they started a family band called Selena y Los Dinos, which also consisted of Selena's brother and sister. They soon moved to Corpus Christi after their family owned restaurant, went bankrupt. Her father took her out of school in 8th grade because of the interference it had with her music career but still earned her high school diploma at the age of 17. In 1985, Selena recorded her first album at the age of 14 for a record company and was released in 1985 as Mis Primeras Grabaciones.
Some of Selena's Major Successes
In 1987 at the Tejano Music Awards, Selena was awarded Best Female Vocalist! In the next year, Selena met Chris Perez and 2 years later he was a part of Selena's band. The album Ven Conmigo was the first Tejano album recorded by a female to reach golden status. The next album that she released, received Best Mexican-American album of the year at the 36th Grammy awards. Along with many other awards, Selena released Amor Prohibido, which became the best-selling Latin album of all time.
Marriage
Selena married Chris Perez on April 2, 1992 in Nueces County. Chris was an amaizing guitarist and was hired by Selena in 1990. At first Abraham did not approve and even fired him from the band but soon accepted the fact that his daughter and Chris were in love.
A Tragic Death
In early 1995, Selena met with Yolanda Saldivar at a motel to retrieve financial records because of suspicions that Yolanda was stealing money from the fan club. Unfortunately after Selena demanded the papers, Yolanda pulled a pistol out of her purse and shot at Selena's right shoulder. Because of blood loss, Selena died on March 31, 1995. She was soon buried in Corpus Christi and Yolanda was sent to jail with a life sentence.