Research Guides: Selena Quintanilla: Biography

Selena Quintanilla

(April 16, 1971 - March 31, 1995)

Perhaps Selena's greatest achievement, however, was making Anglo America take notice of its Latino counterpart. Though there are close to thirty million American Latinos, possessing more than $300 billion in purchasing power, media and corporations often ignore them. After Selena's death, she became something of a folk hero in the Latino American community. Her face appeared everywhere—from street murals to bank checks—and hundreds of babies in Texas and California were named after her. Continue . . .

Source: Gianoulis, Tina. "Selena (1971–1995)." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, edited by Thomas Riggs, 2nd ed., vol. 4, St. James Press, 2013, pp. 494-496. From Gale Virtual Reference database.

Book Collection

Resources

Selena: A Dream Lives on in Song The article talks about the singer and the Grammy winner Selena Quintanilla. She debuted on the music industry in 1980 as a member of the band Selena y Los Dinos. She was called the Queen of Tejano music and her contributions to music and fashion made her a celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. Billboard magazine had named her top selling Latin artist of 1990s decade.
Remembering Selena, Re-Membering "Latinidad" One of the most visible Latinas during this time was Selena Quintanilla Perez, whose popularity and eventual posthumous iconization enabled the visibility of other Latinas throughout the decade and set into motion the most recent Latin Music Boom that exploded in the 1990s.
Selena Forever The article offers information on the nine-episode part television series "Selena: The Series" from Netflix launching on December 4, 2020. The series focuses on the life of Latina singer Selena Quintanilla who released the album "Dreaming of You." Disputes emerged on who has the right to tell her story and in 2019, Abraham Quintanilla settled a lawsuit that blocked Endemol Shine and Selena's widower, Chris Perez, from developing a series based on his book "To Selena, With Love."
Dreaming of Her The article features Tejano singer, Selena Quintanilla Perez, who was murdered on March 31, 1995 at the age of 23. She was considered a cultural icon, role model and sex symbol. She was shot and killed by Yolanda Saldivar, the president of her fans club. The memories of several personalities about her death are also cited, including deejay Luis "Bird" Rodriguez, West Oso High School Principal Danny Noyola and music writer Ramiro Burr.
Selena (NPR Music) Articles and interviews about Selena and her legacy.
Anything for Selena (Podcasts) Maria Garcia was 9 years old and living on the U.S.-Mexico border when Selena was murdered. Twenty five years later, Maria is on a quest to understand what it means to love, mourn and remember Selena. In this intimate journey, Maria explores what Selena's legacy shows us about belonging in America.
Celebrating Selena Quintanilla Google Doodle Today we celebrate Selena Quintanilla: Mexican-American music & entertainment icon, fashion trendsetter, passionate entrepreneur, and community philanthropist.