Historical Figure Information

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez

      Selena was born on April 16, 1971 and died on March 31, 1995 at the age of 23.  She was born in Lake Jackson, Texas.  Selena was a singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, dancer, model, and a designer.  Selena was the youngest child and her parents were Abraham and Marcella. She was raised as a Jahova's Witness and began singing at the age of 3.  At the age of 9, her father founded the singing group Selena y Los Dinos.  They usually performed at their family restaurant, but shortly afterwards, the restaurant failed. 

      The family soon went bankrupt and had to move to Corpus Christi, Texas because they were evicted form their old home.  They performed wherever they could and it soon was worth it because at age 14 Selena recorded her first album for a local record company. In 1987, Selena won Best Female Vocalist and dominated it for the next 7 years.  In 1988, Selena met Chris Perez who had his own band.  Two years later, the Quintanilla family hired him to play in Selena's band and they quickly fell in love.  At first her father did not approve of their relationship and went as far as firing Pérez from the band.  He eventually came to accept the relationship and on April 2, 1992, Selena and Pérez were married in Nueces County, Texas.

    In 1990, Selena released an album called Ven Conmigo.  Selena released another album in 1992 called Entre a Mi Mundo.  Selena released her next album Amor Prohibido, in 1994.  She began designing and manufacturing a clothing line in 1994 and opened two boutiques called Selena Etc., one in Corpus Christi and the other in San Antonio.    By fall of 1994, Amor Prohibido was a commercial success in Mexico and made four number one Latin hits, replacing Gloria Estefan's Mi Tierra on the chart's number one spot.  At this point, Selena developed plans to record an English-language album, but continued to tour for Amor Prohibido while beginning preparations for the album.  Plans of the album began in 1993, but recording of the album didn't start until March 1995.  Then on March 31, 1995 Selena was murdered by Yolanda Salvidar.