UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÒGICA DE LA

REGIÓN CENTRO DE COAHUILA

Homework of English

Selena Quintanilla Biography

CAREER: MECATRÓNICA

STUDENT: ROBERTO MONTIEL GARZA

TEACHER : EDITA ALDACO

MONCLOVA, COAHUILA, MEXICO October 2010

 Selena Quintanilla
Biography

Selena Quintanilla Perez (April 16, 1971 -

March 31, 1995) was a Mexican-American singer who
is regarded as one of the biggest stars of the Tejano
genre of music. She was born in Lake Jackson, Texas
and grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, where she
began her musical career.

Her father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., was a singer with

the original Los Dinos from 1957-1972, and nurtured
the burgeoning musical talent of his children. Selena,
her brother Abe III (bass), and their sister, Suzette
(drums), were a second generation of Los Dinos. Its
other two members who started in the band were
Ricky Vela on keyboards and Roger Garcia on guitar.

Selena made her first public appearance at her

father's Mexican restaurant in Lake Jackson at eight
and recorded her first record at nine. Throughout her
adolescence Selena was constantly on tour. She
completed her education via correspondence courses.
The singer signed with Capitol EMI in 1989, and
released several albums with that label, including
1994's wildly popular 'Amor Prohibido'.
Chris Perez replaced Roger Garcia as guitar player. A
romance budded between Perez and Selena, and the
two married on April 2, 1992. Even as Selena's career
skyrocketed she remained very close to her family,
choosing to live next door to them in Corpus Christi.

Selena holds the record of drawing the biggest

concert crowd in the history of the Houston
Astrodome, for her February 1995 performance at the
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The greatest
irony in Selena's musical career is that she became a
star singing in her second language. Her first
language was English, not Spanish.
Aside from her singing, Selena was an avid clothing
designer. Boutique shops with the Selena name
opened in Corpus Christi and San Antonio in 199X.
She also dabbled in acting, making a cameo in the
Johnny Depp film 'Don Juan de Marco'.

A woman named Yolanda Saldivar worked her way

into the singer's inner circle, becoming president of
Selena's fan club and manager of the boutiques. In
1995 the Quintanillas found out Saldivar had
embezzled money from these ventures and decided
to fire her. Selena agreed to meet Saldivar at a
Corpus Christi Days Inn on the morning of March 31,
1995 in order to retrieve paperwork for tax purposes.
At the motel an argument ensued over the
embezzlement and Saldivar shot the singer once in
the back. Selena died within hours at a local hospital.
Selena's death shocked and saddened Tejano fans in
Latino communities throughout the United States and
in Mexico. Numerous vigils and memorials were held
in the singer's honor. That summer her album
'Dreaming of You', a combination of Spanish language
hits and new English language tracks, debuted at #1
on the Billboard music charts in the US. In October of
1995 a Houston jury convicted Saldivar of murder and
sentenced her to life in prison, with parole eligibility in
thirty years.

There is a museum to honor Selena's memory and a

bronze life-sized statue of her on Ocean Drive in
Corpus Christi. In 1997, Jennifer Lopez played Selena
in the movie of the same name. The movie became
the basis in which Lopez rose to superstardom.

Selena Quintanilla Perez (April 16, 1971 -

March 31, 1995)