LEGENDARY WOMEN IN HISTORY... " SELENA"!

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Born on April 16th 1971, Selena Quintanilla Perez (best known as Selena) was an American singer and songwriter. She was the "top Latin artist of the 90's", "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" and was labeled " The Queen of Tejano"!









Selena started showing an interest in singing at the age of three years old. When she turned six, she could sing in English and Spanish even though she could not speak Spanish at all.

In 1984 Selena's father moved his family to Corpus Christi. She recorded her first album called Selena Y Los Dinos - also the name of the musical group her father created. In 1986, Selena y Los Dinos released the album Alpha followed by Muñequito Ee Trapo. Also in 1986, Selena was discovered by two huge names in the Tejano Music Industry: Rick Trevi founder of the Tejano Music Awards and Johnny Canales the host of one of the top Spanish television shows. Selena y Los Dinos released three more albums in 1987 and 1988 (And The Winner Is . . . ; Dulce Amor; and Preciosa.

In 1986 at the Tejano Music Awards, Selena went on to win the Best Female vocalist award; an award she won several times.

In 1989, EMI President Jose Behar attended the Tejano Music Awards. He saw Selena perform and win. He later signed her to EMI Latin. She then released an album titled "Selena". The album featured such songs as Besitos, Contigo Quiero Estar and Sukiyaki (a cover of Kyu Sakamoto's 1963 hit). The same year she also became a spokesperson for Coca Cola.

In 1991, her duet with Salvadoran singer Alvaro Torres "Buenos Amigos" (Good Friends) became her first number one song. The next year, she released Entre a Mi Mundo (Enter My World) which went gold. Entre a Mi Mundo contained what was to become one of her biggest songs Como La Flor (Like The Flower).

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Selena married Chris Perez, the lead guitarist of Los Dinos, on April 2nd, 1992.

In 1993, she won a Grammy for Best Mexican-American performance for her album Selena Live. Also in 1993, she began designing and manufacturing a clothing line. She opened two Selena Etc. boutiques; one in Corpus Christi and one in San Antonio.

Her album Amor Prohibido (Forbidden Love) was nominated for another Grammy. She made appearances in the Latin soap opera Dos Mujeres, Un Camino. Her duet with the Barrio Boyzz "Donde Quiera Que Estés" (Wherever You Are) hit number one on Billboard’s Hot Latin Tracks.

In 1995 Selena was gunned down by a her fan club president and manager of her boutiques, Yolanda Saldivar. She was embezzling money from the fan club and her Etc. account. Selena was 23 years old when she died just 17 days away from her 24th birthday. That summer the album "Dreaming of you" was released, a combination of English and Spanish songs.

Selena's death not only devastated the Latin community, but it left a whole nation in mourning.

K.Graves
Reference:Selenaforever.com