Rivas Carrillo Mara Elizabeth

. Selena Quintanilla

I was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas. I was considered the "Queen of
Tejano," a type of Mexican music that incorporated other stylesSelena.
Around the age of 10, Im became the lead singer in the family's band, Selena Y Los
Dinos. we started out playing weddings and clubs in their native Texas. The band featured
my brother Abraham on bass guitar and my sister Suzette on the drums. my father,
Abraham, a former musician, managed and produced the group. I grew up speaking
English, but my father taught me to sing in Spanish so I could resonate with the Latino
community. I'm learned the lyrics phonetically at first, and eventually learned to speak
Spanish fluently.
I became very popular with Tejano music fans, and at the 1987 Tejano Music Awards, I
won both "Best Female Vocalist of the Year" and "Performer of the Year." my 1990 album,
Ven Conmigo, was the first Tejano record to achieve gold record status, meaning it sold
more than 500,000 copies. In 1992, I took a break from my hectic schedule to marry Chris
Perez, the band's lead guitarist, that April.
My recordings continued to have strong sales, and I won the Grammy Award in 1993 for
my album Live. In 1994, I and the band played numerous tour dates in New York,
California, Puerto Rico and Argentina. Amor Prohibido was released that same year, and
went gold.
Soon after Live's release, I went to work on an English-language album that I hoped would
put my on the top of the U.S. pop music charts. Unfortunately, I did not live to see my
success. I'm died on March 31, 1995, in Corpus Christi, Texas, after being shot by Yolanda
Saldivar, the founder of the my fan club. Saldivar had been managing Selena's boutique in
San Antonio, and was about to be fired for embezzling money. my murder sent
shockwaves through the Latino community.
My first English-language album, Dreaming of You, was released after my death and
became a huge hit. my music remains popular today. My life story has been the subject of

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a 1997 film, Selena, which stars Jennifer Lopez as the Tejano superstar and James
Edward Olmos as my father.