Selena: ‘The Queen of Tejano Music’ who was murdered by the president of her fan club
If you look throughout all of music history, you’re unlikely to find many artists who are recognisable from just one name. Sure, there are some; Adele, Slash and Rihanna are exceptions, as well as the likes of Prince, Cher and Sting, but one artist who is often missing from the list due to the fact she had her life cruelly taken from her at 23 is the Latina icon, Selena.
Born Selena Quintanilla-Perez, Selena was murdered by Yolanda Saldivar at the Days Inn Motel. There isn’t a day that goes by where her influence cannot be heard in music; she garnered millions of fans during her time as a musician, and it was one of them who was responsible for her murder.
Multiple books have been written about Selena, and a feature-length film details the circumstances surrounding her death. It’s a tale of obsession, embezzlement and prosecution, which is equally as confusing as it is devastating.
Born in Texas, Selena’s life in music started very early, as she, her father, and her brothers all began touring under the name Selena y Los Dinos. Touring steadily took over the family’s lives, as they lived on the road, ate candy bars instead of meals, and played various venues up and down the country. People liked how they sounded, hence why they continued to get booked and why so many radios played them, but their success is merely a spec compared to what Selena went on to achieve.
After recognition for her beautiful singing voice and winning the Tejano Music Award for ‘Female Vocalist of the Year’ in 1986 and ’87, Selena signed as a solo artist with EMI Latin. Jose Behar recognised Selena as a “Superstar on the rise… but more importantly, she was a beautiful and wonderful human being.”
After releasing her debut solo album and having multiple hits, Selena became the biggest name in Tejano. She was such a success that it wasn’t just sales of her own records that increased but sales across the genre as a whole. Eventually, it became a $40million industry, and it all started with Selena.
The plan was for her to go more mainstream, so she started recording her first English language album. However, Selena would only get four songs recorded before her life was cruelly taken from her.
Yolanda Saldivar was a huge fan of Selena’s, so much so that she was the manager of her clothing range and fan club. After some tax irregularities, it was found that she had been stealing money from the singer’s estate, so Selena’s father fired her. After working closely together for some time, Selena and Yolanda had developed a friendship, and so it was difficult for Selena to accept Yolanda had done such heinous things.
The two stayed in touch. Selena even went around to pick up some important documentation they needed for tax preparation, and eventually, Yolanda told one lie too many. She didn’t give all of the information required, and then when questioned about it and where the documents were, she claimed to have been sexually assaulted in Mexico. When it all turned out to be a lie, Selena ended their friendship and tried to close her hotel door. At that moment, Saldivar took a gun from her bag and held Selena at gunpoint to prevent her from closing it before pulling the trigger and killing her.
Saldivar ran to her car with the gun and threatened suicide, but after nine hours of police negotiations, she gave herself up and was arrested. She went to court claiming firing the weapon was an accident, but the jury found that not to be the case, and so she was sentenced to life in prison. Yolanda Saldivar will be eligible for parole next year.
Selena’s legacy, however, goes much further than hit songs and album sales. She was proof that there was a market for Mexican American Culture, which has helped pave the way for various artists making music today. Her stamp can be heard thanks to the many Latina influences present throughout modern music. Selena defied genre like other great musicians who came before her. Simply put, what we listen to today wouldn’t be the same without her.
