SELENA

On April 16th, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas Selena Quintanilla was born to Abraham and Marcella Quintanilla. Along with her parents Selena also had a brother, Abraham III (A.B.), and her sister, Suzette. When Selena was young she and her family moved to Corpus Christi, Texas.
Abraham had an affection towards music. When he was younger he was in a group called Los Dinos. Since he loved music he would teach his children to play instruments. AB learned the bass and Suzette learned the drums. At first Suzette couldn't stand the thought of having to play the drums, but later she loved it. At 3 years of age, Selena demanded to know why her father was leaving her out when it came to music. Her father replied that she was too young. Well Selena wouldn't take no for an answer so she she showed him her own instrument, her voice. She sang Blue Moon and Abraham was blown away. Already at age 6, Selena was singing like a pro in Spanish and English, although she didn't speak the language.In, 1981 Selena y Los Dinos was formed. This was a group that her father had started when Selena was nine years old. The family's restaurant was where the group's first performance was, its name was Papagallos. People knew that Selena was going to be a star even at a young age.
Chris Perez, a guitarist, was let in the band in the year of 1988. He was an excellent guitarist even though he didn't play the kind of music they did. After alot of sweet talk from A.B., Abraham finally let him in. On April 2, 1992, Selena and Chris were married.
In 1993, Selena won a grammy for "Best Mexican/American Album" for her "Selena: Live" Album. It was her first time ever being nominated for a grammy. Selena later signed a major world-wide English language crossover album recording contract. "Dreaming of You," which was released in 1995, was the only semi-completed album of Selena's. Later that year, Selena opend two fashion boutiques, named Selena Etc. Selena loved to design clothes. These boutiques were intended for her fans. Yolanda Salvidar, another fan of Selena's became Selena's fan club president.
February 26, 1995 Selena held a record breaking concert at the Houston Astrodome where over 61,000 Selena fans were in attendance! It was one of her most famous and greatest performances.
Later that year, Selena was getting ready to make a breakthrough into the American pop mainstream. That spring Selena was working on her first English Album. She then went to a motel in Corpus Christi, Texas to fire Yolanda Saldivar. Selena's father had found paperwork linking Salvidar to have been taking money away from the fan clubs. When Selena went to fire her, Selena and Yolanda argued as Selena was leaving, she was shot in the back. Selena managed to stumble to the lobby area, where she told the clerk Yolada's name. Selena died only an hour later in the hospital. Her death rocked the entire Latino music industry. Yolanda Salvidar was found guilty of murder and was convicted to thirty years in prison.
George W. Bush declared that April 15 was Selenas Day, in honor of her. In Los Angeles Colliseum, where Selena was supposed to give a concert, was held a special service.