Biography of Selena Quintanilla Perez
b. Selena Quintanilla-Perez, 16 April 1971, Lake Jackson, Texas, USA, d. 31 March 1995, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.
In her short and tragic career Selena became the popular figurehead for the growth in popularity of Tejano and Latino music. Her father was a renowned vocalist with Tejano combo Los Dinos, who in 1980 opened his own restaurant in Lake Jackson.
It was here that Selena first performed in public at the age of 10, singing to diners with her brother and sister. She made her first record in 1983, with Los Dinos as her backing band, and in 1987 was voted Best Female Vocalist and Performer Of The Year at the Tejano Awards in San Antonio.
She signed a major recording contract with EMI Latin in 1989. She was rapidly embraced by Hispanic communities the world over for her singing talent and endearing personality (she was hailed as a "goodwill ambassador' by the critics).
She recorded several albums, of which two (Entre A Mi Mundo and Amor Prohibido) had earned gold awards, the third (Live) securing platinum sales. She was awarded a Grammy for the latter. Her success in the singles charts (especially Billboard"s Hot Latin Tracks) was considerable too, with "Tu Solo Tu" and "I Could Fall In Love" among her many hits.
She made her acting debut appearing in the romantic comedy Don Juan De Marco. The singer was recording her first English language album when she was shot by the president of her fan club. However, she achieved a major landmark when Dreaming Of You raced to number 1 on the Billboard chart in July 1995, a huge achievement given that it was sung predominantly in Spanish. In the process it became the bestselling chart debut by a female artist and among the 10 bestselling debuts of all time.
Following her death it was announced that Hollywood intended to make a major commercial movie out of her life story. The biopic Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez, eventually appeared in 1997. Joe Nick Patoski's book is already the standard work, amidst a plethora of tabloid-style publications.
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