Selena Quintanilla

Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas, 50 miles southeast of Houston, to Abraham Quintanilla Jr. and Marcella Quintanilla. Abraham opened a Mexican restaurant, Papagayo, in Lake Jackson. Selena was 9 years old when her father discovered her talent for singing. He formed a band consisting of Selena on vocals, her brother A.B. Quintanilla on bass, and her sister Suzette Quintanilla on drums. The group called Los Dinos after a band Abraham was a member of in the 1950s and 1960s, frequently performed at the restaurant. In 1981, the family moved to Corpus Christi where Abraham started booking his band for weddings and parties. This became their way of life. Selena and Los Dinos' big break came in 1987 when 15-year-old Selena won the Tejano Music Award for Female Entertainer of the Year. That award led Selena to a major record label contract with Capitol Records and six very successful albums. By 1992, Selena had branched out and launched her clothing line and married her guitarist, Chris Pérez. In 1994, she was nominated and won her first Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album, "Selena Live!" That year, she opened her first boutique in Corpus Christi, Texas. On March 31, 1995, Selena was murdered by Yolanda Saldivar, her friend and president of her fan club.

Selena was a vivacious entertainer whose fluid voice celebrated the sound of Tejano, a fast-paced, accordion-based Latin dance music that combines elements of jazz, country, and German polka. It is sung in Spanish and is rooted in the Hispanic community in South Texas. Fans dubbed Selena the Queen of Tejano and the Latin Madonna, the latter referring to the famed pop star. She was poised to achieve crossover success with the release of her first English-language album before she was murdered in 1995.