Can't believe it's been this long already since her untimely and senseless murder. One could only wonder how big of a music star Selena would be now had she lived.


Link (http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/27/entertainment/feat-tejano-selena-quintanilla-perez-20th-anniversary-death/index.html)


(CNN)When Selena was breaking concert attendance records at home and abroad, there weren't a lot of crossover pop stars who looked like her in the United States.

There was Rita Moreno and Gloria Estefan and ... well, that's about it.

The March 31, 1995, death of the Mexican-American singer plunged many Latino listeners into mourning and brought her music to the attention of English speakers who would soon become fans.

Selena Quintanilla-Perez started singing the Tejano music that eventually made her famous in her father's restaurant in Lake Jackson, Texas. Her father Abraham taught the family band and named them Los Dinos after his own group from earlier years. Selena's brother, A.B., played bass, and her sister, Suzette, played drums.

When the family moved to Corpus Christi, the group started getting gigs at local parties and weddings.

Selena was only 15 when she won female entertainer of the year at the Tejano Music Awards. That got her a record contract, and several albums followed. She eventually married her guitarist, Chris Perez.

In 1994, she won a Grammy for best Mexican-American album for "Selena Live!" and seemed poised for mainstream stardom.

When the president of Selena's fan club shot her to death the following year in a Texas motel room, her first English-language album was months from release. Her death made international headlines.

She was 23 years old.

Twenty years later, her influence is still being felt. Her official Facebook page still has more than 2 million likes, and fans are remembering the singer who crossed barriers and made them sing and dance to her blend of Tejano music. Fans will celebrate her life and legacy at the commemorative Fiesta de la Flor in Corpus Christi in mid-April.

Here are five things you may not know about Selena.

Selena had to learn Spanish.

A third-generation Texan of Mexican descent, Selena didn't grow up speaking Spanish. Neither did her husband, Perez, who played guitar in her band and fell in love with her on the road.

In his book, "To Selena, with Love," Perez said they practiced speaking Spanish before their first big publicity blitz in Mexico. "In Mexico, Selena mangled her conversations in Spanish like the rest of us, but not for long."

"She said, 'It'll be cool. You watch. I'm going to learn Spanish and surprise everybody,' " Perez wrote. "She got better and better, to the point where I'd have to ask her to slow down so that I could understand what she was saying."

She sold out the Astrodome.

Selena performed several times at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at the Astrodome to sold-out crowds of more than 60,000 people. (It wasn't just any rodeo: Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and the Osmonds have all played the event.)

"We had 20 performances this year," Leroy Shafer, assistant general manager of the show, told the New York Times in 1995. "We had Reba McEntire, George Strait, Clint Black and Vince Gill. She had the highest-selling show concert at our show this year, at 61,041 in the Astrodome."

Her album went to No. 1.

Her 1995 crossover album, "Dreaming of You," went to the top of the Billboard 200 the first week it was released. She was the first Latin artist to debut atop the list.

"There were supposed to be 14 tracks, but we had only recorded four of them, so we put together a tribute album of new and old songs," Nancy Brennan, then vice president of A&R at EMI, told Texas Monthly. "Making that album was the most difficult thing I have ever had to do, because we were listening to her voice all day and crying as we were mixing the songs."

"Selena" (the movie) ignited Jennifer Lopez's career.

Starring as Selena in the 1997 movie of the same name, Jennifer Lopez became the first Latina actress to be paid $1 million for a movie role. Lopez was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.

"Getting to play the part of Selena was life-changing for me," Lopez told Para Todos magazine. "I got to immerse myself in her life, got to know her family, her home, her culture ... every part of her story. It was a special time in my life both professionally and personally. Playing her not only opened doors for me in the film world, but it inspired me to start my own music career. In a lot of ways, I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't had that experience."

Selena's killer is eligible for parole in 2025.

Yolanda Saldivar, the president of Selena's fan club, was sentenced to life in prison in October 1995 for Selena's murder. Saldivar must serve at least 30 years of her sentence before she is eligible for parole.

Selena was meeting with Saldivar at a Corpus Christi motel to discuss her concerns that Saldivar had embezzled money from her when Saldivar shot her, according to trial testimony. Saldivar argued that she accidentally fired the shot, but the jury didn't buy it.

The Texas Police that refused to give her murderer the death penalty, should have lost their jobs.

Why did they refuse to do this?

Selena's Sister Opens Up 20 Years after the Singer's Death
by Isis Saucedaby
3/31/15


It’s been approximately 20 years since Tejana singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez was murdered at gunpoint by the president of her fan club, but her family will always remember her as an vibrant, gifted and charismatic young woman.

“She is always with me, even in the smallest of things. I speak with my mother about it, and together we remember her,” says her sister, Suzette Quintanilla-Arriaga.

“We still feel so much pain about losing her, although now it’s a different kind of pain. Some days I feel fine speaking about her, and other days I can’t.”





But on April 18, Selena’s name will be on many lips with the announcement that the Quintanilla family will participate in a special tribute to honor the memory of the deceased singer during the annual Fiesta de la Flor in Corpus Christi, TX.

“Although it’s been 20 years since she died, we’re fortunate that the public and the fans still care so much for Selena. That means so much to me and my family,” says Suzette. “It’s wonderful that she’s become such a positive role models for us Latinas.”





There’s no doubt that Selena’s music is beloved by multiple generations. When Ones, a compilation album of the Texas-born singer’s music was released in 2002, it catapulted to the top of Latin music charts and remained there for several weeks.

“I’m so proud when I hear our music on the radio, and I think, ‘We’re timeless.’ Twenty years later, and we still sound cool. I can still play technocumbia and make it sound current. That makes me so proud and happy,” says Suzette, who accompanied her sister on the drums in their band, Los Dinos.

“It doesn’t feel as though it’s been 20 years. It seems crazy to think that much time has passed.”





Now, it’s up to Suzette and other family members to honor Selena’s legacy — even as they continue the healing process following her death.

“When Selena died, a friend of my dad said ‘Time heals the heart.’ At the time, I thought ‘this guy has no idea how I’m feeling and he has no idea what kind of emotions I’m dealing with, It actually made me really upset to hear him say what he did,” recalls Suzette.

“But I learned that it’s not really that time cures the heart. Rather, it’s that time helps you overcome what’s in your heart, and deal with the roller coaster of emotions you feel when you miss the person you lost.”

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/31/selenas-sister-opens-after-singers-death-20-years-later

My grandmother actually introduced me to Selena's music because she had loads of Selena merchandise and music and when Selena passed away my aunt became an instant fan as well and started her own collection of Selena music and books and Selena's final album Dreaming Of You was the first Selena album I got and not only that Selena's music actually made me learn to speak and sing in Spanish and so now I have a lot of Selena's albums and another greatest hits album of Selena's that's special to me because it has a gold locket with Selena's picture inside. It's no secret that my favorite movie is Selena because I always have considered Selena one of my idols and I always have admired her talent so much. Even though she's no longer alive today Selena is still one of my favorite singers,
Bestie

Very sad indeed :(

Very sad indeed :(


Yes, very sad.:( Such a senseless, horrible crime against a very sweet ,nice girl! :mad:

I wish someone would answer my question:

Why did Texas refuse to give Selena's killer the death penalty?