On March 31, 1995, the world stood still as national and international press quickly descended on a Days Inn Motel on the northwest side of Corpus Christi, Texas, with the shocking news that Selena Quintanilla P\u00e9rez had been murdered by her business manager and friend, Yolanda Saldivar. Saldivar had barricaded herself in her now infamous red truck with a gun to her head, leading Corpus Christi police and the FBI on an 8-hour standoff, which was broadcast live for the world to witness. For Corpus Christi and Selena\u2019s fans, this event became one of the most impactful and heartbreaking news stories to ever hit South Texas. Thirty years later, friends, family and fans alike still ask the question: Why Selena? Why our hometown star?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KEDA-AM station in San Antonio is widely credited as one of the first to break the news. Following the initial reports of her death, stations across the South Texas region began to play Selena\u2019s music nonstop as the day unfolded. Selena\u2019s powerful and controlled voice almost instantly comforted her admirers as the story of her fate was told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mere minutes into the standoff, national press began interrupting their programming to cover the developing story in Corpus Christi. Local, small-market reporters\u2014thrusted into handling one of the biggest stories of their careers\u2014many of who were taken national, all the while grappling with the news themselves as fans of Selena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The enduring story of that fateful day is not wrapped in the polarization of how, but in the painful realization of the who: the brightest star on the rise, a person whom the citizens of Corpus Christi and the surrounding area felt we knew, we loved, and we cherished. Selena was more than just a local talent. Her star was on the rise; her music became the soundtrack to our lives, and Selena\u2014our hometown queen\u2014became a symbol of the American Dream realized right in our own backyard. Corpus Christi, along with the surrounding towns of Driscoll, Bishop, Kingsville and Robstown, had long been overlooked, often bypassed in favor of larger cities like San Antonio or McAllen. But Selena, more than any other artist, placed a giant star on our region, forcing the world to recognize that talent and star power could thrive in our humble hometowns. Her impact extended beyond her music\u2014it spilled into every aspect of pop culture at the time. Her partnership with Coca-Cola, musical collaborations with the Barrio Boys among others, and her success as a fashion designer solidified her as an innovator and visionary celebrity, setting the bar for today\u2019s celebrities\u2014all before the age of 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Originally known as Selena y Los Dinos, her band made up of her family\u2014A.B. Quintanilla, Suzette Quintanilla, and her husband Chris P\u00e9rez\u2014Selena became a symbol of Latinx culture and the tradition of \u201cfamily is everything.\u201d It was rare for Selena not to share the stage with those closest to her\u2014her family. Perhaps this is another reason why Selena\u2019s memory endures to this day. Her family has carried her memory, ensuring her eternal light burns as brightly as the star that Selena was. Selena has been a centerpiece in numerous aspects of entertainment, from Netflix documentaries and RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race to MAC Cosmetics campaigns and, of course, the mega-hit movie starring Jennifer Lopez\u2014whose own star power arguably owes a debt to Selena herself. The cross-over talent Selena possessed busted down doors for many artists of today, like Bad Bunny, Rosal\u00eda, and Becky G, who did not need to deviate from their Spanish language to make the impact Selena herself pioneered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Selena\u2019s untimely death predated the deaths of Princess Diana and Gianni Versace. Her passing changed the way we choose to remember fallen celebrities. People magazine\u2019s special edition issue, for Selena, published entirely in Spanish ,was such a phenomenon that the publication launched People en Espa\u00f1ol<\/em>, a spin-off specifically targeting the Latinx community. People en Espa\u00f1ol<\/em> is still in circulation today. \u201cIt was the death of Tejano singer Selena that propelled Time Inc., a division of Time Warner, to launch People en Espanol. After her slaying in 1995, the magazine did a split cover, sending a cover featuring Selena to Texas, California and Florida\u201d said Madelin Bosakewich, publisher of Glamour en Espanol to the Los Angeles Times in 1998 following the success of the spin off publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across the nation, memorials to Selena can be found in New York City; Los Angeles; Puerto Rico; and even as far as Mexico and Spain. However, the most striking admiration is found in the new generations discovering Selena. Not only did Selena\u2019s influence reach across borders, but 30 years later, it has reached across generations. Gen Z has taken to social media platforms to recreate dance moves made famous by the late star, discovering her interviews and live performances on YouTube, and falling in love with Selena\u2019s \u201890s aesthetic style, her charisma, and her enormous talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the months leading up to this anniversary, controversy has surrounded Yolanda Saldivar, whose parole hearing was set mere days before the anniversary. On March 27, after months of pleas from the Saldivar family, parole was denied. \u201cToday, we are grateful that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has chosen to deny parole for Yolanda Saldivar. While nothing can bring Selena back, this decision reaffirms that justice continues to stand for the beautiful life that was taken from us and from millions of fans around the world far too soon,\u201d the Quintanilla family, along with Chris P\u00e9rez, said in a joint statement on social media following the parole board\u2019s decision. \u201cAs her family and loved ones, we remain committed to preserving her memory and ensuring that her story is honored with the dignity and respect it deserves,\u201d the family continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The light of Selena continues to burn bright, blinding us in the memory of a person whose love for her craft and her fans continues to rise 30 years later. Selena may have been taken, but the sound and soul of this star remain among us. We not only hear Selena in our daily lives, but we see her in the new generations who look to her image and see her as a shining reminder that dreams do come true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Celebrating her legacy On March 31, 1995, the world stood still as national and international press quickly descended on a Days Inn Motel on the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":11501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[295],"ppma_author":[307],"class_list":["post-11480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment"],"aioseo_notices":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"authors":[{"term_id":307,"user_id":138,"is_guest":0,"slug":"sean-charles","display_name":"Sean Charles","avatar_url":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/c5632879f99ad0206cb0d302b941165f.jpg?ver=1778637593","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11482,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11480\/revisions\/11482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11480"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=11480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}