Hey y'all! In honor of Hispanic Heritage month, I will be doing a special feature called "MUJERES BACANAS" on badass Latinx women who have paved the way for all of us today. In order to understand ourselves, we must understand where we come from, so what a better way than to study our history and all those that came before us! I hope you can follow my journey as we go back in time and learn a little more about these mujeres chingonas. So let's begin!
1. SELENA QUINTANILLA-PEREZ
To begin the series we have the fashionista herself, the creator of the "the washing machine", the one who inspired all of us to start wearing a bustier (am I right?),
Mrs. Como la Flor...Selena Quintanilla!! Or should I say SELENAAAAAASSS.
Selena Quintanilla Perez, known as the “Queen of Tejano Music” was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas. She was an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer, model and actress. She is one of the most celebrated Latin entertainers of the late 20th century and is recognized for bringing the Tejano music genre into the mainstream market.
Her father, Abraham Quintanilla recognized Selena’s vocal talent at a very young age and created the family’s musical group, Selena Y Los Dinos. The band featured her brother A.B. on bass guitar, her sister Suzette on the drums and of course, Selena on vocals. Although a majority of her music was in Spanish, Selena actually grew up speaking English and had to learn Spanish through her father in order to resonate with the Latino community.
Selena began recording professionally in 1982 and was often refused booking or criticized for performing Tejano music, a male dominated industry. In 1989 she signed with EMI Latin and released her self titled album that same year. Her album, “Entre a Mi Mundo”, released in 1992 became number one on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart for eight consecutive months. Her signature song “Como la Flor”, was featured on that same album.
In 1993, her album “Live!” won Best Mexican American Album at the 1994 Grammys. Selena became the first recording female Tejano artist to do so. Her beloved album “Amor Prohibido”, was released in 1994, becoming one of the best selling Latin albums in the US.
Selena married Los Dinos’ lead guitarist, Chris Perez on April2, 1992. The couple had already been secretly dating for two years when Chris joined the band in 1990. However, their marriage was short lived, only lasting three years due to Selena's tragic death in 1995. On March 31, 1995 Selena Quintanilla was shot and killed in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her killer being Yolanda Saldivar, the founder and president of Selena’s fan club. Yolanda was highly esteemed by Selena, and was even recognized as one of her closest friends. Selena was only 23 years old when she passed away.
Her passing sent shockwaves through the Latino community and many mourn her death to this day.
Selena was truly an icon due to her impeccable voice, her astonishing looks, crowd pleasing dance moves, irreplaceable charisma... and of course who could forget her self-designed outfits. Her legacy lives on to this day. Selena’s contributions to the music, fashion and beauty industry make her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American women to this day.
Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to keep an eye out for my next blogpost as we continue our way through the "MUJERES BACANAS" series.
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