American Actess and Singer: Selena Gomez

Selena Quintanilla was born on April 16, 1971, the youngest sibling of 3, the others being Suzette and AB Quintanilla. Her parents are Abraham Quintanilla and Marcella Samora. Her father used to be a singer for a trio named the “Dinos”, but they faced discrimination and racism because they were mexican. Selena first started singing at 6 years old, when her father discovered that she had perfect pitch and was very talented. Abraham then started teaching his children to become a band, with Suzette playing the drums, AB playing the guitar, and Selena singing.

“Why does it still matter”? Well her one of her albums, Ven Conmigo, was the first Tejano record to achieve the gold status. She achieved this status by selling more than 500,000 copies! By this number alone you can instantly tell that so many people listen to her music and from different countries as well. Her music spread throughout many places and even spread in the U.S., she became so famous by her music she was listened to by so many. The gold status wasn't the only award she received. Throughout her singing career she was awarded grammys and eight other tejano awards. Selena accomplished so many in the tejano music genre and she was the first to receive so many awards for the tejano music.She was an important musical figure in the tejano music, she was loved by so many and was a beloved latin recording music

Selena and her family didn't have much when she was younger, but they did have a big vision that they weren't going to give up on. With the support of one another, they were able to create one of biggest Latina superstars to ever exist, with a lasting legacy that only continues to keep growing. She knew what it was like to have a hard life, so she helped people with her dream. She enjoyed the simple things in life such as music and her family. So with the help of her gift, hard work, and a dream that no one could put out, she became one of the best Latino singers in the world.

Selena practiced sing in Spanish and when she perfected it, she performed it. Selena started to become big, performing with her family all over. Her father Abraham being the manager they ended up meeting Chris Pérez, who was a very good guitarist. They considered Chris Pérez joining the

The main character in the film “Selena” is a woman named Selena. Everyone else in the movie is a sub character that plays off of the role of Selena. The movie is about Selena’s life and the movie begins with her as a little girl and ends with her as a Mexican-American pop star loved by both the Mexican and American communities. Selena goes from being a young girl who’s band is compromised of her brothers and sisters to a mega star known by fans all over the world. As Selena became more successful she faced many obstacles in her career. First, Selena had to learn Spanish in order to sing in Spanish to connect with the Mexican community as her father felt she had the best chance to make it big if she tried to appeal to the Mexican community. Once she became a huge star with her Spanish singing music, she then did a crossover album in English, which helped to make her a pop star worldwide. Since Selena was Mexican-American, not Mexican, it was an obstacle for her to be seen as authentic by the Mexican community. Selena’s second big obstacle was that she was a woman. Mexico is traditionally a male dominant society and before Selena there had never been a Spanish singing female to evolve into a superstar. In the movie, Selena overcomes both of these obstacles and she does become one of the greatest

could you Imagine what it would be like to grow up as a performer in a world that didn’t even except female Tejano singers? Can you imagine how much courage and work it would take to make it to the top? That’s was Selena Quintanilla Perez had to go through. Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas on April 6th, 1971 to Abraham and Marcella Quintanilla. Abraham was a shipping clerk for a chemical company and Marcella was a housewife. Abraham being a well respected Mexican musician, who only sang English songs, and had his career ruined because of that. American people didn’t respect him because he was Mexican, and the Mexican people did not respect them because they sang English songs. By the time Selena reached age 10, it became very

First, I will talk about her childhood and how she became famous. Selena Quintanilla was a Mexican singer. According to biography.com she was born on “April 16,1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas.” She was known as the “Queen of Tejano” which is a style of Mexican music such as country. Selena’s first language was English, but her father taught her to sing in Spanish, so she picked up on the language, and became a fluent Spanish speaker. At the age of 10 Selena was the lead singer in her family’s band known as “Selena Y Los Dinos.” They played in weddings and clubs in Texas but it was hard for them because a lot of people think that women can’t get the attention of men singing Tejano music, but she proved them wrong.

On April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas, a little girl named Selena Quintanilla – Perez was born. She was born to Abraham Quintanilla Jr. and Marcella Quintanilla. Selena Quintanilla- Perez has 2 siblings named Abraham Quintanilla 3rd and Suzette Quintanilla. Mrs. Quintanilla- Perez was an American singer, songwriter, spokesperson, actress, and a fashion designer. She was also known as the Queen of Tejano music and to the media outlets they called her “Tejano Madonna” for her clothing choices. Selena Quintanilla- Perez was raised as a Jehovah’s witness. When Selena Quintanilla was 6 years old her father discovered her talent at sing. Her father told the People Magazine that her timing, her pitch was perfect, I could see it from day one. Mr. Quintanilla Jr. opened up a restaurant where the kids performed a lot. Her family moved to Corpus Christi, Texas and that’s when Quintanilla Jr. became the manager to Selena y Los Dinos and began to

Imagine standing among a crowd of adoring fans cheering on a famous singer that is dancing and twirling on stage. This is what many of Selena Quintanilla fans experienced at her lively concerts. Selena Quintanilla was a Mexican - American singer that was on the verge of stardom before being tragically shot. She inspired many people and was a beloved idol. Selena Quintanilla is an influential person because of her upbringing, her singing legacy, her humanitarian work, and her death.

I chose to watch Selena. Overall, the movie was really good. I chose it because it looked like a movie I would watch just for fun. I figured if the movie is good then the paper will be easier for me to write. I have also heard a lot about Selena, so the movie tied the pieces of information I already knew together. I feel like I learned a lot about her relationship with her family. She started out singing with her brother and sister in a band their dad made and named Selena y los Dinos (Selena and the Boys). Her brother, A.B., was the bass player, Selena did the lead vocals, and her sister, Suzette, played the drums. They started out playing at a Mexican restaurant their parents owned. However, they gained attention and developed a fan base from that. Eventually, they begin touring around Texas at State Fairs. Selena grows up and her music and style does too. She meets the love of her life, who also happened to be her guitarist. They get married even though Selena’s father did not allow her to see him. She is later killed by the president of her fan club over a paperwork dispute. Her music career is cut short and she died before she got the chance to make her way into mainstream pop music.

Chris Perez wanted to be a rock-star in a Rock n Roll band not a guitar player for a Tejano band. He lived in San Antonio, Texas and was in a band with Shelly Laras, a singer, and she introduced him to Selena y los Dinos. In Huston, Texas Shelly's band was playing at a festival and A.B. Quintanilla, Selena's brother saw Chris playing guitar and liked Chris's guitar skills. During that time Selena y los Dinos was looking for a new guitarist and A.B. gave Chris his number just so Chris can call him if he was interested. Chris called A.B and set up a date to play together in the studio, since that day happened Chris joined los Dinos.

Born in Lake Jackson, Texas on April 16, 1971, Selena Quintanilla-Perez would come to be known as the “Queen of Tejano music.” With the help of different sources to provide evidence and support to my argument, the aim of this paper is to examine how Tejana singer, Selena was able to impact those around her with her career as a musician and through the medium of music. Selena rose to success by continuously crossing over to different markets. She not only impacted her fans one by one, but also brought about social and cultural changes by fleshing out tensions between Anglo and Latino communities by bringing people together through music.

It is clear that her fan base is loyal Fans of Selena Quintanilla even after 20 years of her death, still listen to her music, watch her movie and keep her memory alive. It would seem that the majority of her fan base would be Latin women ranging from ages of the early twenties and older but by reading comments on YouTube of various popular songs, it is clear that she had a wide range of fans. Hundreds of comments expressing their love for Selena and her music. Most comments are of people wishing she was still alive and creating music that would hit the top of the charts. Since she had her English album out shortly after her death, it expanded her fan base to an even larger audience. Even her music in Spanish created a large commotion. People on one of her numerous fan pages on Facebook talk about her music being an outlet, an escape from the bad and an extra push to overcome any challenge either with a relationship or simply just with the struggles of life. One fan expressed her mother’s heartbreak on the YouTube video of Dreaming of You, saying that she remembers the day of Selena’s passing and seeing her mother crying in the living room. A fan even going to the extent of saying that her death impacted more people than the death of John F. Kennedy. There are also hundreds of comments of fans wishing she was still alive to make new music and that it would be clear that Selena would be a

Selena Quintanilla was such an amazing person inside and out more known as the queen of tejano music. She won the hearts of many people young and old in the little time she was here on earth. Blessing many people with her contagious smile, and positive upbeat attitude. Selena has always had where to pull from when it came to being musically talented. Her father Abraham Quintanilla played in a band called Los Dinos which means the boys in Spanish. He had to give his life up as an artist because he got married and had his first kid. Therefore he had to find a better support system for his family. So when he saw that Selena had talent he focused all his goals and dreams on her. Therefore selena had to make a lot of sacrifices and not live a normal childhood.

To illustrate, many still remember Miley Cyrus as the sweet pop-star and down to earth character from her role as Hannah Montana on Disney Channel. At some point many fans believed that the personality of Miley Cyrus corresponded to her role on Hannah Montana. In her honest interviews and real encounters with fans, people connected with her innocence and deemed her as a suitable role model for girls