Short Biography: Breanna Flores

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.

She got pregnant at 15 and continued to go to high school graduating from Reid Continuation High School as class valedictorian. She then attended California State University, Long Beach and studied business administration.

touring her song hit number one on the radio. From their she was famous and

Her life changed so rapidly, going from outgoing to a shut-in, laughed at due to her iniquities. Not wanted to deal with the frustrations of public school, she decided to go to Lexington School for the Deaf. She exceled there (well rounded) and was valedictorian her last 2 years

parents. Chris and Selena clicked right away. It was love at first sight. They were

Selena quintanilla-Pérez was an extremely successful singer. She was referred to as the “Queen of Tejano music.” Selena released 11 albums 5 with her band and 6 without. Selena won a total of 67 awards and was nominated for 86! In 1998 Selena was inducted into the Billboard Latin Music hall of fame.

Selena Quintanilla Pérez was a tejano music singer. Selena had the voice of an angel. Her life was filled with singing, bus trips, and gas station food. Unfortunately, Selena tragically got shot dead by her fan club president, Yolanda. Her short lifetime from beginning to end is filled with up’s and downs.

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.

Malena Gonzalez-Cid, Executive Director of the center for the past twenty-six years, is responsible for all organizational, contractual, administrative, fiscal and programmatic requirements of Centro Cultural Aztlan. She has over twenty-five years experience in arts administration. Ms. Gonzalez-Cid served as interim director with the Arts Council of San Antonio, where she organized two national conferences (Open Dialogue I & II and the National Hispanic Theatre Conference hosted by the Texas Commission on the Arts. She served on various boards and committees including the West Side Arts Coalition, the Texas Commission on the Arts, The Cultural Collaborative and the Mayor’s Luminaria’s Steering Committee.

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.

Selena Quintanilla was a Mexican-American singer that dramatically impacted the world of Tejano music. “Selena transformed Tejano music from a local genre performed on a circuit of small venues into an international form that expressed the aspirations of many in the latino community,” affirms The Nineties in America. She was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas and died on March 31, 1995 in Corpus Christi, Texas. The St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture states that, “she [Selena] was widely popular with Latino audiences, especially young women, who looked to her as a role model.” Although, Selena had a short life that did not prevent her from becoming a legend.

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.

Rosie Flores was opening for the likes of Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard. Her Texas Honky Tonk Twinge with a raucous of Wanda Jackson and a swinging lead guitar style reminiscent of Gene Vincent and Chuck Berry. Flores was trying to be a songwriter and building a name for her self in the beginnings of the neo-rockabilly movement. A style she would eventually contribute to the sirens, She was a mainstay at the Palamino. She led her band Rosie and The Screamers and played Solo gigs as well.

Many of student receiving diplomas at Connecticut College was a young woman from Uganda named Beatrice Biira. Something that makes her accomplishment is her goat. She grew up in the village of Uganda. It is the extremely poor village. She wanted to attend school very much like the other children, but her family did not have the money to pay for it. The generosity of an organization named Heifer. They give a goat to her family. The meaning of her name is luck, then her luck would change because of her goat was pregnant. She got 2 more of goats. The milk from the goats helped her family. They sold the milk and got the money. The family earned enough money to send her to school. After she graduated from school, she applied to 11 colleges. She