Selena

Selena Quintanilla P̩rez (April 16, 1971 РMarch 31, 1995), best known as Selena, was a Mexican-American singer who has been called the "queen" of Tejano music. The youngest child of a Mexican immigrant couple, Selena released her first album at the age of 12. She took the award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1987 at the Tejano Music Awards and landed a recording contract with EMI a few years later. Her fame continued to grow throughout the early nineties, especially in Spanish-speaking countries. Her album Selena Live! won a Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American album at the 36th Grammy Awards and her 1994 album Amor Prohibido was nominated for another Grammy and produced four number one Spanish hits.

Selena attained further notability in the United States and Mexico after Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club, murdered her at the age of 23. On April 12, 1995, two weeks after her death, George W. Bush, then the governor of Texas, declared her birthday "Selena Day" in Texas. Warner Brothers made a film based on her life starring Jennifer Lopez in 1997. As of June 2006, Selen...