Selena & Yolanda: Secrets Between Them: Who was Selena Quintanilla Pérez?

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, one of the most celebrated Latin artists of all time, was shot and killed on March 31, 1995 - two weeks before the artist turned 24. The shooting was conducted by the president of her fan club and the former manager of her line of boutiques Selena Etc., Yolanda Saldívar, when the Quintanilla family found her to embezzle money through the stores.

Quintanilla-Pérez was the first female Latin artist to break into the male-dominated Tejano music space and also introduced Tejano music to international charts. Selena was called the Tejano Madonna by the media outlets for her fashion choices. Selena's album Entre a Mi Mundo (1992) topped the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart for eight consecutive months and she went on to win the Tejano Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1987. She won the award nine consecutive times.

The episodes of Selena & Yolanda: Secrets Between Them revisit the mystery as they air on February 17 and 18, 2024 on Oxygen exclusively.

"Yolanda Saldivar grants first English interview in decades from prison on her relationship with Selena Quintanilla-Perez. Saldivar and Quintanilla-Perez family members provide insight on their bond."

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Who was Selena Quintanilla-Pérez? Details explored

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, popularly known as Selena or the Queen of Tejano Music, is one of the most celebrated Mexican-American artists of the century. She was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas to Marcella Ofelia Quintanilla and Abraham Quintanilla Jr.

Selena, the youngest in the family, started performing with her siblings A.B. Quintanilla and Suzette Quintanilla as Selena y Los Dinos once they moved to Corpus Christi. She was taken out of her school in eighth grade as her demand as a performer grew. However, Selena received a high school diploma from the American School of Correspondence, Chicago, and enrolled as a business administration major at the Pacific Western University.

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez recorded her first LP, Selena y Los Dinos and broke into the male-dominated Tejano music space. While she wanted to record songs in English, her father wanted her to stick to her roots and thus, guided her with phonetics in Spanish.

She was discovered by Rudy Trevino, founder of the Tejano Music Awards when she appeared on Johnny Canales Show in 1985. Selena went on to win in the Female Vocalist of the Year category at the Tejano Music Awards nine times consecutively starting in 1987.

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez furthermore recorded Alpha (1986), Muñequito de Trapo (1987), And the Winner Is... (1987), Preciosa (1988), and Dulce Amor (1988). In 1989, she signed with EMI Latin, and Entre a Mi Mundo (1992) led to her breakthrough in international music. Her live album Live! (1993) won the Best Mexican/American Album at the 1994 Grammy Awards making her the first female Tejano artist to achieve such a feat. Selena's Amor Prohibido (1994) became one of the best-selling Latin albums in the United States.

During the same year, Selena ventured into fashion as she opened two boutiques in Corpus Christi and San Antonio under the brand name of Selena Etc. The manager of the two boutiques and the president of Selena's fan club, Yolanda Saldívar, worked closely with the Quintanilla family. Saldívar was also signed as Selena's registered agent in San Antonio, Texas.

Per Hispanic Business, Selena earned over five million dollars in revenue from the stores alone.