An American-Latino artist, Selena Quintanilla was known as the Queen of Tejano, a type of Mexican music that incorporated other styles, such as country and Western. At a young age, she became one of the most beloved singers of all time, breaking extraordinary records in the music industry. Although her career was sadly cut short by her tragic death at the age of 23, Selena’s legacy has been kept very much alive by pop culture. The latest adaptation of her life comes from Netflix. On December 4, the streaming service is releasing Selena: The Series, but before you binge the episodes, are here 10 facts you should know about the Mexican Madonna.
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Selena was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla, was a former musician who managed and produced the family’s musical group, Selena Y Los Dinos. Around the age of 10, she became the lead singer of this band.
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English was her first language, but her father taught her to sing in Spanish so she could resonate with the Latino community. She learned Spanish phonetically at first and eventually learned to speak it fluently.
Image: Courtesy of visitcorpuschristitx.org
There have been many iconic people in history, but not all of them have a museum dedicated to their legacy. Selena has her own museum in Corpus Christi, Texas. It was created by her family as a way to honour her memory. At the Selena Museum, you will find several of her stage outfits, her Faberge egg collection and many other Selena treasures.
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Selena was and still is a major source of fashion and beauty inspiration. Her favourite lipstick was the Chanel Brick, a colour that has been discontinued but duped apparently by Elizabeth Arden cosmetics.
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Weeks after her death, then-Texas governor George W Bush declared April 16 as Selena’s Day.
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Despite her ultimate success, Selena was held back in the industry on many ocassions. She was denied jobs and criticised for entering the male-dominated music space. As a result, she spent a great deal of her career combating rampant sexism in the Tejano music industry.
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Although Selena’s musical style is completely different from Madonna’s, she earned the title of “Mexican Madonna” for her fashion sense. She used to buy lingerie from Victoria’s Secret and bedazzle them for her stage costumes.
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On November 3, 2017, the singer got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star is the 2,622nd and is located in front of the Capitol Records building—a place Selena y Los Dinos visited often after they signed with EMI Latin in 1989.
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Very few musicians in the world have number one hits. Selena had not one or two but seven number-one singles such as No Me Queda Más, Amor Prohibido and Tu Sólo Tu, which topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.
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It’s not Jennifer Lopez but Christian Marie Serratos who will be playing Selena. Fun fact: You’ve seen Serratos in The Walking Dead and as Angela Weber in The Twilight Saga. Watch the trailer for Selena: The Series below.
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