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As a half-Hispanic kid growing up in the early ’90s in Oklahoma, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was a goddess to me. She was my Shakira before, my Tejano Madonna (as she was nicknamed). I encourage you to stop whatever you’re doing and dance around to “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” for an immediate mood booster.
Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas in 1971 as the youngest of three children in her Mexican-American family. At a young age, she began singing and performing with her brother (who played bass guitar) and her sister (on drums) in her father’s restaurant, eventually forming the band Selena y Los Dinos and touring the state in a refurbished bus. To everyone around her, it was clear very early on that Selena was a star and she skyrocketed quickly to fame not only in the Latin music culture, but in the whole of popular music. She topped Billboard charts, won a Grammy, had a fashion line, and so much more during her short career.
Tragically, in 1995 at the age of 23, Selena was shot and killed by her fan-club president and boutique manager, Yolanda Saldívar, who had recently been fired after she was discovered embezzling money from the singer. It was, and still is, a tremendous loss to the community. Two weeks later, George W. Bush (who was the Governor of Texas at the time) declared Selena’s birthday, April 16, to be Selena Day in the state.
There is so much more to Selena and her story than I have room for here. (I highly suggest the 1997 movie, Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez to learn for more. It’s where my eight-year-old self learned the word “busiter”.) So I’d like to focus on her iconic fashion looks. Below are some flashy, fun, Selena-esque looks that I think she’d love. Personally, I’ll be throwing on a bedazzled bra top and a pair of ruffled pants to celebrate one of my favorite singers on her big day.
