Selena The Beautiful White Rose of Texas by Elia Esparza

Selena photo courtesy of EMI Latin

It’s been said the night is always darkest just before the dawn. Five years after Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla Perez was killed by a former employee and president of her fan club, the light is barely breaking through for those she loved and left behind. Her father says you can never forget because “it’s always there—her smile, her sparkle.” Because her memory is always there, Estylo has chosen Selena as the subject of this special commemorative issue.

In life, Selena was the reigning queen of Tejano music. There had never before been a woman to conquer this male-dominated domain, and it probably will be years before another female entertainer can live up to her legacy.

In death she is a legend, an icon to Latinos. Why is she even bigger in death than in life? Academics and psychologists who have written on the subject of folk legends theorize it was because Selena died while she was still a 100 percent Latino artist. A Mexican-American. A Tejana. She had not yet “crossed over”—whatever that really means. Latinos never had to share her with the rest of the non-Hispanic world. She was all theirs, all 115 pounds of her.

She was true-blue and sincere. Her smile was genuine. She was beautiful, vivacious and accessible to her fans. Her tragedy can be described only as a woman cut down in her early prime by a once trusted friend, a betrayal not only to Selena and her family, but also to the thousands who loved her. The murder drove a stake through the hearts of her faithful fans. ...

Order the March/April 2000 issue of Estylo
and read the entire feature in English and Spanish.