Chris Pérez 1995-1998: After Selena, remarriage and fatherhood Did Chris have children? In 2001 Chris married Villanueva and they had two children, a boy and a girl. what happened in 1998? John Garza introduced him to Venessa Villanueva, and after getting to know each other they became a couple in 1998. Who is John Garza? I don't know. why was 1995 important? She was pronounced dead within the hour. Who was found dead in 1995? Selena
How did Selena die?
How did Selena die?
In spring 1995 Chris's father-in-law, Abraham found out Yolanda Saldivar, who managed Selena's boutiques and fan club, was embezzling money. They held a meeting in early March where it was rumored they had a sexual relationship, with Saldivar denying she had anything to do with fiscal discrepancies in checks that were found written in her name. Selena tried to repair her friendship with Saldivar despite her father's warnings. On March 30, 1995, Selena and Chris met with Saldivar at a motel to recover missing financial papers for tax purposes. When Selena arrived home she found that Saldivar did not give her the correct documents. She phoned Saldivar, who tried to convince Selena to return to her motel room alone. Chris insisted that it was too late, and he did not want Selena driving alone at night. Selena then agreed to meet with Saldivar the next morning.  On March 31, Selena woke up early to meet Saldivar at the motel where she was staying. She met with Saldivar, who delayed the transfer of papers with a story about having been raped in Mexico. Selena took Saldivar to a local hospital, where doctors found no evidence of rape. When they returned to the motel room, Selena ended their four-year working relationship. As she turned to leave, Saldivar reached into her handbag, pulled out a Taurus Model 85 .38 caliber revolver, pointed it at Selena and pulled the trigger. The bullet entered Selena's right shoulder blade from the back, piercing a major artery running from her heart and exiting from just below her right collarbone. She ran to the motel lobby and collapsed to the floor. As the motel employees gathered round, she named Saldivar as her assailant. Selena was transferred to a nearby hospital, where doctors found the damage irreparable. She was pronounced dead within the hour.  Chris couldn't eat for two days after his wife's murder. In his book he says that when he could not sleep he began abusing alcohol and other drugs, and went into seclusion. Family members noticed he was rapidly losing weight. Chris felt guilty for not protecting Selena from Saldivar.  In 1996, he moved out of his Corpus Christi house and back in with his father in San Antonio. John Garza introduced him to Venessa Villanueva, and after getting to know each other they became a couple in 1998. In 2001 Chris married Villanueva and they had two children, a boy and a girl.  Although it was rumored that Villanueva did not want to divorce, and wanted to try and work things out in their relationship, the couple finally decided their relationship was irreconcilable. They filed for divorce in 2008. Despite getting married again and having two children, Perez has since remained in touch with the Quintanillas following Selena's death. CANNOTANSWER
Saldivar reached into her handbag, pulled out a Taurus Model 85 .38 caliber revolver, pointed it at Selena and pulled the trigger.
Christopher Gilbert Pérez (born August 14, 1969) is an American guitarist, songwriter and author best known as lead guitarist for the Tejano band Selena y Los Dinos. He married the frontwoman of the group, Selena, on April 2, 1992. Pérez grew up in San Antonio, Texas as one of two children of Gilbert Pérez and Carmen Medina. In 1986, he joined Shelly Lares' band. By the late 1980s, Pérez was respected among Tejano musicians for his guitar skills. This caught A.B. Quintanilla's attention; at the time, Quintanilla was seeking another guitarist for the band he produced, Selena y Los Dinos. Between one and two years after Pérez joined the band, he and Selena began a personal relationship.

Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla, forced them to end their relationship because he felt Pérez's image might damage Selena's career. They ignored his threats to disband the group, and continued their relationship. Quintanilla Jr. fired Pérez from the band, forbidding Selena to go with him.

During the early 1990s, Pérez was arrested for driving under the influence in San Antonio, but was released without charge. Within months of his first arrest, Pérez was involved in a trashed-hotel-room incident; he and two members of Selena y Los Dinos were intoxicated and began wrestling in a room, breaking the door and punching holes in the walls. On March 31, 1995, Selena was shot and killed by her former friend and former manager of her boutiques, Yolanda Saldívar. Selena's murder greatly devastated Pérez, who began abusing drugs and alcohol.

Pérez formed the Chris Pérez Band and began writing songs for their debut album. They signed with Hollywood Records and released their first album, Resurrection, which won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. The band disbanded after their second album, Una Noche Mas (2002), was released.  Pérez continued in the music business and often played with his brother-in-law A.B.'s groups, the Kumbia Kings and the Kumbia All Starz. He left both groups and formed another band (the Chris Pérez Project, which included Puerto Rican singer Angel Ferrer) in 2010. In 2012, Pérez wrote a book about his relationship with Selena, entitled To Selena, with Love.

Early life 
Christopher Pérez was born on August 14, 1969, in San Antonio, Texas to Gilbert Pérez, a computer programmer, and Carmen Medina. He is of Mexican-American ancestry. Perez's parents divorced in 1974, when he was four years old. His mother remarried in 1978.

Pérez learned to play the French horn in middle school and joined his school's concert band with his mother's support. He decided to teach himself to play electric guitar despite his mother's disapproval due to the negative stereotypes associated with the rock-and-roll world. Pérez's favorite musicians were Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Kiss, the Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne and Iron Maiden.  He also grew to admire Ricky Martin during the 1990s. Many of his guitar solos are inspired by Carlos Santana.

Pérez wanted to run away to Los Angeles, California to start a rock band when he was seventeen. At the time he shared an apartment with his father and worked at a library. Pérez was asked by Tony Lares to join his cousin Shelly Lares' band in 1986. Lares told Pérez that Shelly performed Tejano music—a mixture of traditional Mexican folk music, polkas and country music sung in Spanish or English. Pérez disliked Tejano music and wrote in To Selena, With Love that he joined Shelly's band with "foot-dragging resistance" because this job paid more than working at the library. He became Shelly's musical director after Tony left the group,  and co-wrote three songs for Shelly's debut album in 1989.  His guitar playing received a positive reception from the band and its fans. Around this time he also formed a rock band with two friends and planned to leave Shelly's band.

Career

1989–1995: Selena y Los Dinos and legal problems 
Roger Garcia, lead guitarist for Selena y Los Dinos, married and left the music business in 1989. The group's bassist, A.B. Quintanilla III, had heard good things about Pérez from other Tejano groups. He and other band members went to watch Pérez rehearse with Shelly. Quintanilla invited Chris to one of Selena's performances, and asked if he was interested in playing with Selena y Los Dinos. Pérez accepted, basing his decision on Los Dinos's sound, which was more "hip and sophisticated" than other Tejano bands, and he hoped to learn more about musical arrangement from A.B.,  whose work he admired.

Pérez auditioned for the group's manager, A.B.'s father Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. Abraham initially disliked Pérez's rocker image and insisted that he change his appearance for the band. The elder Quintanilla feared that allowing Pérez in the group might affect his daughter Selena's "perfect image" and ruin her career. A.B. convinced his father to accept Pérez, and encouraged Pérez to explore different musical genres and mold their sounds to his own tastes. He and A.B became close friends occasionally collaborated on writing songs for Selena's next recording. Pérez, like Selena, knew little Spanish, and lead keyboardist Ricky Vela tutored him.

In November 1990, Pérez was arrested for driving under the influence and speeding in San Antonio, Texas. A police officer became involved in an altercation with his cousin, and Pérez came to his cousin's aid. After the brawl, police handcuffed Pérez and his cousin, but freed their friend, telling him to "run, don't walk" and to "not even turn around". When Pérez was booked, police reported that they initiated a high-speed chase and were following his car. Pérez reported that the officers were lying, but decided not to pursue the matter because it would be "[his] word against theirs." He was released without charges, but told Selena and Abraham about his run-in with the police. They appreciated being informed and this helped gain their trust.

Several months after his arrest, he was sharing a hotel room with two road crew members of Selena y Los Dinos when the two brothers, who were intoxicated, began wrestling. Pérez was also drunk and joined in the rough horseplay. One brother knocked the door off its hinges, and holes in the wall were found inside the room. Pérez decided to sleep at home instead of at the hotel. Abraham fired the brothers from the band the next morning, but to Pérez's surprise, Abraham accepted his apology and he was allowed to remain in the band. While Selena initially ended their relationship over the incident, she later forgave him.

Relationship with Selena 
In 1989 Pérez and A.B. wrote Selena's Coca-Cola commercial jingle. After the company accepted the lyrics and Selena filmed the commercial, A.B. treated the band to a vacation in Acapulco, Mexico. During the trip Pérez realized he was attracted to Selena although he had a girlfriend in San Antonio. Pérez thought it best for both of them if he tried to distance himself from her, but found it difficult and decided to try building a relationship with her. They expressed their feelings for each other at a Pizza Hut restaurant, and shortly afterwards became a couple. They hid their relationship from her father out of fear that Abraham would try to break them up. This stressed Selena, who did not want to hide her feelings.

Suzette ended up reporting the relationship to Abraham, who took Pérez off the bus and informed him that it was over. The couple continued their relationship secretly despite Abraham's disapproval. Selena took hope from the fact that her mother Marcella approved of their courtship, until one day when Abraham stopped the tour bus and went to the back where Pérez and Selena were sitting. He shouted that their relationship was over and Selena screamed back at him. Pérez tried to calm them both down, but joined in the argument after Abraham insulted him by calling him a "cancer in my family." Finally Abraham threatened to disband the group if they did not break up. Intimidated, Selena and Pérez backed off. Abraham fired him from the band and prevented Selena from running off with him, leaving Selena both extremely devastated and heartbroken.

After Pérez was fired from the band, he moved back in with his father and began playing music wherever he could. He wrote that "free of that nerve-racking situation with her father and the other members of Los Dinos, I started enjoying my life again." Selena, however, suffered from their separation and the two tried to keep in touch while she was touring. On the morning of April 2, 1992, Selena pounded on his hotel-room door. She forced her way in and began to cry, saying she could not go on without him. Selena wanted to get married that day, but Pérez argued it was not the right thing to do at the moment. Selena insisted her father would never accept their relationship, and would not attend any wedding they planned. Pérez agreed and they eloped in Nueces County, Texas.

Selena was sure her father would leave them alone if they were married, and they could be together openly. They planned to keep the elopement a secret until she found the right moment to reveal her marriage, but the media announced their elopement over the radio within hours of the marriage ceremony. Selena's family tried to track her down. Abraham did not take the news well, and alienated himself for a time. Selena and Pérez moved into an apartment in Corpus Christi until Abraham approached them, apologized, accepted the marriage and Pérez back into the band.

Pérez became a fully accepted member of the Quintanilla family after the marriage, and Abraham asked Pérez to write songs for a rock band he was managing after he opened a recording studio, Q-Productions, in late 1993. That collaboration resulted in a posthumous recording for Selena when the lead vocalist for that rock group, Nando "Guerro" Dominguez, went to Selena's house to begin a recording. Pérez was ending the recording session several hours later when Selena asked to record Dominguez's demo. Her version of the song was unreleased until 2004, when it was added to her posthumous compilation album Momentos Intimos as "Puede Ser". A.B. wrote "Ya No", the last recording for Selena's studio album Amor Prohibido (1994). He wanted to turn it into a rock song and asked for Pérez's assistance.

1995–1998: After Selena, remarriage and fatherhood 

In spring 1995, Abraham found out that Yolanda Saldívar, who managed Selena's boutiques and fan club, was embezzling money. They held a meeting in early March, with Saldívar denying she had anything to do with fiscal discrepancies in checks that were found written in her name. Selena tried to repair her friendship with Saldívar despite her father's warnings. On March 30, 1995, Selena and Pérez met with Saldívar at a motel to recover missing financial papers for tax purposes. When Selena and Pérez arrived home she found that Saldivar did not give her the correct documents. She phoned Saldívar, who tried to convince Selena to return to her motel room alone. Pérez insisted that it was too late, and he did not want Selena driving alone at night. Selena then agreed to meet with Saldivar the next morning.

On March 31, Selena woke up early to meet Saldívar at the motel where she was staying. She met with Saldívar, who delayed the transfer of papers with a story about having been raped in Mexico. Selena took Saldívar to a local hospital, where doctors found no evidence of rape. When they returned to the motel room, Selena ended their four-year working relationship. As Selena turned to leave, Saldívar reached into her purse, pulled out a Taurus Model 85 .38 caliber revolver, pointed it at Selena and pulled the trigger. The bullet entered Selena's right shoulder blade from the back, piercing a major artery running from her heart and exiting from just below her right collarbone. She ran to the motel lobby and collapsed to the floor. As the motel employees gathered round, she named Saldívar as her assailant. Selena was transferred to a nearby hospital, where doctors found the damage irreparable. She was pronounced dead within the hour.

Pérez could not eat for two days after his wife's murder. In his book he says that when he could not sleep he began abusing alcohol and other drugs, and went into seclusion. Family members noticed he was rapidly losing weight. Chris felt guilty for not protecting Selena from Saldívar.

In 1996, he moved out of his Corpus Christi house and back in with his father in San Antonio. John Garza introduced him to Venessa Villanueva, and after getting to know each other they became a couple in 1998. In 2001, Pérez married Villanueva and they had two children, a boy Noah and a girl Cassie.

Although it was rumored that Villanueva did not want to divorce, and wanted to try and work things out in their relationship, the couple finally decided their relationship was irreconcilable. They filed for divorce in 2008. Despite getting married again and having 2 children, Pérez has since remained in touch with the Quintanillas following Selena's death.

1999–2010: Chris Pérez Band, Kumbia Kings and Kumbia All Starz 

Pérez's friend, John Garza moved in with him six months after Selena's death. They began writing music, which Pérez found healing. In 1998 he formed a rock band with Garza, Rudy Martinez (former member of La Mafia) on bass, former Selena y Los Dinos keyboardist Joe Ojeda and Jesse Esquivel on drums. The band's name (the Chris Pérez Band) was chosen by Garza, Martinez, Ojeda and Esquivel. Chris preferred the name Cinco Souls, but the other band members wanted to utilize his "reluctant celebrity." The band was signed to Hollywood Records, and went to A&M Studios (now Henson Studios) in Los Angeles to begin recording their debut album. Pérez wrote the song "Best I Can" to explore his feelings about losing Selena and his struggle to continue without her. The song was not planned for the album, for fear that listeners would think he included the track for commercial reasons, but Hollywood Records and the band convinced him to include it on the album after hearing the demo.

"Another Day" (about devotion to Selena) was included on the album. Ojeda wrote "Solo Tu", a romantic ballad which Pérez changed into a rock song. Resurrection was released on May 18, 1999, and won the 2000 Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album. The record company released two promotional singles (one English and one Spanish: the title track and the ballad "Por Que Tu Fuiste") to radio stations with intent to appeal to both audiences. The Los Angeles Times wrote that the album was "upbeat and danceable, the lyrics speak almost uniformly of loss, anger, violence and abandonment". The Chris Pérez Band was the opening act for Mexican band Mana. In March 2000, Pérez began preparing for his second studio album; On April 16, the band released its second and final album, Una Noche Más, before breaking up. Pérez joined his brother-in-law A.B.'s band, the Kumbia All Starz, in 2006 and left it in 2010 to form his own band. On April 7, 2005, Los Dinos reunited at the Selena ¡VIVE! tribute concert.

2010–present: The Chris Pérez Project, To Selena, With Love, Blue Mariachi Productions 
In 2010, Pérez formed a new group (the Chris Pérez Project) with Puerto Rican singer Angel Ferrer, releasing "Todo es Diferente".

In March 2012 Pérez published To Selena, With Love, which described their relationship and struggles. He had been reluctant to write the book, saying that fans asked him to write it. He did not seek the approval of the Quintanilla family to write To Selena, With Love and did not disclose the project in fear of their reaction. He approached Abraham after the book was finished. Abraham approved of it. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Pérez said writing To Selena, With Love helped him "move forward". The book was praised by critics and fans. To Selena, With Love dispelled the rumor that Selena was pregnant when she died (which had appeared in media reports after her death).

In November 2016, Pérez announced that a made-for-television miniseries would be made from his book. This prompted Abraham to file a lawsuit against him since it violated an estate properties agreement originally signed between him and the family two months after Selena’s death in 1995. The lawsuit also sparked a bitter dispute between the family and Pérez, who in September 2020, went on Instagram and publicly accused the Quintanilla family of erasing his legacy with Selena. Suzette posted a rebuttal shortly thereafter and Perez later apologized. The case was settled in September 2021.

In August 2021 Pérez's label Blue Mariachi Productions signed its first act, ZEUS. El Mero Necio alias Carlton Zeus.

Personality and musical influences 
According to The Dallas Morning News, Hollywood.com, Justice for Selena, They Died Too Young and Selena: Como La Flor, Pérez is a shy person. He was the antithesis of Abraham Quintanilla's "clean-cut, nice kids" in his early career as a guitarist for Selena y Los Dinos, a rebellious rocker and a "long-haired tough guy". In an interview with the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, he admitted discomfort at being an entertainer. Until the release of his book, he had kept quiet about his personal life and shied away from media attention. Carlos Valdez, the District Attorney who prosecuted Yolanda Saldívar, described Pérez as "shy and uncomfortable when in the spotlight", and this was echoed by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. His inability to talk about himself when interviewed was also discussed in Valdez' book. Valdez said the music business was not work for Pérez, who enjoyed being a guitarist and called it his "reason for [his] existence".   Valdez considers him "honest, sincere, and someone who could be trusted and believed [in]."

Leila Cobo of Billboard magazine believed his musical styles included contemporary cumbia music, reminiscent of music produced by A.B., R&B, rap and funk music. Chuck Taylor, a Billboard editor, called The Chris Pérez Project debut album a "lot of classic rock elements". David Cazares of the Sun Sentinel called Pérez' debut album "average rock" music. The San Antonio Express-News said that Resurrection was a fusion of "pop rock grooves and Tejano soul". Pérez is known for tapping into Latin genres, such as cumbia and Latin rock.

In the 1997 biopic-film, Selena, Pérez was portrayed by Jon Seda while actor Jesse Posey portrayed him in Selena: The Series.

Discography 

Selena y Los Dinos
 Ven Conmigo (1990)
 Entre a Mi Mundo (1992)
 Selena Live! (1993)
 Amor Prohibido (1994)
 Dreaming of You (1995)

Chris Pérez Band
 Resurrection (1999)
 Una Noche Más (2002)

Kumbia Kings
 Amor, Familia y Respeto (1999)
 Shhh! (2001)
 All Mixed Up: Los Remixes (2002)
 4 (2003)
 Los Remixes 2.0 (2004)
 Fuego (2004)
 Kumbia Kings Live (2006)

Kumbia All Starz
 Ayer Fue Kumbia Kings, Hoy Es Kumbia All Starz (2006)
 Planeta Kumbia (2008)
 La Vida de un Genio (2010)

Published works 
To Selena, With Love (2012)

References

Bibliography

External links 

 
 
 
 Chris Perez on Grammy Awards
 
 Chris Pérez at VH1.com

1969 births
20th-century American writers
20th-century American guitarists
21st-century American writers
American musicians of Mexican descent
American male singers
American male guitarists
American rock guitarists
American rock songwriters
American male songwriters
American male writers
Capitol Records artists
Cumbia musicians
Grammy Award winners
Guitarists from Texas
Hispanic and Latino American musicians
Hollywood Records artists
Kumbia All Starz members
Kumbia Kings members
Living people
Lead guitarists
People from Corpus Christi, Texas
Musicians from San Antonio
Rock en Español musicians
Singers from Texas
Selena y Los Dinos members
Songwriters from Texas
Tejano pop musicians
Corpus: A Home Movie about Selena (1998) is a film by filmmaker, Lourdes Portillo about Mexican American singer-songwriter Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. It places emphasis on the transformation of Selena from a popular entertainer into a modern-day saint and role model. This documentary uses authentic home videos, news stories, footage from concerts and a debate between intellectuals to analyze the effect of Selena and Selena's murder at the hands of Yolanda Saldivar, the president of her fan club.

Film description
Apart from showing the rapid trajectory of Selena's fame, this documentary also shows the long-lasting effect that Selena has had and continues to have. The movie contains teary interviews from people from every age group that try to talk about Selena and her effect. The film starts off with footage from Selena's death, which is quite unusual based on the fact that most people view death as the end. The effect of placing Selena's death at the beginning of the film gives the viewer the effect that Selena's death was not the end, but the beginning. This film relies a great deal on the interview with fans and family members that describe Selena's fame as influential in their lives. When interviewing some fans at the Tejano Fine Arts Academy in Corpus Christi, Selena's effect is viewed through the way that the performers emulate their idol by swiveling their hips and lip-synching to her songs. At the gravesite we continue to witness the effect that Selena continues to have through the devotion of her followers. Fans leave flowers, Selena dolls and even write intimate letters to Selena, with the faith of Selena reading it. A fan explains this devotion by stating, 
“Sometimes, we see people that we want to be like them, not because of their fame, but because of the way they act with people and we just want to share that. Almost every day, we make a tribute to her in our souls, in our hearts, and in our minds.”
Another important aspect of this film is the debate between scholars about Selena's influence. Although scholars can agree on Selena being an important influence even after her death, they differ on that influence being labeled positive or negative. On one hand, scholars categorize it as positive based on the fact that Selena's body breaks away from the norm of a white, thin, blue eyed women becoming famous. Selena breaks away from the preconceived notion that beauty only exists in one form. On the other hand, other scholars do not believe that Selena is such a positive role model. As Sandra Cisneros argues,

"You are telling people to go out there and be sexy and design their own clothes. That’s not a role model that I want for any young girl. And the fact that the only outlet that you have is to be this sexual being singing songs that aren’t even that wonderful and that you have to die before you are 25 and that makes you successful. That’s how you get on the cover of the Texas Monthly, you either get shot, raped or bludgeoned.".

Selena continues to have ever lasting effects on her fans evident through their devotion at her grave site, people singing her songs, people dressing up like her or simply causing scholars to discuss her influence.

Comparison to other Selena movies
Corpus: A Home Movie about Selena differentiates itself from other Selena films based on the fact that this film's primary focus is unlike the 1997 Selena biographical drama film by Gregory Nava which primary focus is on Selena's life through her performances, this film primary focus is interviews with fans, family and friends. Focusing on interviews provides the viewer with a clear example of Selena's effect on people even after her death. Most films, including this one emphasize that Selena was becoming famous even though she failed to meet the set standards of beauty meaning skinny, blue eyes and blonde hair. Yet unlike other films, this film shows the controversy of some people who believe that Selena was not a good influence. According to critics, Selena broke with some preconceptions of beauty yet played into other stereotypes. An aspect that most films about Selena have in common is portraying Selena as a role model for the meaning of success for the working class Latinos. In this film, this idea is portrayed by disk jockey Vicente Carranza stating,

“She was the first one to hit everyone’s soul at the same time. The Mexican community, the Chicano community, the Puerto Rican community, all of them together. La raza del barrio, they all relate to her. The upper-middle class Mexican American didn’t relate to her because they didn’t want to associate with the music of the lower people. And the Anglos definitely did not because of the Spanish. But after her death there is no barrier.”.

Apart from most films portraying Selena as virtuous, Selena is also shown as a modern-day saint. This is most evident in this film through the images and interviews at Selena's gravesite. People cry and write letters not just for Selena, but to what Selena stood for according to them.

References

External links
 
 Corpus: A Home Movie About Selena in the Women Make Movies catalog

1999 films
Documentary films about Mexican Americans
Documentary films about singers
Selena
Cultural depictions of Selena Selena is the debut studio album by American Tejano singer Selena, released on October 17, 1989, by EMI Latin. Its music incorporates a range of contemporary genres with a mix of cumbia and regional styles of Mexican music. The album was released following company president Jose Behar's failed crossover request for the singer. The project was denied by the heads of EMI Records' pop division, believing the singer should first strengthen her fanbase. Selena's brother and principal record producer and songwriter, A.B. Quintanilla III fought to remain the singer's producer. The band introduced Pete Astudillo and Joe Ojeda, who contributed to the album's experimental production and songwriting. Aside from A.B., Selena worked with two Mexican songwriters, Alejandro Montealegre and Reinaldo Ornelas.

Because Selena was the singer's first work on a major label, the album was expected to draw and lure large audiences to Selena. The goal of the album was to be introductory into the international Latin music market, with future sights into an English-language crossover. Selena peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums, Selena's first entry in a national music chart. Selena performed better than other recordings from other contemporaneous female Tejano singers. The recording led Selena to win Female Vocalist of the Year and Female Entertainer of the Year at the 1990 Tejano Music Awards. Songs from the album, "Contigo Quiero Estar" was nominated for Song of the Year, while "Amame, Quiereme" was nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year.

Selena increased the singer's popularity, she became a sex icon after the album's release. Critics called the recording a moderate success that eventually "opened the doors" for the group. Beginning with Selena, the singer and her band began experimenting with various genres that led to the introduction of cumbia music. The genre was heavily used in subsequent releases, which became her trademark. The album spawned three singles, "Contigo Quiero Estar", "Mentiras", and a Spanish-language version of a Japanese song called "Sukiyaki".

Background and production 
After starting a band with his children, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. became the group's manager and began promoting it. The group recorded an album with Freddie Records in 1984, though it was never released. Abraham provided two demos to Charlie Grever, father of Bob Grever owner of Cara Records, who signed then-thirteen year old Selena to the recording label. Manny Guerra, who separated from Cara Records, started his own record label. Guerra wanted to sign Selena to his recording label in 1985. Guerra dissolved the agreement between Cara Records and Selena when it was brought to his attention. Selena recorded five LP records for Manny's GP Productions by 1988, without a contract. Abraham expressed in an interview how he forgot to sign it, and noticed how Guerra stopped asking him about the contract after Selena became more popular. At the 1989 Tejano Music Awards, Selena was approached by Rick Trevino to be the opening act after La Sombra declined the offer. Jose Behar of newly formed EMI Latin and the heads of Sony Music attended the awards ceremony and were scouting for new acts. Behar wanted to sign Selena to his label, while Sony Music was offering twice EMI's offer. Behar believed he had discovered "the next Gloria Estefan", which his superior called him illogical since he had only been in Texas for a week. Abraham chose EMI Latin's offer because of the potential for a crossover, and he wanted his children to be the first musicians to sign with the company. Before Selena began recording her debut album, Behar and Stephen Finfer requested a crossover album for her. The singer recorded three English-language songs for the heads of EMI's pop division. Behar and Finfer's request for a crossover album was denied and Selena was told she needed a bigger fan base to sell such an album. Behar thought EMI Records and the public did not believe that a Mexican-American woman could have "crossover potential" after Charles Koppelman denied the project. The company believed Selena had potential in Mexico and South American markets when they signed the singer in 1989.

Initially, EMI Latin wanted a Grammy Award-winning producer to work with Selena on her album. Her brother and bass guitarist, A.B. Quintanilla became the singer's principal record producer and songwriter prior to signing with EMI Latin in 1989. EMI Latin felt that they were "gambling" when they opened a Latin division. Abraham went into an agreement that if A.B. failed to produce a successful album, then they would approve of a Grammy Award producer for her next recording. Under pressure, A.B. expressed how the band "couldn't take a failure" and worried that if they did, the band would be "at the bottom of the totem pole". The production of the album began on June 4, 1989, Selena expressed her excitement about the album; in an interview, she said: "I am really happy, all the hard work paid off." The goal of Selena was to be an introductory into the international Latin music market, with future sights into an English-language crossover. The band became "a bit more trendier and a little bit cutting-edge" on Selena with experimental production and songwriting. It was the first album with any production and songwriting assistance from Pete Astudillo and Joe Ojeda; Astudillo was brought in to harmonize and sing duets with Selena, while Ojeda acted as a second keyboardist. Ojeda bought a Roland D-50 synthesizer; at the time of one of the most popular keyboards, which contributed to the overall "flashy" sounds in the album. Keyboardist, Ricky Vela said in an interview how he and Astudillo began elaborating the arrangements in their music production.

Recording and composition 
 
Selena was recorded in its entirety, with the exception of "Sukiyaki" and "My Love", at Manny Guerra's AMEN Studios in San Antonio, Texas and was engineered by house engineer Brian "Red" Moore. "Sukiyaki" and "My Love" were recorded at Sunrise Studios in Houston, Texas. Selena wanted the album to concentrate on Tejano music and Latin pop. A.B. found the genres in Selena to be pop and R&B. Selena incorporates a range of contemporary genres with a mix of cumbia and regional styles of Mexican music. Boleros and polka music were other genres explored on Selena. Astudillo had written a concept and gave it to A.B. after the band's concert in Laredo, Texas. The resulting song was called "Besitos", it was the first recording A.B. and Astudillo collaborated, and the first song Astudillo wrote for the group. A.B. found "Besitos" as the "pivotal point [in Selena's career]" because of the introduction of cumbia music, a genre the band used heavily in subsequent releases. "Besitos" became a platform for the group in producing more cumbia-flavored tracks in Selena's second studio release, Ven Conmigo (1990).

Abraham suggested the idea of writing "Sukiyaki"—a 1960s Japanese song by Kyu Sakamoto—into a Spanish-language song. He expressed his interest after an English-language version by A Taste of Honey was released. Abraham worked with Astudillo to write the recording. The lyrics used were a Spanish version of an English version of the song by Janice Marie Johnson. Vela confirmed that he was supposed to help with the writing process of "Sukiyaki" but did not contribute. Vela expressed how Astudillo's songwriting skills and Spanish were more advanced and overall preferred Astudillo in writing "Sukiyaki". Joe Nick Patoski wrote in Texas Monthly that "Sukiyaki" is a "sentimental" track.

Astudillo was due to record backing vocals on "Amame, Quiereme", his first recording sessions in a studio, Suzette noticed how nervous he was at recording. He was removed from the recording studio after an unsuccessful session, he expressed his disappointment at not meeting the desired range in an interview. After his friend successfully recorded the track, Astudillo retried and met the required demands. Astudillo said how his aspirations of recording in a studio inspired him to not give up. Selena wrote "My Love", an English-language track that A.B. believed echoed works by Exposé and Sweet Sensation. He helped with the arrangements along with Astudillo. It was Selena's first attempt at songwriting. Biographer Joe Nick Patoski, believed "My Love" was paean to Madonna. Vela was chosen to record the accordion on "Mentiras", though he expressed how his instrument was not up to par and had faulty sounds that sounded "un-accordion". The group decided to hire professional studio accordions after Vela's "cringy" sounding instrument was brought to the band's attention. A.B. desperately needed more materials to record for Selena, Vela wrote some parts for a song called "Tengo Ganas de Llorar". In retrospect, Vela said how his part was not satisfactory even though A.B. liked it, for which Vela said he was "just being polite, so he let it pass because we needed another song". Though A.B. remained the singer's principle record producer and songwriter, he did not compose "Sukiyaki" (Abraham/Astudillo), "Contigo Quiero Estar" (Alejandro Montealegre), and "No Te Vayas" (Reinaldo Ornelas).

Critical reception 

Selena was initially scheduled for a summer 1989 release, but was pushed back to October 17, 1989. Unimpressed with the image Guerra presented, creative director Rubén Cubillos decided to express an image of "natural beauty" for Selena on this album's cover. The singer chose an outfit that her mother believed would upset her conservative father, and Cubillos had to distract Selena from looking at Abraham Quintanilla throughout the photoshoot.  Selena's father was visibly uncomfortable with her clothing and makeup. Abraham came in and out during the shoot and complained to Cubillos that Selena loathed her makeup during their conversations. EMI Latin detested the album cover and called it "the worst they'd ever gotten." Cubillos believed the company "didn't understand it" and said he liked the cover because of "the warmth of her skin." He claimed in retrospect that he regretted Selena's makeup and wished he had washed it off because "she's not a model, she's not anything but a nice, fresh young woman with talent." Patoski argued that the cover unveiled a tall and sultry Selena, but expressionless, as if her mind was wandering.  He noted that the band and Abraham Quintanilla were also unimpressed with the cover. Abraham later complained to Ramon Hernandez about Selena's nose "looking too flat."

Because the album was released on a major record label, Selena expected presentation to a larger, global audience. EMI Latin's marketing team "worked the radio stations as no independent producer had before" to deliver Selena "more chart action than she'd ever enjoyed." An April 1989 survey found "Contigo Quiero Estar" as the most-played song on Tejano radio stations in the Corpus Christi area for two weeks. The album debuted at number 17 on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart for the week ending December 2, 1989. It was the highest debut for an album that week, beating out La Fiebre's On the Right, and was Selena's first album to chart on a national music chart. It promptly slipped off the charts the following week but returned to number 15 after the holiday season. Selena rose to number 12 for the week ending January 27, 1990. The album peaked at number seven in its seventh week on March 24, 1990. It was Selena's highest peaking album, until Ven Conmigo surpassed it a year later. During the twenty-year celebration of Selena-released music, Selena was repackaged and re-made available for physical and digital purchase on September 22, 2002. This limited-edition version included Selena's top 20 single "La Bamba" from (1987), as well as spoken liner notes with commentary and recollections of each track provided by the singer's family, friends, and band.

The album performed better than other recordings from other contemporary female Tejano singers. Selena became the "dominant female vocalist in a predominately-male industry." The album's tour sent Selena to Arizona, New Mexico, Indiana, Illinois, Washington state, and Florida, areas where she had not been in prior demand. Selena was responsible "for bringing a certain charm, innovative spirit, and new perspective [to Tejano music]." Other critics attested that it was a "door-opener" for the group in the Tejano market. This was echoed by Billboard magazine, who believed Selena's recordings were not successful until she signed with EMI Latin and released Selena in 1989. Author Lee Stacy wrote that Selena "achieved reasonable success."

Selena's popularity increased following the album's success and her provocative image made her a musical sex icon. According to Latin Style magazine, the tracks "Sukiyaki", "Contigo Quiero Estar", and "Besitos", were "pivotal" recordings that showcased Selena's "mixed rhythm and sound" which the magazine attributed to being her "trademark". At the 1990 Tejano Music Awards, Selena won Female Vocalist of the Year and Female Entertainer of the Year. A.B. was nominated for Songwriter of the Year. Songs from the album, "Contigo Quiero Estar" were nominated for Song of the Year, and "Amame, Quiereme" was nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year.

Track listing

Personnel 
Credits are taken from the album's liner notes.

Selena – vocals
Pete Astudillo – backing vocals
Ricky Vela – keyboards, composer
Jose "Joe" C. Ojeda – keyboards
Suzette Quintanilla – drums
Roger Garcia – guitars
A.B. Quintanilla – bass guitar, backing vocals, producer, composer, arranger
Abraham Quintanilla Jr. – executive producer, composer 
Manny Guerra – recording engineer
Brian "Red" Moore – audio mixer, co-engineer

2012 re-issue
Jorge A. Pino L. – executive producer
Guillhermo J. Page – producer
Suzette Quintanilla – liner notes producer 
Lisette Lorenzo – art direction
Brian "Red" Moore – liner notes recorder

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

See also 

 Selena albums discography
 Latin American music in the United States

References

Bibliography

External links 

1989 debut albums
Selena albums
Albums produced by A.B. Quintanilla
EMI Latin albums
Spanish-language albums