Selena y Los Dinos

Selena y Los Dinos (English: Selena and the Guys) was the band in which Tejano music singer Selena performed, until her murder on March 31, 1995. Selena fronted the band since 1980, started by her father Abraham Quintanilla, Jr.. When Selena was signed with EMI Latin, EMI president José Behar told Selena that the world wanted Selena, not Los Dinos. Selena then began releasing her studio albums under her own logo title Selena and not Selena y Los Dinos. Before Selena was signed with EMI, the band had sold more than 80,000 copies in the state of Texas alone, with the Tejano labels GP, Cara Records, Manny, and Freddie Records before 1989.

Band history

Beginnings (1957–1982)

Selena

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (Spanish: [seˈlena kintaˈniʎa ˈpeɾeθ] or [seˈlena kintaˈniʝa ˈpeɾes]) (April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, spokesperson, actress, and fashion designer. Called the Queen of Tejano music, her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. Billboard magazine named her the "top Latin artist of the '90s", the "best selling Latin artist of the decade". She was called the "Tejano Madonna" for her clothing choices, by media outlets. She also ranks among the most influential Latin artists of all-time and is credited for catapulting a music genre into mainstream.

The youngest child of the Quintanilla family, she debuted on the music scene in 1980 as a member of the band Selena y Los Dinos, which also included her elder siblings A.B. Quintanilla and Suzette Quintanilla. Selena began recording professionally in 1982. In the 1980s, she was often criticized and was refused bookings at venues across Texas for performing Tejano music—a male-dominated music genre. However, her popularity grew after she won the Tejano Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1986, which she won nine consecutive times. Selena signed with EMI Latin in 1989 and released her self-titled debut album the same year, while her brother became her principal music producer and songwriter.

Selena (Dutch singer)

Sabina Brons, stage name Selena (born 9 August 1965) is a Dutch singer. She released the album Timebomb in 1989, and had three hit singles in her homeland with "Shotgun", "Timebomb" and "So Far Away".

References

Selena (film)

Selena is a 1997 American biographical musical drama film about the life and career of the late Tejano music star Selena, a recording artist well known in the Mexican American and Hispanic communities in the United States and Mexico before she was murdered by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club at the age of 23.

The film stars Jennifer Lopez in her breakthrough role as Selena, and Edward James Olmos as her father, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr.. Lupe Ontiveros is featured as Yolanda Saldívar.

Plot

The film opens on February 26, 1995, with Selena (Jennifer Lopez) performing to a sold-out crowd of 65,000 at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The action then flashes back to 1961, where a young Abraham Quintanilla and his band, The Dinos, are rejected for an audition by a restaurant owner because they were Mexican and the resturaunt was for whites only. Crushed, Abraham gives up music.

The film moves ahead to 1981 where Abraham (Edward James Olmos) is now married to Marcella (Constance Marie) and has three children. When his youngest daughter Selena sings to him, he is enthralled by the quality of her voice and decides to start a band called "Selena y los Dinos" (Selena and the Guys). He designates Selena as lead singer, his son A.B. (Jacob Vargas) on bass, and his older daughter Suzette (Jackie Guerra) on drums, despite Suzette's protests that "girls don't play drums".