Selena was born April 16, 1971, in Corpus Christi Texas. She was the youngest child of Marcela and Abraham Quintanilla’s three children. Selena began her career as a singer in a band that her father formed when she was eight years old. Selena, her younger siblings Abraham junior and Sister Suzette played the base guitar and the drums respectively. Selena was the vocalist of the band. Selena Y Los Dino was the band’s name and she performed with her siblings at many bars, restaurants and weddings. Selena y Los Dinos and her siblings found the band very time-consuming, so they didn’t have much of a childhood. However, Abraham encouraged them to be dedicated musicians through his determination.
Abraham senior was also a member of the original Los Dinos band. Selena Y Los Dinos officially was formed in 1981. The family’s main source of income was from the band, which was also the family’s business. The Quintanilla family persevered in their efforts to become a successful band, despite the difficult beginnings with very little money. They would be rewarded with success when Selena Y Los Dinos became a popular band in the west by 1980. The band’s first success came in 1986 when Selena was awarded Female Vocalist and Performer of Year at the Tejano music Awards. Selena Y Los Dinos was a top-winning band year after year, and they gained recognition and fame. They were featured on numerous Spanish-language television programs, including El Show De Johnny Canales and Siempre En Domingo.
Selena Y Los Dinos hired Chris
Perez as a guitarist in the early 1990’s. Chris and Selena fell in love instantly. They began dating immediately. Abraham, Selena’s dad, was hostile to their relationship and threatened to ban Chris from the band. Selena and Chris ignored the threats of Abraham senior and were married April 2, 1992. After a concert, Yolanda Saldivar (the aunt of one Selena’s childhood friend) contacted Selena in 1993. Yolanda left several messages and got involved with Selena’s fan group organization. Abraham senior was intrigued and hired Yolanda to be president of Selena’s fan club. Yolanda was able to see the private life of Selena y Los Dinos and became close friends with her.
Selena wanted more than singing. She also wanted to be a fashion designer. Martin Gomez helped her become a young Texas designer. In 1994, Opened her first boutique in Corpus Christi , Texas . Selena later opened two additional boutiques in San Antonio Texas and Monterrey, Mexico. In 1995 Selena was confronted by her father about missing funds from Selena’s fan club. Abraham senior and Selena met with Yolanda about the missing funds. Abraham conducted research and discovered that Yolanda had been in similar situations with money at another job. Yolanda claimed that she didn’t steal the money but did not have any concrete answers. Selena y los dinos believed that Yolanda may have been guilty and felt betrayed.