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Selena Quintanilla Perez (April 16, 1971 - March 31, 1995) was a Mexican-American singer who is reguarded as one of the biggest Latino stars of all time. Known as “The Mexican Madonna.” Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas. She grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, where she began her musical career. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., was a singer with the original Los Dinos from 1957-1972, and nurtured the burgeoning musical talent of his children. Selena, her brother Abe III (bass), and their sister, Suzette (drums), were a second generation of Los Dinos. Its other two members who started in the band were Ricky Vela ..boards and Roger Garcia on guitar. Selena made her first public appearance at her father's Mexican restaurant in Lake Jackson at just eight years of age. She recorded her first record at nine. Throughout her adolescence Selena was constantly on tour. She finished high school by mail and lived most of her life on the tour bus, "Big Bertha". Selena signed with Capitol EMI in 1989, and released several albums with that label, including 1994's wildly popular "Amor Prohibido". Chris Perez replaced Roger Garcia as guitar player. A romance budded between Perez and Selena, and the two married on April 2, 1992. Even as Selena's career skyrocketed she remained very close to her family, choosing to live next door to them in Corpus Christi. In 1994, Selena won a Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album of the year. The greatest irony in Selena's musical career is that she became a star singing in her second language. Her first language was English, not Spanish. Aside from her singing, Selena was an avid clothing designer. Boutique shops with the Selena name opened in Corpus Christi and San Antonio in the 1990s. She also dabbled in acting, making a cameo in the Johnny Depp film "Don Juan de Marco". Selena’s final concert on February 26, 1995 drew a record crowd of more than 64,000 fans to the Astrodome in Houston. Her status as a top concert attraction was indisputable. She was quoted to say “Look, these are the people that made us. I don’t want to turn my back on them.” A woman named Yolanda Saldivar worked her way into the singer's inner circle, becoming president of Selena's fan club and manager of the boutiques. In 1995 the Quintanillas found out Saldivar had embezzled money from these ventures and decided to fire her. Selena agreed to meet Saldivar at a Corpus Christi Days Inn on the morning of March 31, 1995 in order to retrieve paperwork for tax purposes. At the motel an argument ensued over the embezzlement and Saldivar shot the singer once in the back. Selena ran to a lobby where she identified Yolanda as her assalant. She died at a local hospital at 1:05 pm, hours after she was shot. Selena's death shocked and saddened fans in Latino communities throughout the United States and in Mexico. Numerous vigils and memorials were held in the singer's honor. That summer her album "Dreaming of You," a combination of Spanish language hits and new English language tracks, debuted at #1 on the Billboard music charts in the US. In October of 1995 a Houston jury convicted Saldivar of murder and sentenced her to life in prison. There is a museum to honor Selena's memory and a bronze life-sized statue of her on Ocean Drive in Corpus Christi. In 1997, A move was created in Selena's memory. Jennifer Lopez played Selena. This fact was a bit of a controversy as Jennifer Lopez was a Puerto Rican playing a Mexican role. The movie is the basis from which Lopez rose to superstardom, while at the same it also served to introduce Selena and her music to an even wider audience. Today Selena's name is known world wide. She is known as one of the biggest Latino stars of all time. Through her music and many fans Selena will live forever.