Selena Quintanilla at 23 years of age, paved the way for several young girls to feel comfortable being Mexican American + Latinas. As a young girl I remember being obsessed with Selena's music. At four years old, I would imagine being her on stage singing my lungs out of tune but feeling happy because my mom could understand her music which made her cheer me on more. I used to borrow my mom's Avon mini lipstick and perform. Her songs spoke about lost love and at the same time empowered woman through her music. While I had no idea what I was singing, all I knew is that everyone around me loved Selena Quintanilla. More than a decade later I understood why.
Selena made girls feel seen and represented in pop culture during a time when Latinos in the entertainment industry were not given as much popularity as she received - nonetheless, being a woman of color.
While Selena was not perfect at speaking Spanish, she did her best to create music both in English and Spanish. This made Latinos across Latin America and in the United States feel that they could relate to her music. She proudly represented her Mexican culture through her music during a time that Tejano music was genre mainly dominated by men. Achievements like these made her fans love her even more because she created music for everyone to enjoy at any time. Selena even did the unexpected: recorded a few songs in the Mariachi and pop genre which created a larger fan base from different cultural backgrounds.
Selena succeeded in many areas but nothing more iconic like her red lip and beautifully curled eyelashes in the makeup world. In addition, she is notably also well known for her bedazzled bustier, high waist pants and belt combo, and the purple jumpsuit she last performed with before her death. This was shocking as most Latin parents are conservative but influenced fashion, hair, and makeup for all girls.
Today, she continues making an impact in the Latin community for representing Latinxs in pop culture as her family has agreed to have her story be told on television series, collaborate with MAC cosmetics in 2020, and Selena Q. merchandise at Forever 21. Simultaneously, her widower Chris Perez has mentioned telling his version of their love story which should come out soon. Either way, Latinxs thank Selena for representing us Latina/o/x's in the 90s, today, and always. Quintanilla was and remains to be a story of hope and achieving the impossible!
What's your favorite Selena song? How has Selena inspired you? Let us know in the comments below.
