Selena Quintanilla Perez

A hero, for me, is someone who is honest, caring, gives all that they can and loves to smile and laugh. A hero is also someone who has worked hard for all they have achieved, and most importantly, someone who has also been through hard times. The reason I think that is the most important trait is because when they help others they know how that person really feels, because they experienced it too. And finally a hero is someone who helps and is an average person like me and you. When I think of all of those things all together, one person comes to my mind and this person is Selena Quintanilla Perez.

At the time of her murder on March 31st 1995, Selena was known as “The Queen of Tejano”. Selena was a Mexican American singer and songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the 90s and Best selling Latin artist of the decade by Billboard. My favorite song from her is Bidi Bidi Bom Bom because it is a fun dance song with a very 90’s sound to it. It also has an island flavor and is mostly talking about when she's around a guy she loves and her heart beats fast. My other favorite would be I Could Fall In Love, because the song is a really touching ballad about not knowing if you should take the next step and give your heart away when you know that the man you love is not available. Those are my most favorite songs from her.

Selena's music changed the world. It changed because it was Tejano music and Selena brought that to America. A lot of people liked it and enjoyed it. Selena was loved by her fans for her kindness, her love of her fans, her positive attitude and, of course, the wonderful music she made. Tejano music is a fusion of polkas, country-western and a traditional Mexican folk music that is sung in Spanish. She wasn’t able to see her English album grow to become her biggest album, but it was finished and released in July of 1995. This CD won a Grammy. It later was her first album to go double-platinum.

In 1990 Yolanda Saldivar opened the official fan club for Selena. By February, Saldivar was stealing money from the fan club. Selena fired Saldivar but Saldivar had to keep working to find the missing money. One day Selena went to collect the money but some was still missing, so she went back to the hotel and they had a massive argument. When Selena turned to leave, Saldivar took out a gun and shot Selena in the back of her right shoulder. She was rushed to the hospital and declared dead at 1:09 p.m. on Friday March 31, 1995 in Corpus Christi, Texas. She was only 23 years old. She did so much more than she could have ever imagined. It makes me wonder, though, that if she had lived longer she could have been an even bigger success. She did everything for her people. Up until her death, everything was all for her fans. That was even the reason why she died; she went to get the money back for her fans and she was killed.

The reason why she is so important to me is because I am like her, a girl with a dream that I don’t want to have put out, but only so I can keep it alive. I know that there will be obstacles but I will have to overcome them just like her. Her music will always stay alive inside of me because whenever I think of love, roses, or music, she is the one that comes to my mind. I know one day I will reach my goal with the help of my hero to pick me up when I fall down even with her music. I could not believe that the girl that I wanted to be like was gone. I had a birthday wish that I could meet her, but because of what happened i know that it will never came true.