It’s been 27 years since Mexican-American icon Selena Quintanilla Pérez was shot and killed.
The Tejano singer would’ve turned 51 next month.
Selena was just 23-years-old when she was shot by Yolanda Saldíva, a deranged fan and former manager of the singer’s boutique line.
She died of her injuries in Corpus Christi, Texas — but more than two decades after her death, Selena’s legacy, and music continue to live on.

March 31, 1995
Saldívar shot Selena at a Days Inn hotel on March 31, 1995. Saldívar founded the Selena Fan Club and was the president, making herself known as Selena’s biggest fan before the murder.
Saldívar was also the manager of Selena’s boutiques, but it was discovered later by the Quintanilla family that she was likely embezzling money from the companies and fan clubs and mismanaging funds.
When Selena confronted Saldívar about missing financial records, Saldívar pulled out a gun and shot the singer.
She was arrested after a nearly 10-hour standoff, and Selena was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital.
Saldívar is currently serving a life sentence at a maximum-security women’s prison in Gatesville, Texas.

Legacy
Born on April 16, 1971, she rose to stardom by performing Tejano music.
She released her self-titled debut album in 1989, then “Entre a Mi Mundo” in 1992, which hit number one on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart and stayed there for eight weeks.
Today, Selena is known by many as the most famous Tejano singer of all time.
In 1994, she won a Grammy for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album.
Two years after the Tejano singer’s death, the film “Selena” was released starring Jennifer Lopez.
In 2021. the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
In 2017, Selena was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
At the 2021 Grammy Awards, Selena was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.