Selena's Brief Life Offers Important Lessons for Hispanic Girls in America

SELENA (1971-1995) - Selena Quintanilla Perez was born in Lake Jackson and began her singing career as a child, performing with her family's band. She became a star in Tejano music and by the late 1980s was known as the queen of Tejano music, the first Tejana to sell more than 300,000 albums. In the 1990s Selena y los Dinos began a sensationally successful act. Before her death the band sold 1.5 million records. The band was the first Tejano group to make Billboard's Latin Top 200 list of best-selling recordings. On March 31, 1995, Selena was shot to death by her first fan-club founder and manager of Selena Etc. Her death made the front page of the New York Times. Mourning for her was widespread and crossed cultural lines.

TEXAS (By Stewart Doreen, Midland Reporter Telegram) April 10, 2005 - Last Thursday I had the opportunity of reporting from Selena's Tribute Concert at a packed Reliant Stadium in Houston. Tens of thousands of fans had gathered to honor the memory of Tejano music's only diva.

A-list Hispanic celebrities such as Gloria Estefan, Thalia and Paulina Rubio performed at the event, which was aired live through Univision and instantly became one of the year's blockbusters.

By sheer force of numbers, Hispanic-Americans have perpetuated Selena's legacy. Her music and memory have not only lived on but they have also opened the doors of the mainstream, English-speaking media to other artists with similar backgrounds, from Ricky Martin to Jennifer Lopez.

At the same time, Selena's multi-pronged influence has empowered Latinas. During the past 10 years, a host of female singers have been successfully crisscrossing the Tex-Mex border at the front of leading Tejano bands, something that for decades had been unthinkable in this male-dominated arena.

But a decade after Selena was gunned down by Yolanda Saldivar -- the president of her fan club, now serving life in prison -- a question still remains unanswered: Why is Selena's myth so pervasive?

The Selena-mania is hardly about her music but about the variation of the American Dream that she embodied; a variation that, before her, many Latinas considered impossible.

Since her first public appearance, Selena proved that being a girl and being Hispanic are facts of life that can turn out to be wings, rather than burdens.

Predating Jennifer Lopez -- who played her in a 2000 biopic -- by 10 years, Selena was the first Hispanic woman to market herself. In addition to selling millions of albums, she opened her own chain of clothing stores and became one of the first self-made Latina millionaires.

An important part of Selena's appeal came from her girl-next-door ways. Beneath the glitter, the makeup and her staple skintight pants and vibrant bustiers, she spoke and behaved as just every Mexican-American girl. And her fans believed in her.

But what made the trick and prompted her to stardom was the fact that she appeared utterly uninterested in fitting in. She sang in Spanish and danced provocatively and defied the standard of submission that Hispanic girls are frequently -- and regretfully -- brought up to obey.

So it was not only about the music but also about the culturally redemptive element of making it from the barrio all the way to stardom -- and about being a girl and a leader -- what caught her fans' hearts.

Selena represented the quintessential young Hispanic girl -- equal parts Mexican and American -- with all the conflict that such a split identity entails. And while Selena died a decade ago, the contradictory elements that dwell in the soul of every Hispanic girl in America are still alive and colliding every time Latinas are poised to answer one of the recurring questions that haunt them from time to time:

"Should I stay close to my family? Should I pursue a career? Should I teach Spanish to my children? Should I do my best to fit in? Do I have what it takes to make it on my own?"

Selena was the embodiment of this inner struggle; and so, with time, the myth will outlive its own body of work.

At least, until Hispanic girls realize there is one very important element of being American they should let prevail over their Hispanic heritage: being a girl doesn't matter, as long as you work hard and believe in yourself.