Selena why was she shot

Selena would have turned 50 this year. Her full name was Selena Quintanilla Perez. Selena was a rising star when she was shot to death, but there were problems she would discover shortly before she died.

In early March , Selena and her family learned there were financial problems within her fan club and fashion brand. Saldivar had been hired to promote and manage her boutiques. Selena attempted to recover records several times. One of those times, she was at the Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi. An artery near her collarbone was shattered, and the bullet exited through her chest. Your Best Life. Type keyword s to search. Related Stories. Vinnie Zuffante Getty Images. This content is imported from YouTube.

You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Natasha Perez as Yolanda Saldivar. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. More From Entertainment. Presented by. She spoke to relatives in addition to speaking with police. During the third hour after the shooting, an autopsy was performed on Selena due to overwhelming media interest. Doctors said that if the bullet had been only one millimeter higher or lower, the wound would have been less severe. Later that afternoon, police drained the gasoline from the gas tank of Yolanda's car and turned on floodlights.

After the standoff entered its fourth hour, Valencia succeeded in getting her to confess that she had intended to shoot herself. Yolanda said when she placed the gun to her own head, Selena tried to tell her not to kill herself. When Selena opened the door to leave, Yolanda said she told her to close it. She also said the gun went off when Selena left. During the sixth hour, Yolanda agreed to give herself up, but when she saw a police officer pointing a rifle at her, she panicked, ran back to her truck, picked up the revolver and pointed it at her head again.

After more than 9 hours, Yolanda surrendered to authorities. By then, hundreds of Selena's fans had gathered at the scene; many wept as police took Yolanda away. A press conference was called within hours of Selena's murder; Yolanda had not yet been named in media reports. All major U.

Within 30 minutes of its announcement, Selena's murder was the lead item on all television stations in South Texas.

The news of Selena's death reached Japan where David Byrne first heard of the shooting. Univision and Telemundo were among the first national news stations to arrive at the crime scene. Radio stations in Texas began playing Selena's music non-stop and taking telephone calls from distressed fans. A line for the April 1, edition of the Corpus Christi Caller Times formed; the company added 11, copies to their print run and later printed 20, more copies to meet continued demand for the paper.

A "People" magazine issue was released several days after her murder. Its publishers believed interest would soon wane; they released a commemorative issue within a week when it became apparent that interest was growing. The issue sold nearly a million copies, selling the entire first and second run within two weeks.

It became a collector's item—a first in the history of "People" magazine. Betty Cortina editor of "People" told Biography, " it was unheard of " for an issue to completely sell out. This was followed by "Newsweek en Espanol" and "Latina" magazine. Puerto Rican-American actress Jennifer Lopez was cast to play Selena in the biopic film about her life ; this choice drew criticism because of Lopez's ancestry. After the film's release, fans changed their views on Jennifer Lopez after seeing her performance in the movie.

She became famous after the film's release. Selena's life and career were covered by a number of television programs including "The Oprah Winfrey Show", the E! These Spanish-language documentaries are among the most-watched programs in the history of American television and often score record ratings for networks. A documentary titled "Selena, A Star is Dimmed" one of the first about her was broadcast on Univison's "Primer Impacto" on April 4, where it was watched by 2.

The interview on "Primer Impacto" was watched by 4. The news of Selena's death deeply affected the Hispanic community; many people traveled thousands of miles to visit Selena's house, boutiques and the crime scene.

By mid-afternoon, police were asked to form a detour as a line of automobiles began backing up traffic from the Quintanillas' house. On the street where Selena had lived, gang graffiti and cacti distinguished the blue-collar community from other subdivisions across America. A chain-link fence in front of Selena's house became a shrine festooned with mementoes as fans from across America left messages to Selena and the Quintanilla family.

Most car drivers in Corpus Christi and those driving cars on Interstate 37 from Mexico turned their headlights on in her memory. Soon after learning of Selena's death, people began speculating about the identity of her murderer. Some fans thought Emilio Navaira's wife had shot Selena; they believed she was jealous of Selena and Navaira's relationship. Johnny Pasillas, Emilio's brother-in-law and manager frantically called radio stations in an attempt to quash the rumor.

Texas Monthly editor Pamela Colloff wrote that reactions to her death were equivalent to those following a political assassination. Selena was a cultural icon for Latinos and was seen as " a woman who was proud of her roots [who had] achieved her dreams ". A drag queen planned to dress as Selena for a performance; he was hit by a car and left to die. Actor Gloria de la Cruz auditioned for the role of Selena; her body was later found in a dumpster in Los Angeles. Her killer had strangled her and set her body on fire.

Concerts throughout Texas were canceled; La Mafia canceled their concert in Guatemala and flew back to Texas. Tejano singer Ramiro Herrera and dozens of other Tejano artists also canceled their concerts. American singer-songwriter Rhett Lawrence published an advertisement in Billboard magazine's 22 April issue; it said, " music I heard with you was more than music.

You will be deeply missed. American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey told MTV Selena's death was shocking to her because of " the way it had happened so abruptly in a young life ". State senator Carlos Truan and state representative Solomon P. Ortiz reportedly mourned Selena's death. American music industry executive Daniel Glass told Texas Monthly he believed Selena would have enjoyed greater career success had it not been for her death.

Stern said, " This music does absolutely nothing for me. Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth. Stern's comments and actions outraged and infuriated the Hispanic community in Texas. After an arrest warrant for disorderly conduct was issued for him, Stern made an on-air statement in Spanish, saying his comments were not made to cause " more anguish to her family, friends and those who loved her.

The League of United Latin American Citizens found his apology unacceptable and urged a boycott of his show. Texas retailers removed products related to Stern. Sears and McDonalds sent a letter expressing their disapproval of Stern's comments to the media because fans believed they sponsored his show. Quivers decided not to talk about the situation to avoid arguing with Stern.

When Linda Ronstadt a pop singer of Mexican-American heritage appeared on the show, she and Quivers argued when Ronstadt defended Selena. Bush declared her birthday Selena Day in Texas. Bush said Selena represented " the essence of south Texas culture ". On Selena Day, approximately a thousand fans gathered at her grave and began singing traditional Mexican folk songs; police were brought in to control the crowd. On that same day, a crowd of three thousand attended an organized mass of the resurrection for Selena at Johnnyland Concert Park.

In April and May that year, some European-Americans in Texas wrote to the editor of the Brazosport Facts questioning the fuss over her death; some were offended because Selena Day coincided with Easter Sunday. Others said, " Easter is more important than Selena Day " and believed people should let Selena rest in peace and get on with their lives. Mexican-Americans living in Texas also wrote to the newspaper; some agreed that others were too critical of "Selena Day", stating they did not need to celebrate the day and should not have responded to its announcement so rudely.

This was also seen by the Corpus Christi Caller Times, which said it had printed several of the negative comments left by people and that many comments were " unprintable ".

Hispanic filmmaker Lourdes Portillo said she did not know who Selena was when she heard about the shooting. When the news of Selena's death broke, some Americans asked who she was and said she was " not that important ", suggesting Hispanics " get over it ". Patoski said that Anglo-Americans " didn't understand what all the fuss was about ". This was echoed in the Corpus Christi Caller Times, where they found racial divisions in the reactions to Selena's death. Educators who had observed the reactions said, " the emergence of an icon in a minority culture can be both bewildering and threatening to Anglos ".

Melicent Rothschild said some Americans often do not understand " the cultural role models of groups who have felt discriminated against ". Some vocally opposed any memorials to the singer, feeling that they would be costed to taxpayers. Others complained to newspapers about the media interest in Selena's death. Many media outlets received negative comments from people around the country. Mayor Mary Rhodes said many of the people complaining about the media exposure Selena was receiving had never heard of her.

In the biopic film about Selena, a store manager asks Hispanics running towards the singer for an autograph, " Who's Selena? One Selena fan said the event depicted in the scene " happens all the time " to Hispanics and their friends, and that they feel their community has been " ignored ".

Lauraine Miller said, " Selena has opened my eyes" and that Miller had become " more American ". Another fan said, " nobody ever lets you forget you are Mexican American " in the U. Radio stations in Texas played her music non-stop. During the event, it was announced that a public viewing of the casket would be held at the Bayfront Auditorium the following day. Fans lined up for almost a mile. An hour before the doors opened, rumors that the casket was empty began circulating which prompted the Quintanilla family to have an open-casket viewing.

About 30, to 40, fans passed by Selena's casket. More than 78, signed a book of condolence. Flowers for the casket viewing were imported from The Netherlands. At the request of Selena's family, video and flash photography was banned. The same day, an unannounced bilingual Sunday morning mass for Selena featuring a mariachi choir was held at the San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio. In the United States, churches with a high proportion of Hispanic worshippers held prayers for Selena.

A reporter noticed that many "mythic symbols" such as the Christian symbols of angels, saints, healers, and saviors, were "attached to Selena" by fans. There was a tribute for Selena during a St. Patrick's Day celebration in a Catholic church in Houston, Texas. Priest Father Sal DeGeorge decided to hold a tribute to Selena that day after people especially children asked him what was being planned for her. That same day, a disc jockey played Selena's music near the church in a small park.

On April 3, , six hundred guest mostly family members attended Selena's burial at Seaside Memorial Park which was broadcast live by a Corpus Christi and San Antonio radio station without the consent of her family. Hundreds of people began circling the area in their vehicles. A special mass held the same day at Los Angeles Sports Arena drew a crowd of 4, Selena had been booked to play there that night for her Amor Prohibido Tour.

The promoter charged an admission fee which upset Quintanilla, Jr. Modesto Lopez Portillo drove from El Salvador to Los Angeles to be the officiating priest for the gathering; the consul general of El Salvador attended as well. In Lake Jackson, a thousand fans and friends of Selena gathered at the municipal park in neighboring Clute, where she had played at the Mosquito Festival in July The next day, Our Lady of the Pillar a church in Spain held a mass for Selena which drew people to the seat church.

In the weeks following her death, cars throughout Texas were seen with pictures of Selena painted on them. The Selena Etc. In the months following Selena's death, an average of 12, people visited her grave site and the Days Inn motel where the shooting occurred. The motel's manager rearranged its room numbers so guests would not know in which room Selena had been shot. In , Selena was commemorated with a museum and a life-sized bronze statue, Mirador de la Flor in Corpus Christi which are visited by hundreds of fans each week.

Musicians used music to express their thoughts about Selena or recorded compositions as tributes to her.