On March 31, 1995, shortly after 1 a.m., the brightest star of Latin pop music, Selina, whom fans and critics called «new Madonna» and «next Gloria Estefan» having already sold more than 60.000.000 copies of albums, he passes away in a hotel in Corpus Christi in Texas.
After 16 days he would be 24 years old, but he had already managed to conquer the top of the music scene. She would no doubt have reached even higher if she had not breathed her last breath struck by the most unexpected killer. The woman who posed as her biggest fan, founder and by then in charge of her fan club.
Although born in Texas, its origin (a mixture created by the Mexican Father and half of the Cherokee mother her) surfaced with the brio, sense of rhythm, voice and movement that one finds in the later fictional artists who followed later. Like, for example, today's «priestesses» of the genre such as Sakira or the exuberant Jennifer Lopez, with the latter owing a lot to Selina, since years later she was chosen to portray her on the big screen, in a role that really launched her career.
From the age of just 3 years old her parents realised that they had a child with a special gift on their hands. It was then that the little girl started singing and at the age of 9 she began to be known at various events where she performed as her father, who also acted as her manager, created the band «Selena y Los Dinos», along with his other two children.
The first stage performances took place in the family's restaurant, which was later closed due to financial problems. But this did not stop the little girl's performances, which became increasingly dense and demanding, resulting in her falling behind in school and her studies. In fact, Selina followed the path on which others «children-wonders» sacrificing (by their parents' choice) education on the altar of success.
Although she recorded her first album in 1985, it was her father who bought all the copies and it took another ten years before it was re-released under the title «Mis Primeras Grabaciones», when Selina was in the middle of her career.
Already since the late 80’s, everyone started to discover her, to bow to her talent and even compared her to Gloria Estefan and Madonna!
At the same time, however, while Selina was rapidly climbing the steps of success, she continued to have tensions with her father who remained just as intrusive and overprotective both in things that had to do with her career and others related to her personal life. He was the man who rabidly opposed her relationship with Chris Perez. A young man whom he had brought into the family compound, but could not accept as a friend and future husband of his daughter. Then came their first big fight which ended with the young girl winning and finally convincing her father to... bless this marriage which was finally celebrated on April 2, 1992.
With successes following one another, the idea of a nurse in her profession and fanatical fan of creating a fan club seemed not only innocent but also imperative. Her father was very enthusiastic, approved the step and even appointed her Yolanda Saldivar as president and manager of the club, rewarding her for her initiative. But some three years later it turned out that this woman not only had good ideas but also long arms. Suspicions of financial irregularities and embezzlement of money from the fan club's treasury seemed to be confirmed and Selina (who was about to turn 24) decided to close the matter on her own.
So instead of going to the authorities or letting her father deal with the situation, she chose to make an appointment with the woman who later turned out to be her killer. The two women were supposed to meet in a Texas hotel, with Saldivar having agreed (in theory) to return the accounts. Instead, however, he presented her with a crazy story according to which he had been raped, which was not confirmed by the tests he underwent, in Selina's presence, at a local hospital.
When the two returned to the hotel, the last act of the drama was played out. After another fight and tension, Yolanda Saldivar he pulled out a revolver and managed to shoot Selina in the shoulder. Bloodied, the singer ran away, managed to reach the lobby where she collapsed in front of the patrons.
A few hours later -namely shortly after one o'clock in the morning of 31 March 1995- Selina was passing away. After 16 days she would turn 24 years old and would have her whole future ahead of her. Her killer during the trial (and with hundreds of Selina's fans besieging the courtroom daily) claimed that the death was an accident as the gun went off. The judges, however, found her guilty of manslaughter. Based on her sentence, she will be able to be released from prison in 2025, in an American society where Latin pop culture is now well established, thanks to the shining star who had killed her...
